WHO EVER HEARD OF WALL DRUG?
BADLAND BUTTES
MARS AIN'T THE KIND OF PLACE TO RAISE YOUR KIDS
WE ATE LUNCH LOOKING AT THIS. WHERE DID YOU EAT LUNCH TODAY?
GOTTA WEAR SHADES
PRARIE DOG
HOME ON THE RANGE
CACTUS PRACTICE
EEEEEEEP!
CHIEF BIG FOOT'S ESCAPE ROUTE
WHAT'S A PRETTY FLOWER LIKE YOU DOING OUT IN THE DESERT?
VIEW FROM THE CLIFF SHELF PATH
SNAKE CREEK RECREATIONAL AREA
On a hiatus from WWOOFing, we decided to see why South Dakota attracts people from far and wide to visit the state each year. First stop was Wall Drug, an old school pharmacy turned tourist trap. Once within 100 miles of the town Wall, there were billboards enticing us to visit Wall Drug, offering coffee, fresh baked desserts, a pharmacy, jewelry, gifts, and goodies one certainly couldn't pass up. Akin to "South of the Border" on I-95, by the time you get to Wall you just have to see what all the hub-bub is about. Built in 1931, visitors then used the spots out front to tie their horses up; today those ornate horse posts still stand, each one in front of a parking space for the cars and motorcycles that cram the street. Wall Drug is a tourist destination, but it offers no activities, no geological rarities, no wildlife, no stunning scenery, and no entertainment; it simply sells souvenirs and memorabilia. Saying you've been there is the only reason to go there.
In contrast, we didn't go to the Badlands National Park just to say we've been there; we went to the Badlands to explore this magnificent rarity and utter beauty of nature. The Badlands buttes form an other worldly landscape and passing through them, you feel you've not simply entered a National Park in South Dakota, but instead have stepped onto another planet. The breathtaking, awe-inspiring deep canyons, towering spires, and flat-topped tables that comprise the Badlands are the result of deposition and erosion. The area began eroding 500,000 years ago and it is predicted that in another 500,000 years, this sensational setting will erode away completely. In geological terms, the Badlands have an extremely short life span. In 1890, Chief Big Foot and his people managed to traverse this seemingly impossible mountainous desert land to flee the US Army who were driving them out of their home. Five days later, he was killed, along with 200 other of his people, in the massacre at Wounded Knee, 65 miles south. Historians and geologists can dedicate their entire lives studying this land, trying to reconstruct the puzzle that is the Badlands and eventually find all the pieces and put them together, feeling a great sense of accomplishment. But a million artists in a million lifetimes would never be satisfied with their way of expressing the indescribable sense of mysterious elsewhere.
Without more time to see the other sites, we headed for Snake Creek Recreation Area, where we camped for the evening. Populated but by no means crowded, this lush, grassy spot on the banks of the Missouri River seemed perfect. And it was, until the army of mosquitos infiltrated, leaving us both with more than 30 bites apiece, and itching all night long.
One of the things I especially like about your blog is the photographs. Since it's a difficult decision selecting one as my screensaver, because there are so many good ones, I change it often!
ReplyDeleteWe live in an spectacular country!