Where We Be
South Dakota -- Mount Rushmore & More
There's a lot to see along the I-90 corridor in South
Dakota. We spent two days crossing the state,
stopping at sites ranging from the genuinely moving --
Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial -- to
the kitschy -- the Corn Palace and Wall Drug -- to the
surreal -- an actual Minuteman Missile silo.

  • We strolled through Deadwood, where Wild Bill
    Hickock and Calamity Jane are buried
  • We saw the motorcycle mecca of Sturgis during the
    "dead season" -- and it was dead quiet!
  • The Presidential Loop hiking trail offered unusual
    views of the presidents at Mount Rushmore
  • The Crazy Horse Memorial was inspiring -- one
    sculptor striving to complete an impossible dream
  • We spent an hour in Wall Drug, the kitschy tourist
    site with its roaring T-Rex and wonderfully silly
    photo ops
  • The Badlands at sunset were lovely, and we got to
    camp in our van there
  • We saw the inside of a sod house at the Prairie
    Homestead historic site
  • Incongruously, we saw a historic Minuteman Missile
    silo that was located just a half-mile off I-90!
  • The Corn Palace was kitschy but in a beautiful way --
    a building covered in murals made of corn cobs
Robin's first time seeing Mount Rushmore (and Bob says, No helicopter this time, Mom!)
Mt. Rushmore as seen from the Avenue of Flags
All four heads from Mount Rushmore would fit inside Crazy Horse's face -- that's how big it is
Robin being hugged by a bunny at Wall Drug
Getting into the spirit of all things kitschy at Wall Drug
Quaint sod house with tufts of grass still visible in the walls
Robin rides the bucking bronco with flair
Site of a Cold War Minuteman Missile silo, just a half-mile off I-90!
An actual Minuteman Missile (minus the warhead)
Corn Palace in Mitchell, covered with corn-cob murals
A corn-cob mural up close
The Corn Palace transcends kitsch--this is cool!