Day 14 & 15 - Yes, Still More South Dakota

 Aaah,  howling winds... now that's the South Dakota weather I remember.   We woke up on Tuesday morning to a bitterly cold Northeasterly wind.   The winds in this state are enough to drive you mad,  no wonder there were so much lawlessness and so many ghost towns in this state.

Considering the weather,  it was a good day to be car bound.  Packing up the kids and dog we headed straight east on I-90 to visit Wall Drug Store.    Last time Marc and I were here this store was full of tourists and activity,  today we were the only ones in this colossal trinket trap.   It was actually fun to be at Wall Drug during the holidays.  They had the store decorated for Christmas with trees and lights everywhere.

Of course no trip to Wall Drug is complete without having some of their homemade doughnuts and a 5 cent cup of coffee.  The doughnuts were so good, we all had to order seconds.

 As we sat and ate our doughnuts,  I read the story of Dorothy and Ted Hustead,  the founders of Wall Drug Store.  Their story is one of the American Dream.

It was the beginning of the Great Depression.  A young newlywed couple, Dorothy, a teacher, and Ted, a pharmacist,  decided to take their small endowment from their father and open a drug store in the floundering small town of Wall, SD.  Wall was a poor town of about 200 people, mostly poor farmers out in the middle of the high plains.  They hoped their drug store would attract tourists making the trip out to see the Badlands and Mt Rushmore.   However, no one ever stopped in this sleepy farm town.   

Four and half long years of little to no business had past.  The Hustead's were ready to pack up their dream of owning a drug store and head back to Sioux Falls.   That is until one hot summer day,  Dorothy had a revelation,  what do tourists want after a long hot drive?   Free ice water!    Thus they made signs,  and lots of them.    The tourists instantly started flocking into Wall for free ice water.    Of course, then they would also buy trinkets and ice cream.  The next year they hired 8 women to help them run the store and the rest is history.  Now Wall Drug is a famous tourist stop boasting crowds of up to 20,000 customers a day.

After our doughnut feast,  we wandered the maze of t-shirts, trinkets and artwork that fill this drug store turned amusement park/mall/giant cafeteria. 

No trip to Wall Drug would be complete without a few souveniors.   Zach found a pocket knife with his name (well close - "Zack") engraved on it for only $4!   Lauren fell in love with the soft throw blankets which were way over the $5 budget I allotted.   But somehow she suckered me into buying one for her.

We continued our adventure into the Badlands National Park.   Normally we aren't much a National Park visiting family.    We despise the crowds, the fees and the overall hype of making a park out of nature.   But given the bitterly cold winds keeping us in our car and our free federal land pass courtesy of Every Kid Outdoors - www.everykidoutdoors.gov ,  we obilged.

Halfway to the park entrance we stopped for a small herd of Buffalo to cross the road.  The kids were so excited to see the Bison close up!    We were also lucky enough to see a small herd of  Big Horn Sheep on a random stop in the Badlands Park.   It was so windy that even getting out of the car to take a picture was torturous.  

Instead of doing the normal 40 mile Badlands Loop that takes you even further into Eastern South Dakota,  we took the dirt road loop that traverses the lesser known side of the Badlands.   We watched the Eagles and Hawks circled their prey in Prairie Dog Town and the tumbleweeds dance across the road in front of our car.  The rest of the drive was mildly scenic at best.  The heavy winds made everything into a shade of dust.

We returned to Rapid City with plenty of time to waste before heading to the Watiki Waterpark, which didn't open until 4 PM.   

Debating between a couple of the towns free museums,  we ended up at the Geology Museum at the South Dakota School of Mines.    Of course we had the entire museum to ourselves.    While the kids enjoyed the Palentology exhibits, I couldn't take my eyes off the petrified and fossilized wood.   That stuff is absolutely amazing.   

We wandered around the museum - oohing and awwing at the interesting gemstones, fossils and rocks.  Of course the homeschool teacher in me wanted to read every plaque to the kids and explain every fossil.  However, before I could even get through the first sentence of educational material,  they were off enjoying a different display!

So  you are probably wondering when we are going to visit the South Dakota claim to fame -   Mt Rushmore!   Well,  we saved the best for last.

Of course the kids will say that the best part of the trip was Watiki Water Park.   This waterpark was pretty cool and boasts five different waterslides, a lazy river and huge kid's water playground all inside a giant atrium.   We spent the next three hours repeatedly climbing the 3 flights of stairs and riding the awesome slides.

 Yes, we finally made it to see Mt. Rushmore!   Since Keystone is an hour south of Rapid City,  we decided it would be our last stop on the way home.   Again we had the whole park practically to ourselves!

After we made the bitterly cold walk down the state flag walkway,   we enjoyed unencumbered views of the majestic president sculptures.  We also had the entire Mt Rushmore Vistor Center to ourselves.   When the hisoric Mt Rushmore movie started,  we had a private viewing.   It was like we rented out the park entirely for ourselves - what a rush (more).  Baahh!

Too bad it was so bitterly cold,  we would have loved to do the Presidental Walk up to the viewing platform.  The kids were enamored with the idea of a hidden Hall of Records.  We wanted a private tour of that!

On our way home we passed the Crazy Horse Monument.    It didn't look any different than it did 10 years ago.  Is it just a huge fundraising boondoggle?   I'm not sure but they aren't getting our funds this time.

The last stop before our 5 hour trip home was at the delicious breakfast joint called Our Place in Custer, SD.  Custer is a cute, little tourist town in the heart of the Black Hills.     We enjoyed the most delicious breakfast of our trip and it cost less than $20.   The owner of the restaurant was our waitress and she was such a trip!   People like her make me want to pack up and move to small town South Dakota,  she is the life blood of America.

Today I leave South Dakota with a full heart.   We had such fun memories amid this crazy COVID lockdown.    As Dorothy Hustead said eloquently "There is no place on earth that is godforesaken",  especially not in South Dakota.  Thank you Govenor Kristi Noem for keeping South Dakota "open".