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Another fabulous day! We woke up to a beautiful sunshiny day in Wall, South Dakota - home of the “world famous” Wall Drug. That thing is HUGE! I don't really know what I expected but it wasn't what I got. The store takes up a whole block and is broken up into smaller specialty areas. We bought the typical tourist items...t-shirts, toys, jewelry, and enough taffy to rot all our teeth! We spent the whole morning here when I had really only thought it might be an hour or so. But it was a lot of fun. We next headed to a more sobering destination.
Wall is the home of the Wounded Knee Museum and the reason I chose Wall as our stopping place. Because the Little Bighorn battlefield is on our itinerary, I really wanted the boys to see one of the opposing events in our history. The story of the Wounded Knee massacre was very sensitively presented in a quiet and peaceful setting. Not so quiet and peaceful were the horrifying stories from native and white witnesses. It is at times such as reading the story of Wounded Knee that I am ashamed of my white blood. Though
I have much less native blood (1/8...or is it 1/16? Denise, help me out here) I can't say that I have every been ashamed of my Native American heritage. The boys were as solemn as Steve and I when we walked out and though the images and stories were extremely violent, I'm glad they were able to learn something of it.
We had a fairly lengthy drive from Wall to Hot Springs, SD to visit the Mammoth Site. It is the largest discovery of mammoth bones in the country. The boys really liked it though it wasn't my particular cup of tea. However, the guide was this cute little high school kid who looked like it was his first week and he was trying to tell the site's jokes about the names of the various skeletal remains and he was so awkward with them that the jokes were falling flat! He was so cute because he was so earnest! But even he couldn't keep me from being happy to move on to our next stop.
The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary is home to more than 400 wild mustangs. It is located on 11,000 beautiful acres as untamed as the
horses. (Steve was interested to learn that the owner paid only $66,000.00 for the property. CJ and Jake were interested to learn that they filmed part of “ Hidalgo” here as well as some movie with Sean Penn and Vince Vaughn.) The sanctuary gives tours out into pastures to see the horses. We arrived in time for the final tour only to discover we were the only ones planning to go. The guide asked if we minded going in the Land Rover. Mind? Hmmm, let's see...big, uncomfortable, impersonal school bus or small, intimate vehicle that could get us up close and personal with the mustangs? It was a no-brainer for us. The guide was really informative and had much, um...shall we say “personality”? “No, Boys, she was not a freak.” She did go for way more mystical, we-are-one-with-our-mother-earth philosophy than I would have preferred. She was part native and told stories that her uncle had told her which were really interesting. She also gave us a lot of information about the Sun Dance that will be held on the ranch this month. I guess it is a pretty big honor because “native grandmothers” from other countries will be coming for
this Sun Dance on the sanctuary. But, I digress...back to the mustangs. Ohmygosh, they were beautiful! A couple of the stallions have blue eyes and so many of the foals do as well. The mustangs also had smarmy names like Don Juan, Playboy, and Gigilo. Each year they sell the foals to help support the ranch. Both boys have decided they would like one. I don't think our homeowner's association will allow that, but who knows? CJ might talk them into it.
Going to our cabin for the night we drove by the Crazy Horse monument. It amazes me that it has been in progress for so many more years that it took to complete Mt. Rushmore. And with all our “modern” technology? How can that be possible? The carving will certainly be huge when completed. Steve had not seen pictures of it and couldn't make out the face when we drove by. And I admit is was a little hard to see in the fading light.
We stopped at an old hotel restaurant for dinner. Right away Steve and I got the feeling something wasn't right. And when he came out of the rest room and told the waitress
that there was no soap or paper towels in the bathroom, and she said, “I know, I'll get to it”, we knew we were right. We got up and walked out without a look back. The boys agreed that it was the first time they had ever left a restaurant without eating. They weren't embarrassed, exactly, but thought it was odd. We ended up at a little diner that was much, much better than what we would have gotten at the hotel.
We got to the High Country Guest Ranch shortly thereafter. It turned out to be a quiet, relaxing little complex. They have camp and trailer sites and large and small cabins. The boys were disappointed that the pool wasn't up and running but we got in too late for them to enjoy it anyway. Maybe tomorrow they can swim! Although I don't know how swimming in a pool could be a priority when there is so very much more to do. They did spend a couple of hours sitting around the fire pit with our neighbors. Turns out that a family that was on the Badlands trail with us is now sharing our cabin circle. Small world, huh?
Oh, and remember my issues with the boys and their biological processes? Well, one of the boys who shall remain nameless, put out the fire with another biological process after everyone else left. Good grief! What is it with boys? Who knows what biological processes tomorrow will bring? Join us for the next installment, won't you? Bye for now.
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Christina
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Wall Drug
The horses look amazingly peaceful. I vote that our Housing Association allow horses, no mowing then and they may chase awayall those cats!!! I was glad to hear that an unnamed boy was practicing fire safety by putting out the fire at bedtime!! I look forward to seeing the souvenirs, did you get yourself another visor? You know my thoughts about a restroom where you are unable to practice appropriate hygiene behaviors, so I would of selected another diner also!! Look forward to seeing you guys soon. Continue having a great adventure and building memories. I am praying for a continued fun and safe journey. Blessings.