Just when we thought our accommodations were the best at the lodge in Mitchell, we have pulled in at the end of a long drive and an adventure-filled day at the Frontier Cabins in Wall., South Dakota. (OK, we did the Wall Drugstore at the suggestion of friends, but we could not get out of there fast enough:) These cabins are appointed with log furniture and details I would not expect from a rental, and Bill is excited that we will be here for a few days with a log rocker on the porch for his cigar and scotch:)
We were sorry to have missed (cool name) Woonsocket, S.D., but took back roads through grassland prairies, dotted with hay bales, separated by huge acres of sunflower fields. Their heads were bowed, as the smoke from west coast fires and end of the season has them drooping, but I had no idea this was a crop of significance in this region! We headed to Pierre, the capital, where Bill hoped to get a glance of Kristi Noehm, the beautiful governor. (No such luck.) We had a picnic at a sweet park on the Missouri River and headed to the Badlands.
Through Crow Creek Reservation, along stretches of flat prairies, the only thing to be seen for miles was short grass and barely a tree in sight. We laughed as we came into the Badlands, with billboards “Feed Me Tacos And Tell Me I’m Pretty” and “Mexican Food–Local Water”, so we ate Mexican for dinner at a Cantina in Wall. (Take-out) The last sign was “In Wine There’s Wisdom. In Water There’s Bacteria” hahaha
We had a quick stop at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, where we viewed a part of our history that we have not forgotten. For thirty years, 1,000 missiles were kept in this area of South Dakota, on high alert in case of nuclear war. Bill and I have memories of the drills we had in our schools in case of this event, and to this day I remember the fear of the Cuban Missle Crisis.
The highlight of the day was a spontaneous stop, screeching to a halt to take a 20-minute helicopter ride from Aldo, who delighted in swooping down into the cavernous monuments of the Castle formations, White River, trails, and interior of the Badlands. We still had good visibility at this low level and the colorful striations of the rock. It was my first helicopter ride, so Bill let me sit up front and I loved every minute.
Aside from a “feeding the prairie dog” farm, which we did not visit, we were happy to see Bison and Pronghorn grazing beside the park roads when we left the park. Tomorrow, weather depending, we are either hiking or visiting Mt. Rushmore.
