South Dakota and Wyoming: The Windy States

When we first sketched out our voyage, we hadn't planned on going to South Dakota.  In fact, we had been actively avoiding it.  Partly this was because there wasn't much we wanted to see there (Mount Rushmore wasn't high on our list), and partly for political reasons (they are trying to overturn Roe v. Wade.)

However, when we found ourselves in Minnesota and aiming toward the west, we found there isn't another great way to travel except through South Dakota.  So, we sucked it up, told Lori where to go, and put the pedal to the metal.

Apparently, South Dakota is a windy state.  Not sure why, but there was a relentless wind blowing nearly all of the time.  In addition, much of the landscape is not particularly exciting, and the highway is littered with billboards (90% of them seemingly for Wall Drug).  However, we were able to find a few bright spots.  We took a short break in Sioux Falls.  It had a cute downtown and dramatic waterfalls, and strong support for local artists.

Next, we went through Badlands National Park.  Some of our fondest memories on the way east were the national parks we visited, especially in Utah.  So, it was nice to be back in nature.  The scenery and wildlife were fascinating and beautiful.

A fellow RV'er had told us about Custer State Park and its herd of Bison.  So, we headed there next.  Since Mount Rushmore was on the way, we stopped there.  It was ok.  The story of the sculptor and the technical and geologic challenges he faced is fairly interesting.  Interestingly, the heads appear smaller than you'd expect.  Sure enough, we encountered the Bison when we got to Custer and were not disappointed.

We headed to Colorado next, and since Wyoming was in the way, we passed through it.  Unfortunately, the landscape is fairly bleak in the part of the state we passed through, and the wind continued blowing.  The bright spots were the occasional Pronghorn Antelope and the amusing old man running an RV park in Lusk, Wyoming.

To see what we saw, see the South Dakota photo album.

Comments

[Christopher LaRocca]

Hey guys,

Hope all is going well with your journey. The Mayo clinic's architecture looks very similar to a few buildings here at Novartis, I wonder if they were designed by the same person.

Not to be argumentative, but it seems to me that not wanting to visit one of our states for political reasons is silly. In fact, my being pro-life, I applaud South Dakota for their efforts in banning abortion. Plus, Badlands National Park was beautiful, wasn't it?

[Joseph LaRocca]

It's essentially a personal economic boycott, no different than (for example) not buying a real fur coat or not shopping at Wal-mart. People make these types of decisions all the time for personal reasons.