The McCabe Family Yellowstone Road Trip 2016

Today's drive from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Iowa City, Iowa, was largely uneventful. We mostly drove, stopping once for a visitor center and then again to check out Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, and then from there the Amana Colonies . The scenery along the way was mostly corn fields, and grain silos and tractors. We arrived at the Amana Colonies a little after 5 pm, but Clare and Conor were totally unenthusiastic about the colonies and did not want to leave the car.  Alas, the Amana Heritage Museum was closed, so we drifted into a few stores, and then headed to Iowa City for an earlier than usual dinner (more later on that decision). In hindsight, we probably should have taken the Lincoln Highway (US-30) scenic route across Iowa.

We arrived late in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, due in part to the time zone change and due in part to the Corn Palace visit, so our dinner choices were limited. I didn't plan too well, and have to say I dropped the ball here, not having found a classic road trip place to eat. Instead, we were left with Denny's. I skipped the pie for dessert. The worst choice so far for dinner on this trip. Whereas Schmucker's was close to a 5-star, Denny's was a 1-star. You get the picture. Needless to say, I will never make this mistake again!

On the way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, we stopped in Mitchell, South Dakota, to check out the famous Mitchell Corn Palace  an iconic piece of "ear-chitecture" since 1892. Conor and Clare were not too thrilled with the stop, but I insisted so as to relive my own experience from my family's 1977 road trip to the Canadian Rockies (we stopped at the Corn Palace on the way home).  All in all, it's a pretty corny place if you ask me!  A corn mural inside the palace:  As the palace appeared in 1977:

After leaving Badlands National Park, we stopped for a quick visit to the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site which protects two facilities that were once part of a Minuteman Missile field that covered the far western portion of South Dakota from 1963 through the early 1990s. A very interesting and informative visit to a remnant of the Cold War. This is from the National Park Service website for the site: Minuteman Missile National Historic Site's purpose is to tell the story of Minuteman Missiles, nuclear deterrence and the Cold War. Delta-01 and Delta-09 are striking examples of the alert status of United States nuclear forces during this time period. These sites, along with the new Minuteman Missile Visitor Center, contain exhibits that help visitors understand the story of one of the most important eras in both American and World History. The park presents an opportunity to reflect on a peaceful prairie that once held the power to destroy the world, serving as a public...

After departing Wall Drug in a hurry, we headed towards the loop road for Badlands National Park , a place of extremes and rattlesnakes, where we enjoyed some spectacular scenery, much like what we viewed last week at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. The Lakota knew the place as mako sica  and French trappers called the area les mauvaises terres a traverser  - both mean "bad lands." Here are some photos to give you an idea of what we saw.

After dropping off Suzanne at the Rapid City Regional Airport for her American Airlines flight home to Philadelphia, Clare, Conor, and I headed east for our first stop at Wall Drug , the tourist trap established in 1931 in Wall, South Dakota. It's a place where one could get lost and never leave, picking up touristy items serving no useful purpose, drinking 5 cent cups of coffee and free ice water. We stayed about 15 minutes, whereupon Conor and Clare insisted that we leave for Badlands National Park.

After settling into our lodgings in Rapid City, South Dakota, we headed to a great from-scratch restaurant, Colonial House, where I enjoyed the house made BBQ beef brisket, with cole slaw, baked beans, and corn bread. It was out of this world. Of course, I had pie for dessert - coconut cream - also out of this world.

Funny, we left Philadelphia more than 10 days ago, and what did we do but drive right past Philadelphia's Independence Hall outside Rapid City, South Dakota, complete with the Liberty Bell. A tourist trap if I ever did see one!

After leaving Devils Tower, we drove from Wyoming to South Dakota, the ninth state we have visited on this road trip. We made a brief pit stop for lunch at Jewel Cave National Monument , home of the third longest cave system in the world. Our next full stop was  Crazy Horse Memorial , the world’s largest mountain carving in progress, started by  Korczak Ziolkowski in 1947. The  planned carving will be 641 feet long and 563 feet high when finished . Our last full stop was  Mount Rushmore National Memorial . Contrary to her earlier threats, Clare did not remain in the car. Doing so would not have been a wise choice with temperatures approaching 95 degrees. A scale model of what the Crazy Horse rock carving will look like when finished:

We left Gillette, Wyoming, early this morning, headed to our first destination, Devils Tower National Monument , "an astounding geologic feature that protrudes out of the rolling prairie surrounding the Black Hills." Devils Tower is considered sacred to the Lakota and many other tribes that have a connection to the area. It is also a favorite among rock climbers. Needless to say, we did not do any climbing, but we did spy some climbers high above the rocky ledges.