After the Enchanted Highway, we continued toward the Badlands. Halley was not feeling very well and soon a stop was required. Thank goodness we stopped in Faith as it is home to Sue, the most complete T-Rex ever.
 |
| This is Bucky. Sue is at the Field Museum in Chicago. |
 |
| Between this sculpture and a sign that said restrooms, we were sure it was worth the stop. |
We eventually made it to the Badlands, although had to leave when the camera battery died. I mean, we didn't
have to but we definitely wanted to make sure there were photos. We made a stop at Wall Drug before settling in Rapid City for the night.
 |
| We drove up and couldn't believe how absolutely beautiful it was. |
 |
| Sarah gets a feel for the land. |
Well rested and battery charged, we headed back to the Badlands as the sun began to rise. Can we say good choice?
 |
| Just when we thought we were through the best of it, we turned the corner and saw more. |
 |
| These colors are completely natural. Can you believe it?! |
And then we got to go back to Wall Drug!
 |
| Signs for Wall Drug start several miles out. The first one we saw was about 33 miles away. |
 |
| Wall Drug is known for free ice water and 5 cent coffee. |
 |
| The original owner of Wall Drug opened up a pharmacy in the very small town of Wall. He and his wife, a school teacher, decided to wait five years before they called it quits and moved back to a more populated area. Toward the end of the 5th year, with still few customers, his wife had an idea: "Let's advertise free ice water on huge posters for all of the tourists on their way to Mount Rushmore. They'll be pretty thirsty since it's so hot." And the rest is history. |
 |
| Sarah loves Bison. |
 |
| Just in case we don't make it to Mount Rushmore. |
 |
| Sarah's a natural shot. |
Next stop: the real Mount Rushmore!
 |
| Free view. |
 |
| Ten dollar view. |
 |
| Mountain goats! |
The last stop in South Dakota was the Crazy Horse Memorial. And this is where Halley goes on a bit of a rant. We paid $20 to get in to see the memorial which ISN'T DONE YET. Clearly we should have done a little more research. It claims to be the world's largest mountain carving but it ISN'T DONE YET so how can you claim that?
After watching the video in the museum, I felt a little better. The man who was asked to carve the monument made it a family affair. He worked on it by himself for several years before marrying and having eight kids. The kids grew up helping blast away rock and many of them are still there today. The government has offered not once but twice to give the project a 10 million dollar grant. Both times they were turned down as the family wants to keep the project funded entirely by the people, which I can respect and even admire.
At least 100 years from now we can say that we visited before it was finished.
 |
| The unfinished monument. |
 |
| What the monument will look like when all is said and done. There will also be a bigger museum and a university. |
 |
| We even got to take a rock home. |
