Day 11 - Wall Drug and the MidWest

Friday, June 29th, 2007. Again a mostly uneventful day. A long day in the car. The kids were again good – and seem to now enjoy being in the car. We can even quote Sammie when she said - "It feels so good to be in the car again" - this morning. We got up early and were out on the road by 8:30 am and arrived at our first stop – Wall Drug – at about 10 am. A few words come to mind – ant hill, bee hive, labyrinth, lemmings. Apply those to Wall Drug and let your imagination do the walking. WOW! Very cool place with lots of cool souvenirs and attractions. We got a few donuts – homemade right there. Needless to say they were delicious and Sammie gobbled hers down. I had to wait though because my task was to somehow get a couple of glasses of milk for my children. I tell you Gutzon Borglum had an easier task carving Mt. Rushmore (for those of you who don’t know he was the sculptor)(now you know)(if you didn’t). By the time I got back most of the donuts were gone and Sammie had graduated from high school – ok kidding you get the point. We jumped in the car, filled up and headed to our last destination – the Badlands. Since we purchased a pass to all parks for a year we figured we would just do the loop route and then get back on 90. It took us about an hour and we got to see some of the diversity in the landscape. It was very strange. About 45 minutes outside of Rapid City when you come out of the Black Hills – it is mostly flat with lots of grasslands – but then you have the Badlands – massive valleys and pinnacles rising up out of the grass. Kind of like Utah – but on a smaller scale – made Laura and I again marvel at the massive shapes we saw there. It was pretty cool – although it quickly turned into a – keep-the-car-running-so-the-movie-doesn’t-stop-just-jump-out-and-take-a-picture trip. Which was fine – we did get some good pictures. Laura once again tried to make a phone call and disconnected another unsuspecting family member/friend. I think she is going for the record on this trip. Speaking of records we noticed today that our trip is creeping towards 3000 miles for the entire trip. We are at about 2900 now and will pass over tomorrow. What a journey!! We finally got out of the Badlands and Laura took the wheel and put on the after burners. Our last stop of the day was a desperate measure because we needed dinner before the final push. I am happy to say it was the only time the entire trip – we had to stop at McDonald’s! Needless to say that we have done such a good job at brainwashing Sammie that when we told her that’s where we were going she was almost angry! Then when we ordered we of course got the 15 year old trainee. Poor girl, I thought Laura was going to break her when she asked if she wanted a happy meal for the third time – especially when her 16-year old trainer stepped up and asked if she wanted fries with that. Hilarious moment – I was standing behind Laura trying not to laugh. Anyways we got our food and Sammie reluctantly began to eat her food and then provided us with the icing on the cake for the day – she said after taking a few bites – "Hey, this isn’t so bad." 5 years of brainwashing down the drain. Anywho we made it at about 7:30pm and were instantly in the pool. Afterwards we had dinner and the kids got some popcorn while they watched Charlotte’s Web. Ask Laura about how great the Days Inn is. Tomorrow we speed into Madison, Wisconsin and then on to Michigan across the Lake. We are looking forward and I am already scheming on how to get a new TV. Til tomorrow….

What we learned today – There are a lot of fireworks stands in SD; Wall Drug is CRAWLING with tour buses

Midwest musings – at Laura’s fathers request we pondered the question of where the Midwest starts and where does the West end. Well there seems to be many answers to that question – when you come out of the Black Hills and into Rapid City you descend upon the plains. But it seems that there is a transition area from Rapid City to the Central Time zone marker. By the time you hit there it is the Midwest. Plains and flat. In the West there are mountains. The Midwest is flat.

Also when you start seeing Cabella’s by the side of the road you know you are no longer in the West. And finally if there is a tractor at the gas pump – you are DEFINITELY in the Midwest. Less cows more corn. When Laura’s hair goes from straight to curly – you are no longer in the West.

Another question – why is it called the MidWest? Why not the MidEast? Is there a MidEast? West, northwest, Southwest, MidWest, South, SouthEast, NorthEast, East. Where’s the MidEast?