Hitting the Targets

I travelled a lot of miles today, but unlike the last few, they were not all aimed in a straight westerly direction. Having racked up some serious mileage, and realizing I was way ahead of schedule, it was time to cool my jets a little, to stop and smell the roses, to enjoy the beauty of my surroundings, to seize the day, to let my hair down, to live free………….ok enough……..there are some things within striking distance today that I really wanted to see, so here goes.

But before we start, another little Airstream story. Plan B has some kind of little TV dish/antenna thing up on top that picks up air channels……..yep, just like the old days at home. I remember we got a rotary antenna and were the hottest family in the neighbourhood. It is unlikely you will pick up anything unless you are close to a city, so the other night I gave it a try, and low and behold I am immediately connected to this new network show……what is it….. America’s Greatest Song or something like that…….either way the hosts are Snoop Dog and Kelly Clarkson……..no, this is real……really……you know, some of the singers and groups aren’t bad, but whoever put these two together as co-hosts should be shot.

OK, hit the road around 9 after stopping for coffee with my 18 wheeler bro’s……I was so pissed I missed my first potential target of the day………the Worlds largest concrete gopher statue……..I was going to turn around, but you know, the price of gas and all that. Moving along…….still on this beautiful highway with the 80mph speed limit…….I am totally amazed by the beauty of South Dakota. It is like non stop Dancing With Wolves scenery out there……….endless horizons of rolling grassy terrain with Simpson’s clouds in the sky, cattle grazing, and the occasional herd of deer strolling along without a care in the world. Beautiful.

Roadside signs were telling me that Badlands was approaching……another target…..Badlands National Park. I took the Hwy 240 Loop south from the Interstate through the park…….crazy beautiful, with some winding sections that were a challenge with the Plan B on the back, but worth every second. On the way in, I stopped at Badlands Distillery, because………who wouldn’t. They had an interesting selection of whiskeys, and of course the 100 million proof white lightning that would take the rust off your tailpipe…….who drinks that stuff anyway? The loop joined back to I-90 at the town of Wall……..yes, “Wall”……..and for the past 300 miles or so there have been a series of roadside signs advertising Wall Drug…….if you believed the signs, Wall Drug sells just about everything you can imagine, and after passing so many signs I actually felt guilty not stopping in………..Wall Drug does sell everything, believe me!! What a store, and what a great little town.

Before you know it, I am rapidly approaching Rapid City, and seeing a lot of signs for Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and other related attractions………as beautiful as it is down in southern South Dakota there are tons……..tons, of billboards when you get close to any kind of city or tourist attraction…….total eyesore. I wasn’t sure just how far out of the way Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse were, but they were firm targets for me so I stopped into the visitor information centre like a good tourist, and got the whole scoop from Elaine, who was very helpful, is now reading this blog, and also suggested my campground for the evening where I sit now. Heading south, you are immediately climbing, then climbing some more, and then it just keeps on going up………passing through a few small towns along the way, it was all very touristy, but cute and nicely done. It doesn’t take long, and then you are there. You see it on the way up, a great view of the four presidents even before you reach the entry gates, where I was charged the señor rate……$5……..instead of $10 for you young puppies. I can only imagine what this place is like during the summer……..it must be a total shit show, with thousands of people on the property at one time………I’m guessing that today……maybe 50 people were there……what a treat. Just thinking about the work that went into creating this monument is mind boggling, and even magnified when I made my next stop 17 miles down the road at Crazy Horse. Still being carved from the mountainside, Crazy Horse should be stunning when completed, but I have a feeling I won’t be around to see it. You can tell that both of these attractions are totally geared for huge numbers……multiple parking lots, overflow lots, signs for shuttles……..I would avoid these places like the plague (or covid) during the summer months.

So I made it to Sundance, South Dakota, for the night……..another perfect family run park…..I will check out the showers tomorrow morning. Tonight for dinner it was pre-made chili served over a baked potato…….a Plan B specialty………for lunch supplies I’m down to just one more mortadella sandwich, but guess I could always just boil some eggs for egg salad…….uh oh…….discovered this evening when looking for a pot to heat the chili………we forgot to load the pots. I’m not pointing any fingers, but I was not in charge of the kitchen. I think a trip to WalMart is in order…..hey I told you guys I was going to spend a night there anyway so I’ll pick some up before they close. Hitting the sack…….see ya mañana