remarks from the road 2

the plains

In terms of underrated states, I think South Dakota ranks very highly.

Thus far on this road trip, Illinois has served to be the most boring — thanks in large part to the fact that a glacier once crept over its barren lands, leaving us with nothing but an amazingly flat landscape. Now one might take Iowa and South Dakota to be in this category, but the glacier very conveniently left out that portion during its creeping advance (and retreat).

As esteemed subscriber Noah Curran crested the hills of the plains winds rushed across the grass, leaving it rippling like seaweed forests at the mercy of the oceans current. I don’t know if we were coping or not — but we agreed. That had been the most beautiful part of the trip.

But as soon as we hit Iowa, a certain sign kept popping up.

WALL DRUG.

WALL DRUG.

WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG.

WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG. WALL DRUG.

Every other sign is advertising for Wall Drug. Free Ice water! Five cent coffee!

At this point, Noah and I are confused.  A quick wikipedia search shows that any fame this has garnered has been due to an extensive self-promotion campaign.

A few hundred miles pass before we finally happen upon Wall Drug.

It’s pretty depressing. Well, I’m not really giving it a fair shake since we went on a Monday afternoon but if you’re going to be doing that much … show it.

The halls were dark and eerie, and combined with the strange heat outside … it definitely gave me some pause.

We got the hell out of Wall for the sunset and made for the badlands.

the badlands

I am now tired so I will list some things very quickly.

I saw a lot of animals! Like this bison, prairie dog and this bird.

I also saw an incredible sunset and tried to take pictures of stars but it didnt work out well.

The next day, esteemed subscriber Noah Curran and I went to Wind Cave National Park (cave was closed, sadly) and Mount Rushmore! Seeing Mount Rushmore in person made me feel strangely patriotic, especially since it’s probably just a big piece of propaganda. But it made me really feel American for a second, and seeing the looming face of George Washington really got the bald eagles screaming.

And now we are in a town in Wyoming! Tomorrow, we advance upon Yellowstone National Park. Enjoy the pictures!