The first few hours of the trip were through familiar territory. We ate up the road:
But then, a we hung a left on I-90 and sped off through uncharted lands. A few more hours of rolling plains and then this loomed ahead:
Yes. You are indeed seeing a very, very large antelope head made out of some sort of metal and plunked down in the middle of a verdant prairie. What you cannot see in this picture is that it was also accompanied by several smaller sculptures of things like flowers and fish. For this there is no explanation.A few more hours down the road and we reached the spot we'd been seeing signs for over the course of hundreds of miles: Wall Drug. The place that, as Ali says, is famous for, well, nothing. It'll tell you it's famous for its 5 cent coffee. Or for its largest-in-the-world something-or-other. But, really, it's famous because it tells you it's famous. For miles. And when you get there, this is what you see:
As the photo suggests, we found Wall Drug less than impressive and did not set foot outside the car to explore. But, I'll confess: there is some satisfaction in being able to say "Yep. I've seen it."
Pressing on, we finally made it to the real sight of the day--Mount Rushmore, nobly re-named "Rount Mushmore" by Ali. The best thing about Mt. Rushmore is that it sneaks up on you. Once you turn off of I-90, you find yourself driving through a few small touristy towns, and then winding through hills on a highway lined with tourist-trap attractions, and then, just as you think you'll never find the thing itself, George Washington's profile appears, jutting from the face of a bluff. And then, as you round another curve, all four faces are revealed:
It is, friends, a sight worth seeing. It's far more impressive than I imagined; more moving, less cheesy. A taste:
