From Deadwood to Whitefish

The road goes on forever...

After leaving Sioux Falls, I darted for the western side of South Dakota where I decided I was going to stay for the night. Heading west on I-90, I went through Badlands National Park and then head into Rapid City. The Badlands were pretty cool, the huge flat fields that define the midwest all the sudden turn into very jagged and dangerous terrain. Just south of Rapid City is Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse monument (which were pretty boring but worth seeing). On the drive down I kept thinking about Richie Rich and his mountain (which was the also the site of the Rich family vault) but when I arrived I was shocked at how small the carvings were that make the monument. Crazy Horse was about the same, cool but I wouldn't plan a weekend around it.

Badlands, SD

Mt. Rushmore

As the sun started to set, I raced north towards Deadwood, SD, where I would be bunking up. Deadwood is an old gold town located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. My cousins had given me the HBO series of Deadwood  a few years ago for  X-mas so when I found out I was going to get to go through Deadwood I was pretty excited.

When I checked in to my room they upgraded me to a suite with a balcony that looks out over main street, which is lined with Casinos where you can play single deck blackjack. I ended up winning about $50 bucks and then met a couple of Braves fans who had never been to Atlanta but thought it was the coolest thing that I was from Atlanta.

Famous Bullock Hotel (Used to be a Brothel)

The next morning I left Deadwood and headed out towards Sturgis, a famous town that hosts the largest motercycle festivle in the U.S.. Basically, Sturgis is a shithole. There are trailor parks everywhere and the entire town looks like a huge parking lot.

Sturgis, SD

After a quick drivethrough, I  headed west again and made it into Wyoming where I found the Devils Tower. Devils Tower was probably one of the coolest things I have seen so far. It's basically a huge rock that sticks up out of the ground really far. Have I ever mentioned that I am easily amused...

Me climbing the Devils Tower

The real deal

I ended up spending about an hour and a half at Devils Tower, then I made the increadibly long and uneventful drive towards Whitefish. After 12+ hours in the car I finally made it into Whitefish at 11:22 pm and for the first time on my trip... had found a place to wash my clothes.

Into Wyoming and on to Montana!