But before the long, boring stretch of highway, we did see some classic American landmarks. We departed the Worst Western and headed for Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. In typical fashion, we decided the entrance fee was not worth paying and opted for some roadside photo stops. The red earth on the hills around the tower was almost as impressive as the tower itself and made for dramatic landscape vistas.
We cruised south toward the Wyoming/South Dakota border and set sail through the Black Hills…right about reaching the Jewel Cave stop, we got some good news on the house front and opted for a celebratory lunch at some chuck wagon-style joint in Custer. Not exactly gourmet in the style of foie gras and champagne, but it did the trick.
We cruised through the Crazy Horse monument, but again opted out of the entrance fee due to a lack of time to roam around the expansive complex and contented ourselves with some pictures of the monument. Then on to Mt. Rushmore, where the story was the same. While there’s no charge to view the monument, the Park Service has conveniently allowed a concession for parking—uh, I didn’t exactly see a public transit system allowing non-driving access to the monument (this is like the airlines charging for baggage, in my opinion). We boycotted on general principle and again were content to snap a photo of the dead guys on the hill from afar. So, lest you think we’re being cheap, we chalk it up to being principled!
After a swing through the Badlands, which was REALLY hot and had rattlesnakes, we got ourselves back on I-90 for the long slog east to Sioux Falls…thankfully our hotel was much better than the last one. Apparently, it was also a hot bed for Sioux Falls call girls (incidental, but very apropos pun, I may add).
We did get to experience a true midewestern thunderstorm, which, at 70 miles an hour, did a great job cleansing the Grey Goose of the zillions of bugs acquired over the past 2200 miles!
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