Friday, July 17

Well, the Badlands, Mt Rushmore, and surrounding country certainly lived up to our expectations, if it didn't exceed them. We started out the day with a pancake breakfast, served by KOA (for a price, of course), and proceeded to drive to Mt. Rushmore at around 9:00. For some reason, whether through lack of knowledge and guidance, or maybe simply because we desired to, we ended up taking a 75-mile-plus journey through the Oglala Sioux Reservation, ending up at the southwest corner of the Badlands (we were camped in the northeast section), and then turning north toward Rushmore. However long it may have been, none of us regret doing it. The sights were impossibly beautiful, enough to take one's breath away. There were buttes, mesas, canyon-like depressions that expanded for dozens of miles into the distance. It simply robbed us of thought.

Anyway, after we exited the Badlands National Park and entered the Black Hills, it didn't take long to reach Mt. Rushmore. We could actually see it coming from a couple miles away. We pulled in around 12:00, and we got a parking space as quick as possible, as this was Philip's number one spot he wished to visit. If you guys haven't seen Mt. Rushmore, try to see it sometime in your life. It, like the Arch of St. Louis, is another miracle of engineering in the modern world. The heads of Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt, and Lincoln all stare into the distance, inspiring all even past their own deaths. Philip got a wide-brimmed hat inscribed with "Mount Rushmore" on it, while I, being the simple one (yeah right) got another medallion to put on my hiking staff. We didn't stay for long, as we also wished to visit the not-so-soon-to-be-completed memorial of Chief Crazy Horse.

Crazy Horse Memorial, currently in the early stages of construction, had an admission fee of 27 dollars simply to look at the head and arms. Naturally, we did not want to pay the outrageous fee, so we decided to view it and take pictures from a parking lot next to the entrance. FYI: when finished, Chief Crazy Horse will be twice the size of Mount Rushmore. Pretty big, huh? After we did our half-visit to Crazy Horse, we proceeded to drive back north to drive along the scenic Needles Highway, which a trucker yesterday had raved about at a stop. However, this too had an entrance fee: 15 dollars. What's wrong with these people?! We nixed that from our plans and then simply drove east, back to state highway 79. On the way there, though, we passed through yet another beautiful locale: Custer State Park, home to one of the world's largest buffalo herds. Then, we headed north to Rapid City, intent upon visiting the Cabela's, having already passed two without visiting: one it St. Louis, the other in an obscure city in eastern South Dakota. We took several wrong turns, but eventually made it to Rapid City.

While Dad, Philip, and I all went in Cabela's, Mom (being the sensible one yet again) turned around and did some shopping at the Super Target across the road. However, that didn't stop the guys from having a good time in the huge outdoor store. We browsed through just about everything except clothes. Now, this is Uncle Ken's benefit, mostly: I believe I have found a shotgun that suits me perfectly. After all, I have taken the Shotgun Shooting Merit badge at scout camp, where I finished at the top of my class. It's a pump action Remington 12-gauge, with a tubular magazine, and it's $250. Cool, huh? After looking at shotguns, airguns, and rifles for a while, Mom eventually called Dad on his phone, beckoning us out into the parking lot. I can only say one thing about Mom's purchases: she had gone to town, all right. The back seat (not the pickup bed) was so stuffed I was cramped up in a little tight ball for the 50-mile journey back to the site. Regardless, I, along with everyone else in the car, was left with a feeling of immense euphoria. That's all I have for tonight, except for this translation of "goodbye and good night" in Spanish: Adiós y buenas noches!