To the Moon!

see all photos »

First thing this morning, we headed out to the Badlands. This has to be the strangest thing we've seen in 15,000 miles. The geography here in this 20-mile stretch of road is equivalent to that of another planet. We pulled off the road and took a trail out into the actual formations, walking around and climbing on the dunes. The ground is like a mixture of dried mud, sand and dust. Every time it rains, or the wind blows, the landscape changes. It's uninhabitable (except for the wild rabbit we saw), but breathtaking. No way to describe it. We really lucked out today with the weather; it was in the 60's all day, perfect for hiking through the park. Usually at this time of year, it's at least 100 degrees here. We didn't want to leave, but had to move on down the road to the town of Wall and the world famous Wall Drug.

Badlands National Park
see all photos »

We had been following the Wall Drug signs for 200 miles. This drug store became famous for its free ice water to all travelers in the '40s and '50s. To this day, they still offer their free ice water as well as their 5 cent cup of coffee. Everything in the world is sold in this store. It's part novelty/gift shop/diner/tourist attraction. The actual drug store is still there, selling things like aspirin and other necessities, yet it only takes up about 2 percent of the entire Wall Drug facility. It attracts 20,000 travelers per day and has put Wall on the map. In the "back yard", they have the world's largest Jackalope, a life-sized moving dinosaur, as well as several other photo-ops.

see all photos »

From there, it was on to the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore! On our way up to the monument, we suddenly noticed that one of the mountains off in the distance looked odd...sure enough, it was Mount Rushmore! We thought it would be much lower to the ground, but in actuality, it's way up on top of the mountain. You drive up 80 percent of the mountain, park and walk a short distance to the viewing area. It was very impressive, but just what you'd think it would be. Something every American has to see, but there's simply not a whole lot to say about it. We took a trail around the front of the mountain, where we learned about the initial plans for the carvings and a bit about the sculptor. Probably the most interesting thing we learned was that, where Lincoln now stands, was originally planned to portray a giant tablet in the shape of the territory bought in the Louisiana Purchase. AND, did you know that in the mountain just behind Lincoln's head is a Hall of Records dug into the mountain?! It isn't visible from the public vantage point, but it's definitely there.

see all photos »

On our way to Custer State Park in the Black Hills, where we planned to camp for the night, we drove down Needles Highway. This narrow, winding road swerves through giant needle-like rock formations jutting 30 and sometimes 40 feet in the air. The most interesting drive either of us have ever enjoyed. Along the way, we saw some wild buffalo along with dozens of deer.

The stars were out, and before the night was done, temperature reached 41 degrees! We managed to drive by Crazy Horse and see the laser show on the side of the mountain before calling it a night. A full day of adventures and fun! Happy honeymoon to us!