Sioux Falls, SD to Rapid City, SD

Well, we've already safely arrived in Covington, WA outside Seattle. Tomorrow we start unpacking the truck. I've finally had some free time to sort through photos and update the blog so over the next few days we'll be filling in the blanks with commentary and galleries....


Sioux Falls to Rapids City

We spent the night at a Rodeway Inn which is the worst hotel I've ever been in. We had to smuggle in the ferrets because they have a 1 pet per room rule despite the fact that the ferrets could all stay in the same cage. At any rate, the room wasn't even fit for a pet and we didn't let them out into the bedroom. There were cigarette burns in the carpet and the box spring was held together with duct tape. All this for only $73!

The next day was only a five hour drive to Rapids City, but we were so distracted in South Dakota by all the roadside attractions that it took all day. The natural scenery is beautiful, especially when you get into the Badlands area. On top of this, the landscape is littered with billboard after billboard advertising the tourist attractions such as Wall Drug, the world's only Corn Palace, Petrified Forests, and various Mt Rushmore associated museums. They start advertising these places a good 250 miles before the exit and you'll see a new billboard every half mile sometimes. It was amusing at first and then got annoying as I longed for some uncluttered landscape to enjoy. I would get that eventually... in spades...

















Our first roadside stop was the Mitchell Corn Palace. They were inbetween mural exhibits at the time so we didn't get to see it in its full glory, but seeing the unfinished murals with "corn by numbers" outlines was nice also. Inside were "Corn-cessions", a picture history of the Corn Palace through the years (believe it or not, the Corn Palace has burned down a few times...) and a gift shop where I bought a corn palace hoodie. There is also a basketball court and stage with corn murals on the walls.

















The next stop was Wall Drug, a tourist trap if ever there was one. It's got pretty much everything; stores that sell all things western, coin operated animatronic statues, photo op sculptures, 5 cent coffee, a chapel, etc. The picture above features the many stuffed Jackalopes for sale. We could've spent a day basking in the kitsch, but we had a few hours left to go before we hit Rapid City.

















The landscape here is absolutely beautiful and Jess and I fantasized about living here sometime. It's so peaceful and majestic and in some parts seemingly untouched by man. Reminds me of a girl I once knew...

We arrived at the Econo Lodge at sunset; too late to hit Mt Rushmore before bed. Fortunately, our hotel had an indoor water slide that Jon, Matthew, and I went down as many times as we could before it closed. There was a metal gate on both sides of the slide entrance so you could really grab hold and launch yourself . I went down so fast that the whole contraption rocked back and forth and splashed water over the edge, soaking some of the parents watching their kids in the pool. Good times...

Jon and I decided to get up early tomorrow at 6AM to drive 45 min to Mt Rushmore and be back in time for an early departure before our long day into the Rockies. More on that tomorrow!

Day 6 - Sioux Falls, SD to Rapid City, SD

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