Iowa Trip Friday

First thing in the morning we went to the Crazy Horse Exhibit. It is a massive carving on a huge rock outcropping that was started in about 1950 to recognize the undying spirit of Crazy Horse and the Sioux people. It is somewhat like Mt. Rushmore but about 10 times larger. It was pretty impressive especially given the fact that it is totally supported by private revenues. Mt. Rushmore was our next stop. It too was very impressive. I think Calvin liked it.

We took off down I-90 again and started east again. We thought of staying around the area another day, but there were too many tourist trap attractions. So, on down the road to Wall Drug, the ultimate tourist trap. Sandi says, “where you go to buy your rubber tomahawks and rubber chickens.” We started seeing Wall Drug highway signs just after leaving Yellowstone and they became progressively more common. They were inviting you to stop in for 5 cent cups of coffee, viewing things like world class bottle-cap collections, Sturgis T-Shirts, and bumper stickers that said, “Where the hell is Wall Drug?” So, of course, we had to stop.

I managed to fend off all the vendors and elbow my way to what my ultimate goal was in stopping. I walked past the rubber chickens hanging in the window, past the Wall Drug shot glasses, raccoon skin hats, and walked into drug store and bought a stick of deodorant.

We proceeded east on I-90 again only to interrupted by more roadside attraction signs. A Minute Man Missile Site, an actual 1880 Sod House tourist trap (with the only place in United States with white Prairie Dogs and the largest white Prairie Dog city), and yet another sign asking if we were sure we didn’t want to turn around and visit Wall Drug. We stopped at the Sod House. It was actually pretty cool. I have an idea the location was chosen for the missile site because of all the ground around the area had been softened up by the prairie dogs
We drove through the Badlands of desperado fame and were amazed at the forms that the earth has taken. I’m not sure if it was uplift or the ground sinking around it. It appeared that the ground had been worn away and the mountains were left in various shapes that were ‘bad.’ We stayed the night at a KOA and got there just in time for the pool to be closed because of an impending lightening and thunder show. Just as I was planning to dive in the pool the manager was getting everyone out. In fact I was in the middle of a beautiful swan dive just ready to slice the water in a clean knife-like dive when I felt this shepherd’s hook looking thing hook me by the neck and yank me over to the pool and set me upright on my feet in one smooth movement.
“Not now, son, thar’s a lightnen’ storm a-coming,” the manager said. (Not really, I just made that up.)