The Little Caravan That Could: Devil's Tower, Buffalo Jumps, Dancing With Wolves, Mount Rushmore - Quite the Day!

DAY 6, Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Blue skies and Devil’s Tower – what a great way to start the day! We even managed to get rolling at a great time!

Our Camping Spot

At the beginning of the walk on the asphalt trail there was a sign cautioning walkers to stay on the path to avoid encountering poison ivy and rattlesnakes. The first one hundred yards were rather steep, but after that the walk wound around the base of the rugged tower in an easy upward slope.

The innocence of Israel was delightful to watch as he skipped happily ahead of us. Every so often, as we went along, I would feel his small hands suddenly slip into mine, as somebody mentioned the word ‘rattlesnake’. As bold as he is in his efforts to take on the world, Israel surprises me with his timidness of heart.

About a third of the way around the tower we used the binoculars at a lookout to try to locate a climbing ladder that was placed there in 1800s. Unsuccessful, the kids scoured the mountain with their bare eyes, and it was Ayana, with her eagle eyes, that spied it first.

As we continued our walk, Israel was the first to reach the actual tower, and not just the rocks surrounding it, and he ran up to it to be sure to say, “I was first!” Isaiah wrapped on the rock and said, “It sounds hollow,” to which I quipped, “Of course it does – it’s fake!”

Having successfully circled the tower we began the drive east. The landscape around Devil’s Tower is absolutely beautiful, with rocks that are clay red, and the cliffs are magnificent! It truly makes the traveling easy! I find as I drive these days the miles just fall behind me. In Canada we measure distance by kilometres; in America by miles. I now feel the miles pass as quickly as the kilometres, as we move from one place to another. With an exciting destination in mind, the road isn’t quite as intimidating as it was in the beginning.

Late morning, having missed my coffee for the umpteenth time, I pulled off the road enroute to Mount Rushmore. The children stocked up on reading books, while I made myself a delicious drink to fill my thermos. I have lowered my standards to instant coffee and evaporated milk.

Mount Rushmore was next, but when I saw the Vore Buffalo Jump marked on the map, I knew that with just a short detour of three miles it was not to be missed. The guide told us it was $20, but when he saw my hesitation he lowered the price to $10 for our family. He taught us many fascinating facts about the tribes of the plains, and then took us on a guided tour of an active archeological dig. There were hundreds of bones exposed in five layers, and he informed us that upon a twenty foot experimental governmental excavation they had determined that the bones dated back to the 1500s.

The Cliff the Buffalo Were Lured To

The Active Dig Site

Intently Listening

Song Threatening Isaiah - Who Does Not Appear Concerned

Another Angle of the Dig Site - Hidden in the Building

Parking Lot Lunches

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While the GSP proved to be invaluable, there were times when it cocked a little attitude and rebelled, like last night when it drove us into the middle of a rancher’s field. Or today, when it told me to go left, when the road signs said to go right to get to the highway numbered South 385. Not sure what to do, I decided to listen to the GPS and ended up twisting and turning through some extremely narrow residential streets. At one point, I could see no air space between the caravan and the tightly curved corners.

The angle at the top is a jackknife!

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Having now been to Mount Rushmore, I’m trying to find the words to describe what it was like for me to see the monument for the first time. The images of the faces are very familiar to me, having grown up seeing them displayed on television, but there is nothing like seeing them in real life. It was incredibly awe-inspiring to view what began as a vision of one man. We walked the Presidential Trail to get as close as possible to the monument. Along the way, through the forest, which surrounded the sculptures, was a very maintained wooden walkway. On this wooden structure there were four placards narrating the lives of the presidents. It was interesting to see that neither Abraham Lincoln, nor George Washington had a formal education, illustrating to the children that a brick and mortar school was not *the* answer to Greatness, but rather, following God’s will for one’s life.

Mount Rushmore Town

First Sight From Down the Mountain

These two dogs and a bunch of goats were in this truck in the parking lot! The kids loved them.

How did the boy on the left get out of the house with mismatched crocs? And yes, I had to go buy shoes for more than one kid when all they brought were crocs! Some people's kids!

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Motoring up a steep hill, the kids saw all the sites that South Dakota had to offer, such as Reptile World. I told them there was no way that a person could hit all the wonderful attractions on a road trip unless they had all the time in the world, and plenty of money to boot! The next road trip we would take I would quite possibly do it with little planning and hit the sites as we passed them. There was one sign that had me pulling off in a sharp turn: Movie set for Dances with Wolves. That was a quick detour of about 15 minutes, as the children walked through the outdoor set, took and few pictures, and then jumped back in the van to continue. I knew they would not necessarily appreciate it, not having seen Dances with Wolves, but I also knew that at some time they would watch the movie and remember having been there.

Our final destination of the day was Wall Drug, Wall, South Dakota. It would be another hour drive, and as usual, I had hoped to be there by 5:00 pm, but was running a little late. Leading up to the town you will find 250 signs advertising the store!

The Third of Many

We pulled into town at 7:30 and discovered the store closed at 8:00 pm. The history of Wall Drug is really quite interesting. In 1931, a Mom and Pop family business began Wall Drug. They found that people were driving by on the dusty roads, but not stopping, so they decided to do something to draw the people in – offer some perks to thirsty travelers. Today, that service is still offered: 5-cent coffee, free ice and water.

We entered one of the doors and began a high-speed walk through the mall. Over the last 80 years, it has grown in size to being 76,000 square feet, and is likely the biggest souvenir store around! We quickly picked out some presents for people back home, a handful of postcards, and then unfortunately it was time for the store to close. The town, though shut down like a ghost town, was very pleasant to walk through. I saw a lady walk from a hotel with some barrels of liquid on a cart, and later, I saw her again with a man helping her draw them through the empty streets. We spoke a little, as I asked if there was anywhere we might use free WIFI. It was like being on another planet. Nobody knew of anywhere we could use WIFI. There was nobody else around. The only other people were in the couple restaurants or bars, but the streets were almost eerily vacant. Surreal! We walked back to our ‘campground’ – the Wall parking lot for RVs and set up our typical gypsy camp. The children are becoming very good at this.

Setting Up the Power to the Car

Tonight was foot washing time. Those little feet were gathering too much dirt, since our last campground with water! There would be no bed without scrubbing those dirty culprits!

After a quick, cold wash, it was a simple dinner of noodles, since once again it was late, and a little late night fun riding scooters in a vacant parking lot. Only rule: silence! People are sleeping and it is late!