Day 4: Finally, the West

Rivers, as they always have, mark borders and present boundaries. In the days of the Oregon Trail, crossing the great rivers of the nation was no small feat. Today, we marvel at the engineering and architecture that produced bridges, and we drive over our rivers in mere moments.

But once, they were the test. The test to the West.

I respect each one and acknowledge their provenance. I note the five great rivers we cross on our journey each time: the Susquehanna, Ohio, Illinois, Mississippi, and Missouri. These are the big waterways east of the Rockies; the one-time captains of industry. The life-givers and the life-takers. The paths we took to invade and colonize the West, the paths we took to monetize the resources of the land. The judge, jury, and occasional executioner of travelers.

Perhaps just a river, just a bridge, to some; but to me, I feel the history — good and bad — that these arteries of the continent still proudly carry. I nod my head, say a little prayer, and am thankful that the people who build things are much better at math than I am.

Today we crossed the last great river, the Missouri, and now we are truly, finally, in the West.

The Morning

Waking up in the cabin late, we knew it would be a bit of a late start. Which was not great for our plans, as we had some deadlines, including needing to get to Interior, SD, by 4:00 p.m. to get to the museum we wanted to see.

Angie prepped some great breakfast bars before we left, and we heated them in the microwave, downed some protein shakes, and got busy.

Once packed up, it was back on the interstate and soon we crossed into one of the truly elite states in the nation: South Dakota.

Our plan before we left was to hit the Walmart in Sioux Falls, SD, to resupply some food items. Instead of over-packing, we brought food for the first few days with a plan to pick up the rest mid-trip. We ordered online for pickup, as we knew this would save time and money. As I received the order in the parking lot, Angie went inside and picked up some hot fried chicken and mac and cheese from their deli, and we packed that away for lunch.

It was going to be a long day of driving west on I-90, and so back on the interstate we went.

The Day

We always mix in a few free stops that have high interest, clean bathrooms, and water refilling stations. The I-90 rest stop in Chamberlain, SD, is one of our favorites. It is always busy. It boasts commanding views of the Missouri River that we were about to cross and hiking trails around the hillside. It has a fantastic Lewis & Clarke educational exhibit inside, including a two-story, full-sized keelboat you can climb into and walk around.

Best of all, it has the Dignity of Earth and Sky sculpture. This is one of my most favorite things we try to see on each trip west. It is a 50-ft tall, stainless steel statue, erected in 2016, that honors the culture of the Lakota and Dakota peoples who are Indigenous to South Dakota.

We paused there for a picnic lunch and then walked around a bit to stretch legs, take in the views, and pay homage to Dignity. She is really something.

The next stop was originally going to be Badlands National Park, but we when checked the weather, it was calling for 100-degree temps in the afternoon and a strong, but brief, thunderstorm in the evening. So we decided to stack some other local places we planned to visit up front, to do them first, hopefully, miss the thunderstorm, and then set up camp inside the National Park after temps dropped.

The first place we wanted to visit was the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. This is located on the same exit off of I-90 as Badlands NP is, but we always seem to miss it because it closes a little early. Last year we got there in time, but it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

We did not think we were going to make it this year, but then we crossed into Mountain Time, which we forgot about, gained an hour, and had just enough time for a quick visit.

This is a small but tremendous museum. I am so glad we there in time. It is full of artifacts from the Cold War — Soviet propaganda posters, replicas of backyard fallout shelters, instructions for school children to hide under desks, and a fully interactive room detailing the madness that embodied the philosophy of MAD — Mutually Assured Destruction — that likely kept the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. from actually pushing the launch buttons.

It was a very well put together, we thought out, very sobering place. I highly recommend 10/10. Visit it when you can.

Next, we drove a few miles up I-90 to Wall Drug. Everyone should experience Wall Drug at least once. For some, that will be enough. For us, we go back often. Last year we picked up cowboy hats for me and the boys, which we wear whenever we are adventuring. This year: cowboy belts. When in Rome…

Finally, we drove east on I-90 back to Interior, SD, and drove into my most sacred place: Badlands National Park.

The drive into the park is spectacular, and we got the last available campsite (which we reserved in May). We got the new tent set up (I made everyone watch the set-up video in the car), got our kitchen set up, and all enjoyed our favorite campsite meal: Jambalaya.

The Evening

After eating, we had about 40 minutes of sunlight left, so we drove out to catch some sunset views.

And it was worth it.

We got back in time to catch the Ranger program, which had lots of cool history about Badlands, and lots of stargazing telescopes. The almost full, moon ruined any serious stargazing, but it did allow for some spectacular views of the moon.

The weather forecast called for a clear night, so the boys opted to “cowboy camp” outside the tent on the ground. We all settled into sleep before 10:30, exhausted and happy.

Addendum

A note added on Friday morning: last night, a wild and angry thunderstorm appeared, perhaps manifested by us and all of our talk of last year’s Badlands thunderstorm that was the destroyer of our old tent and a scatterer of plans. This storm last night was intense, and we were in tents (ha)… at least after Angie snapped awake and ran outside the tent to ake up the boys (who were not easy to get up and we might have left out to get soaked but for the lightning risk). Thunder crashing all around us, loud enough to keep you awake. Lightning flashed all around us, bright enough to make you think it was day. And rain, rain, rain, rain.

And our new tent was easily up to the challenge.