Location: Rapid City, SD
Mileage: 3159
Music: We’ve both been singing, discussing, and analyzing Joni Mitchell all day. I think we miss writing papers or something.

Salut amis!

To pick up where we left off (as apparently we’ve left some of you hanging) we shall return to St. Louis. After a nice run Friday morning, Paul and I headed back, yet again, to Forest Park to check out the one attraction we had yet not seen – the zoo. We considered passing it over since we stumbled into the one in Chicago but, really, can you ever see too many animals? We concentrated most of our time there in the snake room, which was both exhilarating and terrifying. They must have had at least 3 dozen types of venomous snakes, including the biggest, fattest Burmese Python that I could have ever imagined. It was 18 feet long and most certainly wide enough to fit an Alina-sized person and still be hungry. *shudders* It was strange to read up on the locales of where the snakes lived – we saw lots of snakes that reside in places where we, ourselves, are headed on this trip (and a few that are in Turkey, so be on high alert Harway family!)
We again spent a lot of time viewing and laughing at the primates and also got a good chuckle out of the ‘big cats’ section. The amusement from there, though, was not so much from the cats as at the New York family standing next to me at the tiger pit. As I watched an angsty tiger pace back and forth I hear them call, “look at him! He’s just running back and forth!” I thought it bizarre that they would call his stride a run but soon discovered that they were ignoring the awe(some/ful) cat and were instead fixated on a rabbit above him. I suppose they don’t see many of those in the city? (But I can’t imagine they see a lot of tigers there either…)

one of the snakes we hope to be lucky enough not to stumble over

Upon returning to Denise and John’s, they informed us that their dear friend Bev was coming for dinner and that they insisted on us staying to eat with them. Amidst the hilarity the three of them produced (such as telling us about their Halloween costumes of the previous year as “an open bar,” with each member dressing as a different drink – for example, Taya (their daughter) was a bloody Mary, decked out with her lamb and blood spots) we somehow allowed our wine glasses to be refilled quite a few times. Once we left for the blues festival, we had a hard time finding it. (Imagine that!!) We missed the festival, but we enjoyed another evening of night views of the arch.

Did you know that the arch can turn into an obelisk?

The next morning, we packed the car, took a stroll around to check out the Greek Festival (it was a very festival-oriented weekend there) and look, again, for the blues festival. Well, St Louis festivals: 2, Paul and Alina: 0. The Greek Festival was exclusively food and the blues festival (which had actually ended the previous evening before we got down there) started later on Saturday than we planned on staying. Dommage! From there, we said our goodbyes to John and Denise and hit the road, knowing that we had a full two days of driving before us (our next destination: the Badlands of South Dakota.)

About 20 miles into the drive I noticed that Speedblazer was driving strangely. From time to time it felt as if, for a split second, the gas would disengage. And I wasn’t taking my foot off the accelerator. I shared my concern with Paul (who was busy reading more Jane Austen aloud) and he listened for and felt it also. Well, it apparently felt like the EGR valve needed replacing. This was a problem Speedy had had before and, although it was a concern, it didn’t seem too pressing (and a good thing, as it was Saturday on a Labor Day weekend and so we wouldn’t be able to take it in until Tuesday.) So, we drove on. We actually really enjoyed the scenic drive (although we both agree that it’s a nice place to visit, probably not to live) and finished Pride and Prejudice. We were both so happy (spoiler alert, although not really since it is a plot that everyone knows) that everything worked out for Elizabeth and Darcy and, although we never doubted it once, for Jane and Bingley. We stopped in Omaha, NE for the night after driving many hours. The car problem seemed to getting more severe, producing a car that was very difficult (without pumping a bit of gas as you turned the key, the car wasn’t going to start.) We stayed in a little motel right off the interstate which turned out to be, to date, the sketchiest place where we have been on this trip. We were pleased with the cheap price but soon discovered just why it was so cheap. Loud noises, thin walls, small rooms, and angry neighbors were part of it. We actually preferred the angry neighbors to Nick, a neighbor we had the fortune to never meet, but unfortunately got a few phone calls from him, as he looked for couples to “talk” with. After I had sweetly answered the phone and then angrily hung up the phone on the first call, we agreed Paul should answer, in his deepest and manliest voice, the next one. That seemed to do the trick as Nick stammered and stuttered and professed to have thought that “you mean you guys aren’t the couple I was talking with earlier?” That seemed to end the matter. We slept with a bolted door and an open ear, only comforted in the fact that no one could steal Speedy, as our trusty Blazer wouldn’t start for just anyone at this point, only those of us in the know to his quirky start-up requirements!

We continued on, despite the car problems, as it still wasn’t Tuesday and there really weren’t any garages around where we were. A long day of driving finally put us into Western South Dakota, where we wanted to be. We made a few stops on the way. The first one was at “the only Corn Palace in the world!!” (I wonder where else one would be?) It was a cute little town that takes corn seriously – the local radio station is called “Korn Talk” – and the Corn Palace has a bunch of murals all over the inside and outside that are made with 13 different colored corn cobs. It really was something.

patriotic Paul and the Corn Palace

On we continued. The whole way through the state, there were signs for Wall Drug, a “South of the Border” sort of phenomenon – this store in Wall, SD, is a drugstore that “got its start during the Depression years by offering Free Ice Water to thirsty travelers and by building its reputation on friendly service.” Sure, but now it is a kitschy, touristy place that boasts a giant T-rex that roars and steams every so often, old time photos, big rabbits that you can ‘ride,’ and sells about everything you can imagine. It was certainly interesting and we picked up our free ‘Have you dug Wall Drug” bumper sticker. From there it was just a few miles south to the Badlands. We arrived pretty late and had to set up camp (at our FREE campground) by car headlights. A long day of driving (and a restless previous night’s sleep) put us quickly to sleep.

Wall Drug

Do you really think I'd pass on the opportunity to ride a rabbit?

We awoke the next morning to the sight of bison roaming free all around our campground. Boy, are they big! We spent the morning driving the 31 mile loop around the scenic part of the Badlands, stopping off at several of the viewpoints. The Badlands are named by the French trappers who called it so because of “la terre mauvaise” that they had problems passing through. They are lovely, though, with their interesting layers of coloration in the rocks and a wide variety of rock formations. The area was carved out, over time, by the lakes and glacier water rivers that used to pass through that area, creating what is aptly named “Grand Canyon’s little sister” (or maybe it was its little cousin?) We also did the Fossil Walk, admiring some of the fossils found in the area. I was told by Peter that the Badlands were where the book Jurassic Park claims to have been the site of several of its dinosaur bones. That was exciting until I remembered learning that there were no dinos (or at least, to this date, no evidence of them found) in that part of the country. The Visitor Center museum was also very good and well laid out, complete with a video of different people who live in the Badlands and how and why it is that they choose and enjoy living there.

Bison are bigger than you'd imagine

the Prairie Dog Field

Badlands, baby

Beautiful Badlands
Badlands and a bucking breed
Okay, I've run out of alliterative things to say about the Badlands.

From the Badlands we took a quick drive over to Rapid City and the surrounding Black Hills, home of the famed mountain sculptures. We stopped first at the site of Crazy Horse, now many decades into the project of carving the Lakota leader. Crazy Horse is well known for leading forces to victory at Little Bighorn, attempting to halt European encroachment on Lakota Lands in Black Hills (where gold had been discovered.) The monument is going to be huge – 641 feet by 563 feet high. It is quite impressive and neat to see as a work in progress. After that we headed to Mount Rushmore but, honestly, it seemed quite a let down after Crazy Horse. All four of the heads could fit into just the head of Crazy Horse, which is only one part of the sculpture of the man on his horse. We also were just being cheap and didn’t want to pay for the parking. J We instead got a good view from the road and were happy to continue on our way. Thanks to Dana, who got online at our request to scout out hotels and Chevrolet repairs in Rapid City for us since we had been out of contact with the internet for quite a few days, we found ourselves at a very nice (and such a good change from the previous motel) Thunderbird Lodge. We got good advice from the kind check-in man about where to take Speedblazer the next morning and we went to sleep, reassured by his raves of the local TMA.

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse through his 1/34 model sculpture

Up early Tuesday morning, we called the garage and got an appointment. We spent the morning taking advantage of the hotel’s wifi, pool, and hot tubs, before taking the car in for his 1:30 appointment. As the car was looked over, we set out on foot to check out Rapid City. And it was, well, you know, a South Dakota city (read: there was nothing to do.) But we got some good exercise and returned to the garage to discover that they had given us our requested oil change but they had to send us elsewhere for the repairs that the car necessitated. Apparently it’s not the EGR valve at all (as if I even know what that means…) but the Chevrolet dealership where the TMA people sent us, which is equipped to deal with the problems that the garage found, was helpful and kind and, after we hemmed and hawed about waiting in Rapid City until Thursday when they had an opening, offered to take us in early tomorrow morning. They seemed confident that the repairs would be a relatively quick fix. Ah bon! We headed back to the hotel for postcard writing and some TV before heading out for dinner and errands. We finally discovered the way to make Rapid City entertaining, though. At the local Wal-Mart, in deep Southern accents, Paul and I set many brows a’furrowing. Example:

Stopped in front of a 10” TV, advertised for $90

Alina: Awww, honey, I’ve been waaantin one of these!
Paul: We can’t afford no fancy TV like that.
Alina: But hooooney, you’ve been promisin’ me one of these since we got married at age 14!
Paul: Yeah, and you’ve been promisin’ to have a kid without a tail!

I won’t be surprised when Rapid City, as a whole, kicks us out and bans us for life.

And now we are at our lovely Thunderbird Lodge for another night awaiting Judgment Day – that is, tomorrow’s visit to get Speedblazer repaired once and for all. (Oh please let it be once…)

Love,

Alina