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!

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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!
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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!

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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
....
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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 ...

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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."

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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!
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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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