Thankful to Remain Alive

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  Badlands National Park, South Dakota, United States
Friday, June 26, 2009

Day 28 - Deadwood, SD to Mount Rushmore to Wall, SD to Badlands NP

Left the KOA as rapidly as possible this morning. No need for dilly-dallying in our pajamas when surrounded by other people breathing down our necks.

Things we did in Deadwood, SD:
- Visited Mt. Moriah Cemetery, where Calamity Jane and Wild Bill, among other colorful characters of the Wild West, are buried. Bri possibly got in touch with her McClintock roots (her Gram’s maiden side of the family). McClintock was the town historian of Deadwood. He lived to be 95 years old – good news for her genes if he’s actually related to her!
- Visited the Deadwood Museum and Vistor’s Center

Christen as Calamity Jane

. We learned the history of Deadwood, like about the Gold Rush in 1876 started by Custer, the story behind Deadwood’s little Chinatown, and the stories of all of the Wild West characters who lived in Deadwood.
 - Walked down Main Street to where Wild Bill was shot while playing poker (holding what is still known today as the “Devil’s Hand”, a pair of aces and a pair of eights). Interesting fact: Although known for being a Deadwood resident, Wild Bill was only in Deadwood two months before he was shot and killed.
- Another interesting fact: Although Calamity Jane told everyone that they were madly in love, and although she demanded to be buried by him, she and Wild Bill hardly knew each other.
- Bri retreated to the car to eat a sandwich, as she was turning into an Angry European.
- Iris and Christen went on to hit up the gambling halls. They played the nickel slots until they had each lost two bucks. They are too cheap to gamble. Sigh.
- Left for Mount Rushmore. On the way, the road started to play with the Iris’s mind… Iris (referring to our National Park Passports): “Why didn’t we get a stamp for the Badlands??”  Christen: “Um, because we haven’t been there yet?”

Things we did at Mount Rushmore:
-    Found out it is far more impressive than most would expect.
-    Walked a very nice trail to the base of the monument. There were a lot of placards to read

Wild Bill's Grave

. Bri = thrilled.
-    Learned that each head is 40 feet tall, each eye is 11 feet wide, and the noses are all 20 feet tall (with the exception of Washington’s, which is 21 feet tall, and done that way because he truly did have a bigger honker).
-    Also learned that Teddy Roosevelt was the first President to travel abroad as President and that George Washington had no biological children of his own but adopted Martha’s two.
-    Perused a very comprehensive museum on the history and makings of Mount Rushmore.
-    Storm clouds moved in, and big drops and loud thunder hit us before we left. We hustled to hit the road.

Things we did on the way to Badlands National Park:
-    Bri drove. Bri has only driven about 10% of this trip because Christen gets car sick and has panic issues when other people drive.
-    We drove into the storm with Bri driving, Christen in the passenger seat, and Iris in the cubbyhole in the back.
-    Heavy rain and hail began before the Interstate. We all winced and Bri drove very slowly. It died down just before our on-ramp. Christen hoped out loud that there was no hail damage to Minnie. Iris said not to worry, that it was only pea-sized, which was too small for damage.
-    We got onto the Interstate. The storm FLARED. Bri gripped the steering wheel, Christen began to panic, and Iris tried to calm everyone down

Bri and the McClintock

. Christen turned the flashers on. Bri slowed to about 30mph and became silent and wide-eyed. Visibility lessened to about ten feet. Hail increased to about nickel-sized. We noticed that even big-rigs were pulling off, so we did too.
-    BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM! We were assaulted by hail so large that we could not estimate its size. The visibility decreased to ZERO. All we could see was inside the car. It was solid white all around us outside. Bri said nervously, “Did the wind just change directions…?” Iris said, “Yeah…it’s coming from ALL directions…” And the car began to shake and rock like crazy. Christen started shaking and looked back to her mother for some reassurance that everything was actually ok. Oops. For the first time that Christen can remember, the Iris looked as scared as she did! Christen freaked out. Iris told us to put on our shoes and she got our jackets. She was afraid the car was about to start rolling. Bri still wasn’t saying a word.
-    FINALLY the wind stopped and we could see a tiny little bit. A few cars passed, and the hail decreased in size. Bri slowly got back on the road and continued very slowly behind a truck. After a few more miles, it turned into a regular rainstorm at long last. We all concluded that we must have been on the edge winds of a tornado. The rain finally stopped after 40 miles and over an hour of terrifying weather

Deadwood's Main Street

.
-    Pulled off in Wall, SD to “See Wall Drug!” This is a true American oddity. Its roots are in the Depression, when the drugstore began offering free ice water and 5-cent coffee to get people to stop in. They began putting up signs farther and farther away until it became an American roadside attraction. It is now an entire city block of indoor shops, including a candy shop, bookshop, camping supplies, Wild West attire and boots, an art shop, jewelry shop, a souvenir shop, a cafeteria, and more and more and more… We got free bumper stickers, 5-cent coffee, and some souvenirs.
-    After we discovered that the food in the cafeteria looked inedible, we got a tip from a local that the Red Rock Restaurant (one of the three restaurants in town) was THE place to eat.
-    Went to dinner at the Red Rock. Wow. Each of us had the salad bar, which consisted of iceberg lettuce, three full-fat dressings, and ten mayonnaise-based “salads”. We will need to have the quart of mayonnaise cleaned out of our arteries when we get home, but we have to admit…we tore up that salad bar.
-    Drove down the road to Badlands.

Things we did in Badlands:
-    Had the special treat of arriving at sunset

Saloon No. 10

.
-    Declared the Badlands to be underrated (unless you are Lauren Pugh, who speaks of the Badlands as if they are Mecca). This place and its colors are amazing.
-    Encountered more incredible winds. Iris almost took flight in her oversized windbreaker.
-    Christen fell in LOVE with prairie dogs.
-    Bri found prairies to be very intriguing. (Bri: “They are too wet to be the desert…too dry to be a forest or to have trees…Hmmm…”)
-    Checked into our KOA. This one is a VAST improvement from last night’s. We were super excited when we saw that our site was a river site, according to the campground map.
-    Iris walked up the little hill by our site to see the river. She came back and strongly urged Bri and Christen to take a break from putting up the tent to go see the river before there was no light left. Bri and Christen dropped the poles and went skipping over the hill to find…a dry riverbed. Bri didn’t get it. (Bri: “Where is the river…?”) Iris could be heard cackling throughout the campground.
-    We ate a piece of homemade apple pie from the Red Rock that we had gotten to go. Damn. Those people know how to make a pie.
-    Took showers and hit the tent. Early morning tomorrow!

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Where Wild Bill Was Shot	Bri under Flag Walk	Mount Rushmore	See Wall Drug!
Wall Drug	Christen Finds Poker Alice Scary	Iris and Her Pal, Annie Oakley	These Boots Were Made for Walking...
5-cent Coffee in Wall Drug	Red Rock Restaurant	Badlands	Prairie Dogs!
Us in Badlands at Sunset	Iris Takes Flight!	Percy in Badlands

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