Adventure in the Hills

The odometer says I drove 671.8 miles today. I guess it was kind of a spontaneous decision that put me here. I only made arrangements last night, though I had been kicking the idea around for a couple days. Nonetheless, here I am in Rapid City, South Dakota, gateway to the West.

I started out at about 8:30 AM this morning. That's important, because I found out that Rapid City is a really frickin' long way away from Minneapolis. I made good time though, stopping in Owatonna for breakfast, then in Blue Earth for gas. I intended to stop in Souix Falls for lunch, but somehow I missed the exit. You'd think the exits for a town like Soiux Falls would be more obvious, but you would be wrong (there was also road construction going on all over the place). Instead I got off at a small town called Salem, SD. The road side promised food, and it looked like a fairly large town (I've seen smaller towns with a Subway), but there were no grab-and-go type places anywhere to be found. I found a "Farmer's Market", which was really just a grocery store and managed to put together the implements to make some peanut butter sandwiches. The local car dealership did have a Shelby GT 500 sitting in its lot, though. No fast food, but some amazing fast cars. Strange town.

After eating my makeshift lunch at a nearby rest stop, I continued on to Mitchell. No trip out this way is complete without a visit to Mitchell's Corn Palace. Yes, they use real corn on the outside and it is redecorated every year.

It was a logn way yet to the Badlands. I pulled into the park at about 6:00 PM local time (Mountain Time) when the sun was just starting to get low. Now if you've never seen the Badlands, you really need to. Amazing landscapes. And they are even more amazing at dusk. The only problem is there is a lot to see, and that dusky sunlight does not last long. It took me almost 3 hours to get through and I still felt rushed. I will probably have to hit again on my way back.

I did make a quick stop in Wall Drug for dinner, just before they closed down the grill in their cafe. I had a buffalo hot dog and a side of some of the best fries I've ever tasted. I also had several cups of their famous ice water, which I desperately needed. It looked like they were shutting down though (it was about 9:30 at this point) and I was anxious to get to my hotel, so I didn't stay long. I will also have to hit that on my way back.

I am currently staying at a Ramada in Black Hawk, which is just outside Rapid City. All I wanted was to get to my hotel and go for a swim, but they close the pool at 10:00. I didn't get in until about 10:20. The scally wags. I guess I'll have to go in the morning. They do have sort of a casino/bar (read: small room with some video machines and they serve bottled beer), and that Budwesier Select tasted damn good!

That's pretty much sums up the day. It was a lot of driving and I'm kind of tired. Tomorrow: Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, and maybe Devil's Tower.

Here are some pictures from the day, though I don't know how to do captions on this (I have a lot more):