Day 4: South Dakota

Yesterday we left Southern Minnesota bright and early somewhere around 7am. The landscape was flat and the road was straight for hundreds of miles. It was very typical of great plains with farms everywhere. After a couple hours or so of driving, we hit our next destination: the great state of South Dakota.

As soon as we crossed the border into South Dakota, the terrain changed to some rolling hills. It got flat again for a little with farms as far as the eye could see in all directions. This time there were less crops and more cattle. After we crossed the Missouri River, where Lewis and Clark once passed in 1805, the farms gave way to prairies and LOTS of cattle. The grasslands were beautiful with the rolling slopes surrounding it. As I drove through it I imagined what it must have been like back in the days pre-Buffalo Bill when there would be giant herds of bison roaming these lands. All I saw throughout the entire day were communities of prairie dogs, a few groups of antelope and one handful of bison that were likely fenced in a ranch.

Our first stop of the day was Badlands National Park. Driving through this place full of funny rock formations and a really hot climate compared to the surrounding grasslands was like being on another planet. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. Touching the rocks even felt strange and unfamiliar. This curiosity was formed over millions of years. Along time ago it used to be an inland sea. Then it turned into tropical jungles. Eventually the climate changed and this region became very dry. Today only 16 inches of rain fall here annually.

We left the Badlands and drove west to our final destination of the day: Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills. On our way there we were hit by a thunderstorm in the prairies. Lucky for us, the quarter sized hail stayed to the south of us. When we reached Mount Rushmore, we caught a break in the weather but only for a few minutes. As I took my pictures, it began to rain again. We left the mountain and went to a small mining town, now turned into tourist town called Keystone. Here I had for the first time a Buffalo burger. They had buffalo steak but that was too rich for my blood. I didn't know what to expect from the meat but to my surprise it wasn't much different from some black angus burgers. Oh well. After dinner, dad and I headed north to Rapid City for a place to sleep.

Next: Wyoming!