Day 4: Wall, SD 369.6 miles; 6:05 drive time

We got up and took our walk down the street from the motel to the Walmart to pick up a few essentials.  This was a much less scenic walk than usual.  Sort of like walking down Highway 99 in Hazel Dell.  The motel itself was historic; the area around it, not so much.

We got back onto I-90, Jim put the cruise control on his favorite number, 75, and off we went.  We were making much better time than yesterday and we were hoping to get to Mount Rushmore around noon -- but that was not to be.

We passed through Buffalo, WY (population 4585; elevation 4645) This was the place where many Native American battles were fought.  The Bozeman Trail ran through Indian land in this area which caused problems for both.  The town itself was founded in 1879 and became known as "Rustler's Capital."  In 1892 the cattlemen and farmers went to war.  It was called the Johnson County War and the US Army had to be called in to make peace.

The land has turned to rolling hills of grassland and prairie - not a tree in sight.  Jim spotted a herd of pronghorn deer grazing on one of the hills.  We also saw our first Wall Drug sign in this area.  (More on that later.)

Shortly thereafter our luck ran out.  All of a sudden cars were slowing down and turning on their hazard lights.  Then we saw road construction signs warning that we should prepare for a delay up to one hour!  Then we saw in front of us an oversized vehicle that was taking up the full two lanes (no one could pass).  It was going slow and then stopped and everything ground to a stop.  At this point we were the third car behind the OV.

After we stopped, we saw a lot of activity.  The highway workers were all gathered around and several trucks with flashing lights arrived.  I got out and took some pictures.  Jim was somewhat disturbed when he saw that the highway workers were also taking pictures.  So there we sat, and sat as the cars backed up behind us for miles.

After about 30 minutes there was some activity and the OV started moving, but the flag person would not let the cars follow.

We sat some more as we watched the OV creep along the 2-lane part of the freeway.  They had stopped the cars in the other direction too.  Turns out they needed both lanes to the the OV through and they were going along with it moving traffic cones so it could get through.  We met a nice fellow named Doug who was traveling with his wife to Virginia Beach for a Navy reunion.

Finally, after an hour and a half (we could have been to Mt. Rushmore) we began to move.  Our worst nightmare was that the OV would be on the highway when we got through, an there it was.  Fortunately, they had pulled to the side of the road so we could get through.   At this point, Jim had to admit there were worse things than being stuck behind a slow RV.  How about an OV taking up the whole road?t felt good to be on the way again, but we kept running into construction all day.

Next city was Gillette (population 29K; elevation 4538).  Gillette is on a high plateau between the Bighorn Mountains and Black Hills.  It is known for livestock, coal, and oil.  We passed by a pit coal mine on one side of the freeway and a coal burning power station on the other (tow transportation costs!).

As we got into the hills, we came to Sundance (population 1,182; elevation 4756).  Sundance lies at the foot of Sundance Mountain named for the ceremonies that the Sioux held near here.  It is believed that Harry Longabaugh, better known as "The Sundance Kid," got his nickname during the 18 months that he spent in the Crook County Jail for horse stealing.  What an appropriate name for a jail.....

As we passed the town of Moorcraft, I tested out my tablet's 3G connection to look up the name of Sherlock Holmes's older brother -- which we both thought of when we saw the name of this town.  Turns out his name is "Mycroft."  Isn't the web wonderful?  We stopped at a rest stop near here and ran into Doug again.  We saw him again at Mount Rushmore.  I wonder if we will cross paths again.

Into South Dakota at last.  And the speed limit remains 75!  First town we pass is Spearfish (population 10, 494; elevation 3642). This town got its name because the Sioux used to come to the creek that runs through town to spear fish.  The creek is unique in that it freezes from the bottom (making the fish come up) and flows from south to north

Next town was Sturgis (population 6627; elevation 3468). This was the home of the infamous cigar-smoking card shark named "Poker Alice." She owned the rowdiest honky tonk in the State.  Jim commented that this is also the gathering point for hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists each year where they hold a rally.  So I'm guessing Alice's legacy is continuing.

We are getting closer to the presidents.  We turned off in Rapid City and headed to the monument.  Rapid City has a population of 67,956 and elevation of 3220 feet.  This was the area where they filmed "Dances with Wolves" and is home of the "City of Presidents" Project.  The goal of this project is to place a life-size bronze statue of each president on the city streets, standing as if a pedestrian.  So far they have 43 presidential pedestrians in place.

Keystone (population 337; elevation 4341) is only 2 miles from Mount Rushmore.  It is definitely a tourist town today but started as a mining town.  One of the largest mine owners named one of his mines the "Holy Terror Gold Mine" after his wife.  She took the joke well when the mine started producing $70,000 worth of gold PER WEEK!

Finally we arrived at Mount Rushmore.  We had our golden pass ready, but they charged a "parking fee" of $11 and did not take passes.  The place had also been enlarged significantly since we were last here about 15 years ago. At that time there was just a wooden building that served as information center and viewing room.  They now have an amphitheater and outdoor viewing area in addition a large cafe, ice cream shop, and gift shop.  It has gone commercial in a big way.  I suppose with federal funds dwindling, the parks have to make money any way they can -- but the contrast was striking.  They had an ice cream shop that had a sign with a picture of Jefferson claiming that he signed the Declaration of Independence and invented the first recipe for ice cream.   And of course you could buy some of his ice cream there.  I also enjoyed the "Made in USA" area of the gift shop.  There were lots of languages spoken there, and I suppose it is frustrating to buy an American souvenir that turns out to be make in your own country.



Unlike our last visit in the fog, this time the Presidents were out in all their splendor.  Very awesome.

Jim told me about a mountain carving of an Indian Chief that was in the area.  He asked at the information center and found out it was the Crazy Horse Monument.  We tapped that into Miss Direction and off we went.  When we got to the gate the admission was $10 each, which I thought was high.  That is, until we got there.  They first direct you to a video explaining the project and the amazing story of this mountain carving.  It was started in 1949 and is still going on.  A sculptor named Korczak was invited by Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear to carve a statue of Crazy Horse.  The chief was speaking for a group of chiefs and said, "My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know the red man has great heros too.

When Korczak started work on the mountain he was almost 40 and had only $174 left to his name.
He was a strong believer in the free enterprise system and felt Crazy Horse should be built by the interested public and not the taxpayer.  He turned down offers of federal funding.  He married and had 10 children.  He died in 1982, but his wife and 7 of his children are continuing the work.  The head of Crazy Horse was finished in 1998.  They are now working on the horse head.  When finished the monument will be 563 feet high and 641 feet wide.  The completed face is 9-stories high.  The inscription for the work is a quote from Chief Crazy Horse:  "My lands are where my dead lay buried."

 

The center also has the most extensive collection of Native American crafts and artifacts that I have seen.  This is definitely something I would like to visit again.  It is all financed through a foundation and with admissions and earnings from the gift shop.

Back on the road again, Miss Direction got us back to I-90.  On the way we noticed that there are quite a few wineries in the area.  They all have very odd names though.  For example, we saw signs for "Red Ass Rhubarb Wine", "The Naked Winery", and Jim claims to have seen wine sign for "Buck Naked and Tickle Me."  

 We finally got to I-90 passing through yet another road construction zone and headed to Wall, home of the famous Wall Drug Store.  In 1936 the owners of this small-town pharmacy, Ted and Dorothy Hustead came up with an ingenious marketing campaign. Realizing travelers going through this hot dusty area would be thirsty, they put us signs along the freeway offering free ice water.  Folks have been stopping there ever since.  Having had success with small signs, they invested in billboards and put them up all over the country.  The 1965 Highway Beautification Act forced removal of most of the signs, but they are still up in South Dakota and many countries overseas. 

More about Wall Drugs Tomorrow.