Part Seven

“Field Trip!!”

Remember back when you were a kid in grade school and it was Spring and there was a time when your teacher came in and announced you going on a field trip to some place special?? Well that was the theme today when I arrived at Mount Rushmore. But I’ll explain more about that later.

I left for Mount Rushmore at about 9:15am CDT this morning and started what ended up being a 3 hour and 40 minute journey to get there, Of course, other than making the occasional pit stop, I am still so amazed at the countryside here in South Dakota. As you can tell by the pictures, there are still areas of our fair country that have yet to be touched, or should I say, bulldozed or developed and you will see that as the pictures fly by.

  

Now, in some states including Connecticut, there are certain restrictions on how many billboards that can be put up in, let’s say, one mile of travel, particularly on either I-91 or I-95. Well out here in South Dakota, they either A) rewrote the book on billboard advertising or B) threw the book out the window entirely. Here, it is the latter rather than the former. And part of that is due to the folks at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. About every mile or so, you will see some billboard spouting about anything having to do with Wall Drug, from homemade ice cream, donuts that even Dunkin’ Donuts cannot hold a light to, incredible homemade cherry and blackberry pie, and some of the biggest carmel rolls ever seen, as my friend Jenn can attest to because I brought one back for her. Still, Wall Drug pretty much has one of the best outdoor advertising campaigns, ever. See below:

And as I work my way further west, you run into 2 of South Dakota’s landmarks:

First, The Badlands:

According to BlackHillsBadlands.Com, the Lakota Indians gave this its name, "mako sica," meaning, "land bad."  Located in southwestern South Dakota, Badlands National Park consists of 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. It is desolation at its truest, where you can look for miles and see no sign of civilization.

And the Black Hills.

According to Wikipedia, The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of trees in a sea of grass". The Black Hills encompass the Black Hills National Forest and are home to the tallest peaks of continental North America east of the Rockies. The name "Black Hills" is a translation of the Lakota Pahá Sápa. The hills were so-called because of their dark appearance from a distance, as they were covered in trees.

At about 12:15pm CDT, which is 11:15am MDT, I arrive in Rapid City and proceed to follow U.S. Route 16 thru downtown Rapid, as the folks say out here, and then begin the steady climb towards Mount Rushmore. The highways leading up to the Mount are pretty much 60 MPH, but you are sometimes going what feels like straight up very winding hills or snaking down very winding hills with numerous warnings for truckers and campers in particular to keep your speed in check. But soon, you arrive at the main parking lot and garage of Mount Rushmore and there are the boys on the hill:

You go through the Hall of Fame of States that forms a line of the flags of all 50 states. And I can attest to the fact that Connecticut is represented.

Once through the line of states, you have the large gift shop to the left and the immense dining hall to the right, complete with hot meals and a view of the boys from just about any seat.

Upon going to the main viewing area, you can’t help but just feel some kind of American pride as you look up and see some of the most important forefathers of our country. From left to right: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. And there is a steady stream of amateur photographers taking pictures of the boys alone or asking a stranger to please take your camera and take a picture. And why not:

After taking several more pictures, I prepare to leave but I noticed several groups of grade school kids moving around in some sort of chaotic order as teachers and school chaperons try to keep the toddlers together. And then I see this one bunch of about 40 kids being assembled into 2 rows so that a class picture can be taken. The kids seem to need some motivation. So after talking to one of the teachers, I get the attention of the kids and say, “Back in Connecticut, when we want everyone to smile, we say pizza”. I now have their attention. “On the count of three, say pizza. Ready?? One..two..three…” And the whole motley bunch yells out, “PIZZA!!” Snap goes the cameras. Print. And they came quite a distance from Newcastle, Wyoming. Nice field trip.

And before we leave Mount Rushmore, some choice views:

And we can’t forget Gutzon Borglum, the American artist and sculptor famous for creating the monumental presidents' heads at Mount Rushmore:

I head east and stop by Wall Drug. a 2-block long group of stores, which have the appearance of buildings of the late 19th/early 20^th century.

Inside these buildings are some great specialty stores. You can get western theme jewelry, cowboy boots, Indian artifacts, many varieties of knickknacks, shavings of Black Hills gold, and quite the cafeteria where you can get some fabulous blackberry and cherry pie alamode and hot and cold meals and that famous ice water.

And for those who have camera in hand, there are these fiberglass likenesses of cowboys, cowgirls, and Sioux Indians on various benches that you can have your picture taken with.

With a full tank of gas, it’s time to head back to Pierre. And on the way, I stop by a small town with a nice name….well, my Mom would think so:

Nice town, eh??

And may I interest you in a new car??

After a stop for some water at the local Shell station in Philip (the clerk’s name was Phil), we do the last 90 miles back to Pierre. Once again, it has been spectacular day weather wise. No wind. Blue sunny skies with no clouds anywhere and a temp of 80 degrees.

Before we finish, may I give a shout-out to News8 photog and Killingworth (CT) volunteer firefighter George Roelofsen. I saw this billboard just outside of Rapid City:

That’s an honest-to-goodness fire truck next to that billboard. And there are 2 more billboards like that before this one. But the main point is the local brewery. George, I think it is safe to say that this would be a great place to visit. There just might be a barstool reservation with your name on it. This one’s for you, George.

Saturday we go to the state capital to show you the lovely grounds. And we will do a salute to veterans and those who work in public service. And I'll tell you about my friend Jenn.

I’m Philip J Zocco. On The Road. In Pierre, South Dakota.