We got up in Rapid City and the kids just couldn’t leave the
pool with the cool three-story water slide.
Bob was anxious to get on the road but my mom’s intuition told me to let
the kids play. I told Bob, the minute
the kids are miserable, we will be too.
They had been so great to this point we better let them play. And play they did.
Finally at 10:30 am we told them we had to hit the
road. We had things to do, places to go,
things to see…. The plan for the day was
Wall Drug (you can’t have a trip across the mid-west with out seeing Wall
Drug), the Badlands, a missile silo and …..well you will just have to wait for
the last one. We didn’t even know we
were going there yet.
Wall Drug is only about 30-40 minutes outside of Rapid
City. We counted 60 Wall Drug signs and
billboards in that short distance. They
REALLY want you to stop there. It’s a
funny place with about 4 square blocks of kitsch. The kids wanted to see every corner and Bob
and I tried to steer them on a swift path.
There are jackalopes, dinosaurs that move and make noise, every kind of
“gift” from their gift shops and so much more.
We spent about an hour and half there and picked up lunch. Coulter needed pizza and was about to freak
out if he didn’t get some.
Then off to the Badlands, it was only ten miles away. The Badlands are amazing with each colored
layer telling it’s own story. The layers
tell of an arid landscape four million years ago but a humid jungle like area
200 million years ago. The colors and
topography are like nowhere else. The
greyish layer doesn’t grow anything but the red one is flush with plants. There are fossils from 250 million years ago
and 250 years ago. It is rough,
beautiful and fully different than other landscapes we had seen as yet.
After we passed through the Badlands we went to a missile
silo. It’s a strange little place with a
portable outbuilding that is the above ground portion of that silo. A silo that at one point could have been the
beginning of the end. It’s a humbling
thought. There was a film about the silo
and how it ran from day to day. There
were people there running drills and practicing for years for a 20 second job,
a terrifying job. I think we can all
agree, thank God it never came to pass.
We wanted to go on a tour but it was full. It happens….and onto the next thing.
We hopped back in the car and headed for Sioux Falls. We only had about 300 more milers to
go. About 200 miles in I started seeing
signs for an 1880’s town. WHAT? What’s that?
After miles of these signs, at the last moment I got off the interstate. We pulled up to a gift shop, walked in and it
didn’t look like much. When I asked
about the “town” they guy said, “Well, it’s a whole town. You have to see it.” For whatever reason, I thought he was
right. I paid $35.00 and we went
in. The first part was an homage to
“Dances with Wolves,” Big deal…. Then we
stepped out the back. No kidding, it was
a full town with about 30 buildings.
They had been moved there from various parts of the state and turned
into a town. We walked through about 8
of the buildings and then Bob, the boys and I went into the saloon. Sophia went to keep the horses company.
The Saloon was a fully functioning building and it looked
just like a saloon you’d see in any western movie. It had a stage, a bar, barkeep, a few cowboys
about, a mistress and a second level with a great baluster that would be
perfect to throw someone through in a bar fight. It was picture perfect. In the back of the saloon was a costume
shoppe. It was $5.00 to dress up and go
about town in period costume. The boys
wanted to do it but I thought we’d only be there for a short while. After a few minutes I thought, “This is so
perfect I have to let them. They will
only want to dress up for a little while longer. “ I said, “Boys, let’s do it.” They were thrilled.
The boys got the usual; pants, shirts, boots, bandanas, hats
and of course a holster with a gun. It
took them all of about 3 minutes to start shooting up everything. They robbed every establishment in town; the
bank, the train depot, the train, the mayor’s office, the salon, the photo
shop, the blacksmith but they saved the best for last….the saloon.
They put their heads together and came up with a plan. I went inside so I could document their
misdeed. I told one the cowboys about it
and he went out to talk to the boys.
After their chat he held open the heavy door so they could bust through
the swinging doors. Coulter, aka Wyatt,
went for the table with the barkeep and the deputy. Kees, aka Hubertus, went behind the bar. Coulter had the barkeep get up and go get the
booty. Kees was ushered out of there and
then the barkeep grabbed the bag of gold and handed it to Coulter. Coulter turned and ran out firing his gun on
the way out. The barkeep yelled, “Go on,
get outta here. And don’t you come
back!” It was classic!
It was hard to leave because the boys could have robbed
everyone a second time and had a great time doing it but it was time to press
on.
We finally got back on the road and got to our hotel at
almost 10pm. It was late but totally
worth it. I wouldn’t have missed that
experience for the world. I am almost a
week behind on my blog and still, it is my favorite part and it was totally
accidental.
Next up….La Crosse!
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