Travel Day #4

Sticking to the schedule has happily been quite easy. Day 4 was:

1. leave MT, cross WY, enter SD
2. Center of the Nation Monument (somewhat skipped)
3. Saloon No. 10 for lunch
4. Mount Moriah Cemetery (somewhat skipped)
5. Mount Roosevelt Friendship Tower
6. drive to campground at Badlands

As long as we leave at the proper time in the morning, we’re able to visit each attraction at our leisure, and when we’re done, we seem to be either right on schedule, ahead, or in a situation where if we’re behind, it doesn’t matter!  I might be saying something different when it comes to areas of heavy traffic – I didn’t account for that!  And we haven’t needed a grocery shop yet – in fact, we’re not eating as much as we normally do, so it’ll be a while, anyway….

That neighbor we talked to the night before was also headed to South Dakota. He was staying with I-90, but I had planned to back-track 3 miles to catch State Highway 212 across. We looked at the map together, and liked my idea, but was going to stick with his original plans – and I was going to stick to mine. Out here, I figure being off the highway could provide better sightseeing. Besides; I’d planned to use that section of I-90 on the westward leg back to Yellowstone, anyway; no sense hitting it twice.  Well, 212 proved fruitful, and we had a great morning ride. We saw a lot more Crow Reservation, and also crossed the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, too.  We were treated to our first prairie dog sightings, and quite a few antelope, as well.  We didn’t detour to the plaque at the site of the “Center of the Nation” (when considering AK and HI) after all, but went straight to Saloon #10 in Deadwood, SD (after crossing through a little corner of Wyoming).  JT and I amazed that the last 3 days’ driving had all been in one State!

I was shocked to learn that Deadwood remains an active gambling town. It’s brick-covered streets attract some “interesting characters” and so the sights abound. Saloon #10 is where “Wild Bill Hickock” was murdered during a game of poker – and we even drove by the cemetery where he’s buried, near other known names like “Calamity Jane.” I ordered a “wild boar” appetizer which the boys thought was fantastic (“tastes like pork, Dad”) and I had a buffalo burger, which I like.  Mom had a pasta dish with shrimp in it, and she wasn’t overly impressed.  Gee?  Ya think?  No beer available on draught, though, if you can imagine! But she had a nice IPA and I even indulged in a Shiner Bock, which, from Texas, was a “western enough” beer for the occasion, I felt.

After the late lunch we found the second windy/hilly/dirt road of our trip, to take a short walk at the top of a nearby mountain to see “Friendship Tower.” It was built in 1919 by a friend of Teddy Roosevelt, which he opened with a July 4 ceremony during his presidency. Now a national landmark, it’s clear that it’s not often visited (and the only other two people who were there at the same time confirmed).  For the five minutes it took to walk in and up the monument, we were rewarded with some great views – all the way to WY, MT, and even ND!

As much as everyone enjoyed Deadwood, the Badlands have taken the highlight.  The gasps and praises that could be heard from the coach as we pulled into the park just at sunset were worth the whole trip 10-fold.  As I write this, we’ve only driven to the heart of the park to get to the campground, but we’re looking forward to a day of “no plans” tomorrow except exploring here. Our only “obligation” is to be 2 hours away at Mt. Rushmore tomorrow night before they start the light show at around 9:30pm.  We’ve had our own light show here, though, as we’ve watched thunderstorms pass by us, leaving us only with some decent residual wind, but nothing else to worry us.