Mount Rushmore and the Badlands

Wednesday May 16, 2012

Only two more major sites to see on my long journey. I'm expecting to be underwhelmed at Mount Rushmore, but it would be a shame to pass it up being this close. Also what would be a shame to pass up is Sturgis. It's just off the interstate so I take a quick detour to get a snapshot.

Cross That One Off the List

The road into Rushmore is chocked with tourist attractions and the little town of Keystone is just before the monument complex. Having bought myself a season pass to the national parks, I assumed today's visit to the memorial would be inexpensive. I was wrong. It was $11.00 to park and my pass was worthless. Begin the underwhelming process.

The monument itself is impressive and I did enjoy my time staring at it. I particularly enjoyed my chat with the young lady who was kind enough to snap my photo in front of the presidential quartet. Bethany had just gone inactive from the Marines a week earlier and she was taking the slow road home to Pennsylvania from San Diego. Having been in the military myself, we had common ground which contributed to a most delightful conversation.

Bethany

From Rushmore, the next stop was the Badlands which is about 40 miles or so down the road. It's very similar to the Petrified Forest with a road of about twenty miles winding through the bad land. The Badlands also has campgrounds which the Petrified Forest did not. I can see why it's called bad. It looks like a bunch of big dirt clods. It is spectacular though.

It's So Bad

From the Badlands, I head east on I-90 for Illinois to visit my sister. The winds had picked up considerably from the morning. There was a very strong northerly wind which made my ride on eastbound I-90 very tiring. It was so strong that I had to lean my head and body to the right to take the pressure off my neck. Passing large trucks was an adventure that required extreme concentration to avoid bad things. After a while, I couldn't take it any more and stopped to rest hoping the late afternoon drop in temperature might ease the wind a bit.

After an hour or so at a rest stop, I begin again. The winds are a bit less but still strong. I stop at a little town called Chamberlain. Maybe tomorrow conditions will be better.

Photos:  https://plus.google.com/photos/117227791501639555776/albums/5743742204760578993?authkey=CJndxKPnpp71zAE