Rush... through the midwest.

Mt. Rushmore. Done.
The incredibly tacky town of Keystone at the entrance to Rushmore. Done. 


















We didn't stay very long in Rapid City or Spearfish, South Dakota. Both places were OK to visit but really not very interesting. The trails were really boring. Maybe I was just in a funk but compared to Wyoming and Idaho, they really had nothing to offer. I did get the chance to stop in Sturgis, which was between Spearfish and Rapid City. This is a town that runs the annual biker rally (not responsible for any images on that guy's site). That place is a ghost town the other 50 weeks out of the year. Seriously. Every other store along main street was closed. I asked a local what was going on and it turns out the stores are owned by out of town folk who just open during the festival and then shut down for the rest of the year. This is what runs the town .

We left West South Dakota to break out for the Badlands which were only about 2 hours away. This place is freaky.

The drive in from the South. Creepy... you don't see anything for miles. 

Suddenly you come around a bend and boom there they are.

The badlands feel like just super crumbly mud. That is what they looked like up close

A rest area in the park. The covered picnic tabes were actually nice. 

The area is enormous when you go to certain lookouts. 

 It seems once you make a National Park, there is a requirement to have some cheesy town attached to it to suck as much cash as possible out of you that you weren't able to spend in the park. Voila the town Wall.  This was so cheesy it was impressive. For miles and miles you are attacked by billboards claiming you haven't been to the Badlands until you go to Wall Drug. The entire town is built around this place. Parking was crazy. I have to say Wall was impressive in the degree they went in attention to detail. We didn't stay.

After Wall and these towns the last couple days have been a blur moving through South Dakota and Iowa. It was ridiculously hot. The van was getting hammered with wind so we pulled over for a bit. Opening the car door was like stepping into a blast furnace. It was just hot dry air blowing at 50 km/h. I soaked the dog and she was dry in ten minutes. We slept that night in Kennebec. I don't recommend it.

The next destination was Yankton SD. It was taking forever to get through this state. Nothing to report other than they seem to have a hate on for people who take their dogs into laundromats. Its not like I am preparing supper for seven. Fuck its still hot. Hot like 39 Celsius hot. Too hot to walk. Too hot to sleep. Too damn hot.
Decision is made to get out of this inferno. Might as well drive since it is just too hot to do anything else.

I finally broke down and paid for a haircut today. It killed me. The 'Scalpin Post' however did have some character.  Bit of a western theme.

Welcome to Omaha, Nebraska.

Nice covered walkways.

Since the decision is made to keep moving, onward to Omaha, Nebraska. Finally out of South Dakota. Omaha is nice but the depression and heat made it pretty tough to appreciate. No one is on the streets, even though the tourist district is covered. Once again we didn't stay. Why hang out somewhere that you really can't do much.

Corn!

Onward out of Nebraska and into Iowa.

Hay!

And that is Iowa.
We are in Davenport today to hang out. Nice town. It is on the Mississippi River. The river boats are huge. I had no idea they were as big as they are.