Squeezed at the Reptile Gardens

Yup, we did it.  Had our wallet squeezed at a bona fide South Dakota tourist trap.  We stopped at the Reptile Gardens on our way out of South Dakota today.  

They have all kinds of snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodiles and spiders on display - they even have a Komodo dragon.

We watched a snake show, saw a king cobra and petted an albino python.  They also had a collection of poisonous tree frogs.   It was a pretty neat place - for a tourist trap. 

Crazy Horse

Today we visited Crazy Horse, the largest sculpture in progress in the world.  Pretty impressive, especially given the fact that this is being done without any government funding.

What's been done so far

Close up of the finished head

When finished....

The museum

Tomorrow we are off to Wyoming to see Devil's Tower.  The forecast calls for rain, but here's hoping the weatherman is wrong.

Mount Rushmore and the Needles Scenic Drive

Today dawned chilly and cold, but clear, so it was off to Mt Rushmore!

We took the scenic route which took us through this tunnel

and gave us this view on the other side.

We still had about 3 miles to go to the actual monument.....

Once there we took the obligatory family and Mt. Rushmore pictures that everyone sees on postcards and in magazines.

 We then walked the Presidential loop which takes you down in front of the mountain.  It was really cool to see it from all the different angles. Did you know you can see Teddy Roosevelt's spectacles?  I never realized that.

We then headed out to the Needles Scenic Drive and encountered this view of Washington as we left. 

This drive took us up to 6200 feet and through the most awesome tunnel I've ever been through.  We came around a corner and saw this

only to drive around to the left and through this 8' 4 wide one lane tunnel at the top of a mountain.  Cool.

Of course, we stopped at the other side to take another picture, feed the cute chipmunks and admire the incredible view.

The drive was windy, narrow and offered up some great views of the Needles and the incredibly blue sky here in South Dakota.

The Begging Burro

Today started with snow flurries.  Yes, snow flurries.  Brrrrr.  Thankfully, the snow stopped, but the sun was still hidden, so we decided to visit Wind Cave National Park today and save Mount Rushmore for tomorrow when the forecast calls for sun.

We arrived just in time for the tour of the cave.  Apparently 95% of the world's boxwork formations are found in this one cave which is also the 4th longest in the world. Interestingly, the cave's recorded length of 135 miles (a three dimensional labyrinth that extends to 300 feet below just one square mile of surface area) is estimated to be only about 5% of the cave's total length. Miles of additional caving are discovered each year.

The weather improved a bit as we left, so we decided to take a drive through Custer State Park, which is home to Bison, Pronghorns,  Prairie Dogs,  Deer and a herd of non native Burros.  

The Bison grazed right next to the road, making for some awesome shots.

We then found ourselves stopped right before a crest in the hill...as we inched forward, the culprit behind our delay became apparent.

This burro was traveling from car to car looking for a handout.

He even poked his head inside the RV in front of us.

And, of course, he visited us leaving behind nasal mucous (burro snot) all over the window.  Keith had cleaned the windows earlier in the day.

He was persistent, making the rounds to everyone who stopped. Maybe he'll get lucky. 

The King of Corny - South Dakota

As you drive through South Dakota you see a whole lot of ----  nothing.  The entire state's population is 1/2 that of the city of Portland, Oregon.  

One thing you *do* see on I-90 are billboards.  Pretty much right after you cross into South Dakota you start seeing billboards like this

announcing Wall Drug and The Corn Palace.  You see these billboards, and not much else, for a hundred miles. 

Both places are complete tourist traps, very cheesy (and corny!) and a whole lot of fun. 

Wall Drug