Badlands

Our trip has started and first major tourist attraction was House on the Rock in Spring Green,
WI.  I didn't know what to expect and it is going to be very difficult for me to try and explain all
that is involved at this "museum".  From the information brochure, I quote "When Alex Jordan
discovered a 60-foot sandstone chimney rock called Deer Shelter Rock, he envisioned it to be
the ideal location for a weekend retreat.  However, after constructing the magnificent House
on the Rock, Jordan found his retreat was drawing curious visitors in droves.  it soon became
apparent that the house was more than a simple getaway -- it was a place that stretched the
bounds of imagination.  The House on the Rock has evolved into more than just a fantastic piece
of architecture.  It encompasses a complex of over 16 buildings filled with unique collections and
eclectic displays.  The 40-acre complex also features beautifully displayed gardens.
  Jordan's vision was to create an interior complex full of sights and sounds as stunning as the House's exterior."

When we entered House on the Rock, I started photographing.  I soon stopped!  What seemed to
be one or two displays of a specific item, soon turned out to be a room full of it!  From one "hall"
to the other we went, pointing and not believing our eyes!  Collections from all over the world ...
you name it, it was there.   For instance, the world's largest carousel is housed there, featuring
over 269 creatures!

The Infinity Room was, to me, a nerve-wrecking experience.  It juts out an unsupported 218 feet
and has 3264 windows which form its walls and it offers a majestic view of the valley below.  The
further you walk down the Infinity Room, the "springier" the floor became.  Eventually I was so
nervous that I moved back to firmer ground as quickly as possible!

I took some photographs and have also scanned in some postcards so that you can get a better
idea of what this magnificent place is all about.







The original House on the Rock and the Infinity Room






A sample of the mechanical orchestras & instruments and the carousels


These stainglass artworks attracted my attention.  Nancy and I at one of the many weird and
wonderful flower pots that are scattered throughout the gardens.

The next day we visited The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD.  Portions of the interior and exterior
are covered with corn, arranged in designs and outlined with grasses and grains.  The first time
this was done was in 1892 and is now an annual event.







As you can imagine, there were hundreds of birds pecking away at the art!





It was also here that I met my first "cowboy".  My travelling companions assured me that as we go further West, they would improve in appearance!


This was also our first sight of some of the motorcycles travelling towards the annual
Sturgis Rally.  At first, I was very excited at the sights and sounds of all the wonderful
Harley Davidson motorbikes, wishing that Robert could be there to experience it too.
Within days, the thrilling engines became a throbbing headache!! 
More about them later!






We stopped at the Prairie Homestead and I encountered this charming old gentleman ...

I thought he might be suitable for Nancy's Grandma but it turned out he was just an old babbling fool ....

The original homestead;  one of the famous white prairie dogs;  foods and staples were stored in root cellars like the one shown above;  an old Agriculture Boiler;  and a 1913 Model T Ford

A view inside the original sod dugout home of Mr & Mrs Ed Brown, showing the sod walls, log front and open beams placed there by Mr Brown

We also met some friendly prairie dogs ...
Little did we know that they should not be this fat!
 



Next we encountered the Badlands.  Words cannot describe the vastness of striking, colourful
and weathered ravines, hills and valleys.  It was also here that I experienced my first helicop-
ter ride!  The following pics were taken from the air ...


Not even this postcard can picture the real beauty of the hills

Time for lunch was approaching and we could not wait to get to Wall Drug.  Here I sampled my
first Buffalo Burger and had some of the famous iced water.  A wonderful tourist attraction and
here is some more information on this place ...

"The Husteads bought a little Drug Store in Wall, South Dakota (population 800) on a shoestring back in 1931.  Ted, just out of the University of Nebraska School of Pharmacy, was 28;  Dorothy was 24.  The first of their four children had already arrived.  Hopes high, the Husteads moved in and went to work.  They banged smack into the Depression. One stifling Sunday in the summer of 1936, Dorothy Hustead got to thinking about the tourists who motored through Wall by the hundreds bound for the Black Hills and points West.  If only there were some way of persuading them to stop.  Suddenly she had an idea.  It sounded fine to Ted. So he had a bunch of signs made up and posted them along the highway. 
FREE ICE WATER WALL DRUG STORE.
Druggists have been giving away ice water for years, but none ever thought of advertising the fact. To tourists, the Hustead's sign provided first a hearty laugh and then a welcome invitation. In 2002, the Husteads are still dispensing ice water, sometimes at the rate of 20,000 glasses a day. Their signs are all over the map, even in Europe and Greenland.  people who have spotted the signs in strange places often drive hundreds of miles out of their way to meet the Husteads.  And, of course, the Husteads sell everything from postcards to sodas to petrified wood."
 






No, the horse didn't faint in fear of carrying me!  I didn't sit on it or even attempt to climb on it!  It was acting silly and making me look ridiculous!

Our last stop for the day was at Mt Rushmore National Memorial. 


These sculpted faces are 60 foot high, and 500 feet up.  First drilling started in 1927 and it
took 14 years to create this magnificent carving.
 

 

 

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