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Sheila Burke's Column
Okay, so picking up from the previous post, we’re off from visiting the real Mississippi River and on to the Corn Palace in SD. We passed several hundred crudely constructed Wall Drug posts along the way. But, we didn’t stop there. This is SO on our list if we ever do it again. One thing that stands out in my mind is the vast empty amount of space in the Midwest. Just acres and acres of nothingness yet soooo beautiful.
We left the Corn Palace around 11:30am.
(btw, the Corn Palace is really just a huge gift shop that sells everything made out of corn. It’s cool though!)
“Is anyone hungry? Should we get lunch now?”
“No, no…we’re good. We can wait.”
“Okay, we’ll stop in an hour or so for lunch. We’ve got snacks if we need them”.
So this was a good leg of the trip. NO traffic. Then again….there were no rest stops. No places to grab a bite. Nothin. Nothin for 6 or 7 hours. Yes. HOURS. We just kept driving. And driving. Staring at the map and seeing no end in sight. I needed to pee. And I needed to pee bad. With my bladder issues, it’s not pleasant to be denied access to a toilet. We ate enough cookies to keep Keebler in business. Those little elves were just a workin their asses off that day.
We finally found a little tiny gas station that had an even smaller diner attached. They served only burgers and fries. SOLD! Having to keep our time and arrive in Custer we settled back into the rental SUV and off we went. With our extra large drinks…..because…I hadn’t yet learned that that was a bad idea when there are no rest stops.
We drove and drove. We were WAY over our time ‘allotment’ that I estimated and it was pitch black. If someone sang another travel song, a riot would break out. The kids were sick of each other. We were tired and hungry again. And…as we’d soon learn…we were lost. Both sets of directions….wrong. Lost in the Black Hills on treacherous twisty hairpin turny roads. OMG we were surely going to plunge off a cliff and die. Shane’s patience was gone..and he was in the driver’s seat. My foot was again welded into the dashboard. I felt sick.
It was 11:45pm when we finally arrived at our hotel nestled at the bottom of the Black Hills. We pulled into the parking lot as if we were about to rob the joint. We wanted to kill AAA and Expedia Maps. Dummies. We had no idea how beautiful the area was until we woke up in the morning. Stunning.
We woke, refreshed and ready. It was off to Custer State Park about 10 minutes away. We packed up and loaded the car. We were excited because the brochure said they had abundant wildlife. Wildlife running all over the place. We love wildlife. Wildlife is our thang.
We drove through the park. We saw a buzzard on a guard rail and a heron on a rock. Lots of deer. All things we see a lot at home. We climbed up steep hills and took in the fresh air. And lots of pics. We decided to take a little dirt road off the main one and soon found out it wasn’t for the public. We were high up. No guard rails and only a small area to turn around at the top of the cliff. We’d surely fall off to our demise. Deep breath. Deeeep. Breathe.
Back onto the main road….where we saw the ‘do not enter’ sign. Duh. This park is famous for their buffalo. Tons and tons of buffalo. We didn’t see any til the end and then we saw bajillions. Or at least a couple hundred.
Onward to Mount Rushmore! We got directions from a local. It was the scenic route. I think it took about 45 minutes through this really cool parkway and tunnels that were one lane only…you had to blow your horn on approach. It was cool. Plus, any time Shane could lay on the horn made him happy. *the highway route was about 7 minutes.
Mt. Rushmore was smaller than I thought it would be. And Shane? He’s impatient…did I tell you that? Oh, and he HATES crowds. So upon seeing the stone faced presidents at the entrance…(and the 5000 other families visiting)…he says….”Well….so how long are we going to stay here?” I shot him a look and said, “Long enough to enjoy it FOR GOD’S SAKE!… To get ice cream, go to the gift shop, relax and take photos”. (I think we were there about an hour). And then we got back on the road headed for Cody Wyoming, our next hotel location, making a few stops along the way….a fake ghost town and a tour of an underground gem cave.
Stay tuned for more adventures!
