Wall, South Dakota, is famous for only one thing – Wall Drug. Wall Drug was started in the early 1930’s by a young pharmacist and his wife. Business was pretty dismal until the wife came up with a winning idea. Cars back in those days were not air conditioned (imagine that!) and travel along the highway was hot and maybe dusty. The young couple put up signs along the highway advertising free ice water. People began to stop and the business began to thrive. Today there must be thousands of Wall Drug signs along every road that leads towards Wall. Sorry we missed a picture of all the various signs lining the highway. Today the ‘drug’ store covers most if not all of a city block and attracts around 20,000 visitors a day during the ‘season’. (the average winter temperature is 24 degrees!) Besides the free ice water, they also offer fresh doughnuts and 5 cent coffee (free to veterans). The place is a hodge-podge of gift shops, book stores, a chapel, and even a small drug store! Click each small photo. This is a fun place, but we moved on. Actually we went back east a bit to a cold war missile site. For younger readers, the cold war was a period in the 50’s and 60’s when Russia had missiles with atomic warheads aimed at the US and we had the same aimed at them. This was a deterrent such that neither side would start a nuclear war that would basically destroy the world. We had 1000 of these missile sites around the mid-west and the upper Great Plains. These were underground silos each housing a Minuteman Missile. Driving down the highways you wouldn’t know you were passing perhaps several of them. They were ringed by a security fence and perimeter, and security personnel had orders to use deadly force on any intruders. This site remains as a memorial to those times. A glass viewing cover is now over the deactivated missile. There is a photo of the missile, and then the hardened cover that would slide over the hole and retract if the missile were to be fired. We never had to fire any. That done, we resumed our westward trek. A stop in Rapid City, South Dakota, for supplies, then south to a campground in Keystone, near Mount Rushmore. We got parked, then had time to head to the mountain in time to look around and be there for the evening lighting ceremony. Pictures abound of the faces on the mountain, but here is the view as you enter from the parking lot. This monument is the brainchild of Gutzon Borglum, who won approval and financing for the project as well as overseeing the construction. It was started in 1933 and completed in 1941. It’s a colossal work and awesome to behold. The faces on the mountain are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln and each are about 60 feet tall. Consider some things such as how the mountain was selected, and how the faces were carved to such proportional detail. Sometimes much rock had to be blasted away to get to suitable stable rock to carve the face. After all, one wouldn’t want a nose or something to fall off. That would be embarrassing! Here I tried to reproduce the picture at the top of this blog. I think I found the spot, but I think the trees have grown a bit. Here is the amphitheater where the evening ceremony is held. The second picture is of a little girl who ‘performed’ several songs on the big stage, to the applause of the audience. Here was an actor portraying Theodore Roosevelt and doing a ‘bully’ job of it (Bully was one of his favorite expressions). The evening ceremony consisted of a discussion of each man’s (on the mountain) contribution to this country and why they were selected. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was read, and then all military and veterans were asked to come to the stage for the lowering of the flag. As I walked down the aisle, men and women began coming from all parts of the audience. It made me think of the times this country has been at war, and men (mostly in those days) began coming from all parts of the country – the big cities and the little towns to answer the call. The remaining crowd rose to their feet and applauded as all assembled on stage. There were perhaps 150 men and women on the stage. I think this country has shown a greater appreciation of their military and veterans in recent years and it’s a good thing. And then the lights were turned on the mountain. The next day we did a jeep tour of the area including the Wildlife Loop of Custer State Park. From many places we could get a glimpse of the faces on the mountain. We went through the towns of Keystone, Hill City, and Custer, each having a charm of their own, with touristy shops lining the main drag. We had lunch in Custer and were lucky to pick a restaurant that was filled with locals, therefore the food was very good. The place had a Betty Boop theme. We also took the Needles Highway, a very curvy and scenic road in Custer State Park. There is a lodge and concession just inside the park and a lovely recreation lake. Here is the rock formation for which the highway got it’s name. The ‘eye’ of the needle. A feature of this road were several one-way tunnels through the rocks. The first one was just over 8 feet wide which made for cautious passage. The first picture below is a wide place in the road where we could stop and enjoy the rocks, and inspect the tunnel (around the bend). Click on the pictures. Shortly after clearing the tunnel, we met a huge tour bus. At the next turnout we stopped and could see the tunnel and the approaching road. We could see the bus stopped and people got out to look at the view. We didn’t stay long enough to see if the bus went through the tunnel, but there was no place for it to turn around, so I guess he went through. Seems impossible. Later we met another one heading up the road. This road not only had hairpin turns, but ‘corkscrews’ as well. A corkscrew does a complete 360, going over and under a bridge. Finally completing that road through beautiful mountain scenery, we began the Wildlife Loop around the lower part of Custer State Park. This is rolling grassland where wildlife is encouraged and of course protected, particularly the buffalo. More about that later. There was a small herd of donkeys which were reportedly fairly harmless so the people walked out to where they were for interaction and pictures. Here’s a group of Christian women bikers on their way from Michigan to Oregon. Finally we encountered the buffalo herd. These animals are treated here like cattle in that they are sometimes penned up, given veterinary treatment, and fed. We saw probably around 127 (chuckle), and about 37% of them were calves. They seemed tame enough to be close to the cars on the road, but wisely no one got out of their cars to approach them. The drive was both hair-raising and delightful, but we were ready to be 'home'. We made one last stop in Keystone to check out Dahl's Chainsaw Art. I made a short video of Dahl or one of his artists carving an eagle. Note the semi-finished ones on the left. This takes real talent. And so tomorrow we move on. As always we saw more than we can relate, but we try. The red line on the map is our jeep tour. Next stop, Sturgis - and most everyone knows what happens there. Stay tuned.
3 Comments
Khristi Moritz
7/5/2013 01:24:44 am
Mount Rushmore looks just amazing!! Your trip looks fantastic.
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Bo and Shirley
7/5/2013 01:41:47 am
Great report! Wish we were there!
Reply
David
7/6/2013 02:20:45 am
Where are they going to put Obama's face on the mountain?
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