Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Bad Barb in Bad Lands
Busy day today. We had a quick breafast at the hotel in Wall, then went to the famous Wall Drug. Not impressed. Sorry. The best thing was a donut and 5 cent coffee. Dicks 5 & Dime in Branson is a lot more interesting. However, I did get the yahoos to pose for more pictures:
We didn't spend much time there, thank goodness. However, just across the street is the Wounded Knee Museum. Small, but good. We need to never forget. Worth walking into town for.
Then, we headed out for some REAL sightseeing, through Badlands National Park. They have had so much rain, that everything was green, and wildflowers were in bloom, as well. It was much prettier than I thought it would be.
We also came across a field of prairie dogs. They were awesome. I watched one in particular for a long time. Suddenly, he sat up and starred at me, let out a squeal, then dropped to the ground, paying dead. There were a bunch (herd? group?, clutch?) of smaller prairie dogs nearby, so I can only surmise this is a way to warn the others, or deflect the attention of preditors. I could have spent a lot longer watching these cute little critters.
After the loop drive, we went south just a mile or so to Interior, and ate a very good pizza at a bar & grill. That this little town of under 100 even is there, is pretty amazing. We were the only ones there at first, but before we were done, many bicyclists had shown up, apparently a known stop on the flat road just south of the scenic loop through the National Park. Then, on to our first ghost town, Scenic. There is still a post office there, but still kinda cool.
While in Scenic, we noticed a new business with a sign outside and a web site. It took us a long time to find the right stuff, but if you'd like an interesting story, read this: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2011/10/10/why-did-a-secretive-filipino-church-buy-a-south-dakota-ghost-town/
On to our next hotel in Keystone, SD, just a few minutes from Mt. Rushmore. This is the picture from our room balcony.
So is this, if you use the zoom on my camera.
And, at night.
Corn Palace, check
Wall Drug, check
Badlands, check
Mount Rushmore, check
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We didn't spend much time there, thank goodness. However, just across the street is the Wounded Knee Museum. Small, but good. We need to never forget. Worth walking into town for.
Then, we headed out for some REAL sightseeing, through Badlands National Park. They have had so much rain, that everything was green, and wildflowers were in bloom, as well. It was much prettier than I thought it would be.
We also came across a field of prairie dogs. They were awesome. I watched one in particular for a long time. Suddenly, he sat up and starred at me, let out a squeal, then dropped to the ground, paying dead. There were a bunch (herd? group?, clutch?) of smaller prairie dogs nearby, so I can only surmise this is a way to warn the others, or deflect the attention of preditors. I could have spent a lot longer watching these cute little critters.
After the loop drive, we went south just a mile or so to Interior, and ate a very good pizza at a bar & grill. That this little town of under 100 even is there, is pretty amazing. We were the only ones there at first, but before we were done, many bicyclists had shown up, apparently a known stop on the flat road just south of the scenic loop through the National Park. Then, on to our first ghost town, Scenic. There is still a post office there, but still kinda cool.
While in Scenic, we noticed a new business with a sign outside and a web site. It took us a long time to find the right stuff, but if you'd like an interesting story, read this: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2011/10/10/why-did-a-secretive-filipino-church-buy-a-south-dakota-ghost-town/
On to our next hotel in Keystone, SD, just a few minutes from Mt. Rushmore. This is the picture from our room balcony.
So is this, if you use the zoom on my camera.
And, at night.
Corn Palace, check
Wall Drug, check
Badlands, check
Mount Rushmore, check
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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