Wall Drug and Rushmore

We saw virtually no wildlife as we headed out the East exit of Yellowstone...just at couple of female elk and a bison. We didn't even bother to slow down for pictures of them. The night before on the other hand Mandy was VERY excited on our way back to the lodge after dinner last night because a small dog-like creature crossed the road in front of us...very clearly only about 10 feet in front of us. We're pretty sure it was a coyote. Unfortunately we weren't fast enough to get a picture.

We did get an early start today and it was a long day of driving. We thought that by leaving early we might get some different animals roaming about but as I mentioned, no luck. On the agenda today were 2 stops, Mount Rushmore and Wall, South Dakota.

The drive itself was uneventful except for a decent breakfast and some amusing signage. Mandy had some biscuits and sausage that were so rich that she couldn't eat more than one of the biscuits. And then there was this, which we found amusing:

Mount Rushmore was impressive...Art on an immense scale...It's not a very exciting park though. It was a drop in, take some pictures and head out. The idea behind Rushmore was much neater as a concept than the park ended up being...as it is it's just big patriotic art. The original idea though was to have the site be a museum and repository for all things American with the museum/repository being behind the faces of Rushmore. Mandy also thinks that the kitschy town around the monument detracts from its splendor.

Our 2nd stop and our stop for the night is an interesting experiment. Wall drug store offers free water and cheap coffee and has turned itself in to a tourist destination in the back of beyond in South Dakota. It really seems that there's nothing else around except this small town but this small town seems to have a fairly hopping tourist industry. We started seeing signs for Wall Drug, SD about 500 miles out from the town itself.

Tomorrow will be our next to the last leg to Wisconsin. We think it should take around 12 hours so we'll likely end up in WI in the evening. We tried to tell my aunt but cell phone reception for the entire day has been spotty at best. I think all she got when she answered the phone was the cryptic, "We come!" So it's another long day of driving tomorrow but we get a nice break before final leg home. We'll likely post again from WI telling you how awesome Uncle Scott and Auntie Annie have it.