Day 11 - South Dakota

September 21, 2010

I woke up at 7am, just in time to catch the sunrise coming up over the hill on the other side of the Missouri River. A flock of 11 wild turkeys were feeding about 15 yards away from me as I exited the tent and they quickly scattered when they detected my presence. The storm that was suppose to track its way through Chamberlain last night must have changed paths. I could hear a little bit of rain falling during the night, but that’s about it. I wasn’t so much worried about the rain, but the wind due to the short, aluminum tent stakes that I’m using and the soft ground they were inserted into. It was a calm morning with a light breeze coming from the water; I would guess the temperature to be about 55 degrees. I packed up the tent and the car, and after a quick shower I was back on the road again at 8:30am, CST.

I jumped back onto I-90W and got myself ready for another 300+ day. After about 70 miles of seeing billboards advertising “South Dakota’s Original 1880 Town and Longhorn Ranch”, I stopped in the town of Murdo to check it out. A $9.45 admission fee got me past the two old ladies working the counter. Without going into too much detail, it is a replication of an old western town using 30+ authentic buildings collected from various locations. Each building had its own function: a barbershop, post office, saloon, bank, jailhouse, blacksmith, etc. It was open to walk around the town and inside the different buildings. I spent about an hour there. I wouldn’t call it a “must see” attraction but I’m glad I stopped.

The drive was more of the same. Fields as far as the eye can see. I would imagine some people would get sick of the same scenery, mile after mile after mile. I suppose once you've seen one corn field, wheat field or cattle farm, you've seen them all? For some reason, I just can't get enough of it. There is something to be said of the vastness of this land. In the 1,000+ miles that I've driven through fields, I'm still in awe of corn planted into perfectly straight rows, fields of sunflowers, wheat, soybeans, hay rolled up into bundles; sometimes lined up into rows, stacked or just randomly laid to rest, or the simpleness and beauty of plain ol' prairie grasslands.

I crossed over into the Mountain Time Zone as I made my way on I-90W to my next stop, Badlands National Park. Admission for one adult was $15 but I decided to buy the yearly pass for $80 which is good for any National Park in the US. This was a beautiful drive and takes just about an hour to complete, if you don’t stop at any of the many scenic overlooks. Badlands covers 244,000 acres. It is the largest expanse of protected prairie ecosystem in the National Park system and is considered one of the world’s richest mammal fossil beds. If you ever get a chance to drive through, it will be well worth it.

Coming out of the Badlands, the town of Wall is only about 8 miles away. Wall is famous for the Wall Drug store, originating in 1931. To drum up business, they started attracting visitors with signs of free water and 5 cent coffee, and still do to this day. If you ever travel on I-90, you will become aware that there is a Wall Drug approaching as they have billboard advertisements stretching 500 miles, costing $400,000 each year. I went inside for my free bumper sticker, free ice water, a 5 cent coffee and a chocolate malt shake and I was on my way. There was something strange happening in Wall. I felt like I entered into a universe that could only run at half speed. I know that I am used to the Jersey hustle but this was too much. They walked slow, talked slow, drove slow and I even witnessed a little kid drop an ice cream cone onto the floor, it fell at 4.9m/s². Weird.

I was going to make my way to Mt. Rushmore but the miles have started to take a toll. I decided instead to drive to Sturgis and set up camp for the night. After a good night’s sleep, I should be ready to hit Rushmore and the Black Hills tomorrow.

I am staying at the Buffalo Chip campground in Sturgis, SD. I just caught the manager as she was closing shop and she guided me to a nice, secluded area with no one around. No utilities, no water, just a tent and a gas cook stove.

Time to make some dinner.

Total miles: 1,987.2