Day 6: Mitchell, SD to Hill City, SD

Driving Dist/ Time: 204mi./ 2h. 55min. (to Badlands)

105mi./ 1h. 44min. (to Hill City)

Sights Seen: Badlands National Park, Wall Drug, even more corn

"For those about to rock, we salute you!" These immortal words from AC/DC drifted into my head yesterday as we entered Badlands National Park for on this day, we were to truly rock out! Badlands are a type of arid terrain where softer rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water and can be found all over the world, including Italy, New Zealand, and other places in central North America. What we saw in Badlands NP was the full range of what natural erosion can do to rock including the sharp buttes pictured above (for a size comparison, those little tiny colored dots you may see in the gap between the buttes are in fact individual persons) and multicolored lines of strata that seem to permiate throughout each rock formation. The thirty miles of paved road that weaves in and out between these megaliths and gullies illustrated the sheer force of wind and water and what we usually consider some of the hardest substances on earth- rocks. In fact, the Badlands are still eroding, in some places up to one inch a year, but that didn't stop us from climbing on some of the formations and taking awesome pictures! (see photo album) My mother, who has been in some pain of late for having to sit in a car for the long amounts of driving hours, commented once in the park that this one spot had already made all the pain she endured completely worth it. You know, even in the destruction of something I'm sure was beautiful thousands if not millions of years ago, the resulting product was something that was still tremendously beautiful in its own way, and I'm sure that in thousands of years from now while the formations and rocks continue to change, the reultant will still be something awestriking and beautiful again.

As we left our rock portion of the day, we rolled on into Wall, SD, right outiside the Badlands, to go to Wall Drug. Now you may ask... WHY?! What's so special about a drug store in South Dakota? Well if you had been riding with us in the car since Minnesota, you would have asked that question 355 miles ago when we saw the first billboard for it! You see, Wall Drug has been famous since the 1930's when it first advertised "Free Ice Water" for thirsty travellers on their way to Mount Rushmore. Since then, they've expanded their offers to "5 Cent Coffee" and expanded their selection way beyond pharmaceutical solutions and now includes every novelty, trinket, souveneir, and tchotchke of roadside Americana that the South Dakota can afford to offer. Business is so strong that we noticed a lot of employees came from 20 miles away or more and some even from Eastern Europe. Also prevalent in the store are the occurrences of stuffed jackalopes. (For more on the jackalope, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope) This little indulgence is just another piece of Roadside America that simply can't be missed. So if you ever find yourself in eastern South Dakota, I strongly recommend a stop for some ice water or coffee and have a little fun.

States visited to date: 8

National Park Passport cancellations to date: 3