Chronicles of South Dakota

Last week my parents and I went on vacation to South Dakota. Well, it was supposed to be their vacation but they asked me to go with them since I'm not in school anymore and don't have a job yet. It was so nice to get {far} away from everything and see things I've never seen before! Here are some pictures from the trip.

leaving on a jet plane...

We flew into Rapid City on Sunday. It was late (Georgia-time) by the time we got to the hotel, so

we ate supper at Arnold's, a 50's-style diner, and went back to the hotel and went to bed.

On Monday we got up and drove to the Badlands.

We stopped at Wall Drug Store, the world's largest drug store. It was started in the 1930's; business picked up after they started advertising "free ice water." They still serve free ice water, and 5 cent coffee as well.




Pictures just don't do it justice.

On Tuesday, we went on a bus tour and got to see a lot of the SD sites. First stop...Mt. Rushmore!

This cave was 8 feet 4 inches wide. Our bus was 8 feet wide. We drove through it. Yes, I'm serious. The people on the other side didn't think we would make it through, but we did...

Sylvan Lake, where part of National Treasure: Book of Secrets was filmed.

Crazy Horse, a memorial to the Lakota leader Crazy Horse; started in 1948.

On Wednesday, we drove to Wyoming and saw Devil's Tower. One popular Indian legend about the tower claims that some little girls were playing around some rocks when a bear came after them. They climbed up onto one of the rocks, and the Great Spirit caused the rock to grow up out of the ground to keep the bear from getting to the girls. The bear kept trying to jump up the rock but would just claw at the rock and fall to the ground.

We had a great trip, but as always, there's no place like home!