to the Black Hills of South Dakota

After coming out of the trippy landscapes of the Badlands, Philippe and I have made it into he Black Hills - the vast prairies that separate them bring to mind the natives that once roamed here. Our first tenting experience was pleasant, although the proximity to the interstate made for the interruption of an otherwise very silent and star-filled evening. We had no idea when we ate or slept, and woke to pack to the sound of the gang of Harleys next ground over taking off at dawn. After breakfast and packing the car, we finally looked at our cell pone: barely 8am. Off we went!

I had braved a small hike in my ballerina slip-ons and it was decided that running shoes were a must, so that took a (notably efficient, thankyouverymuch!) stop in Rapid City for lunch before continuing on to Mt. Rushmore! I had mixed feelings about the whole thing, what with the natives we’d been thinking so much about… and the Fourth of July flags are still flying proud. The faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln loomed before us and we drove up to the mountain face, parked ($$$) and were led to the lookout under the flags of all fifty states.

It was touristy; Phi bought an extremely tacky snowglobe, which we cherish very much, and we felt like calling it a day, putting on a few more miles to find another camp site, a little more secluded this time. We haven’t gotten into the beans yet! But after a somewhat botched attempt at “campfire pizza” last night (yeah we’re amateurs) we did pasta. And, I’m ashamed to say, watched download episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. How outdoorsy of us! (no comments.)

This morning, Crazy Horse was our goal – a huge in-progress project of the native war chief on his horse, being carved into another face just miles west of Rushmore. He points at “my land; where my people are buried”, and although the museum was unimpressive for the entrance fee, the project is inspiring and we were happy to have made the stop. Now we’re heading into Wyoming, and hope to make it to Yellowstone tomorrow. Wild West, baby! xo