Flat and beautiful
Written: Oct 29 '99 (Updated Oct 29 '99)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Unique landscape with American history
Cons: Large state, boring drive
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| camworld's Full Review: South Dakota |
South Dakota is not known for its tourism industry nor is it a well-traveled state when compared to locations that have more to offer. However, should you find yourself in a car headed west (likely to Wyoming) across the dusty plains of South Dakota, you can be assured to find at least a few unique places to stop and stretch your legs.
Everyone who has ever made the drive across South Dakota knows the famous story of Wall Drug. In the early 1900s, a small drug store in Wall dreamed up the idea of giving ice water away to everyone who stopped for gas, food, and lodging. For miles upon miles, road-weary travelers were reminded by large roadside billboards how many more miles it was to Wall Drug, where they could quench their thirst with free ice water. Of course, you had to buy lunch to go with your free ice water, and a marketing legend was born.
Wall Drug today is the probably the largest "tourist trap" on the planet, continually being fueled by the annual trips American families take every summer vacation. How can you drive across South Dakota without stopping at Wall Drug?
Billboards for Wall Drug are now all over the world, compelling even foreign tourists to stop in South Dakota on their trips to America.
Further west, you will likely find yourself on a windy road up a mountain to one of the most amazing feats of environmental sculpture ever created: Mount Rushmore. For first time visitors, Mount Rushmore is an astonishing thing to experience, the giant faces of our political past staring handsomely out into the distance. If this is your second trip to South Dakota, you might want to skip the lumbering motorhomes struggling their way up the mountain to Mount Rushmore, and instead spend some time in Rapid City or Sturgis. Sturgis is the location of the annual Harley Davidson rally, drawing hundreds of thousands of bikers and spectators from around the world.
If you have time, stop and explore some of the natural caves in the foothills of the Black Hills that have become tourist attractions.
Another option is drive a little bit south of the highway until you read the heart of the Badlands. There, you can park your car and take short hike into the arid alien landscape and search for fossils. Millions of years ago, the Badlands was a vast sea, and marine fossils litter the landscape, embedded into the dry rock.
South Dakota is a large, wonderful state with some pretty unique attractions for the first-time visitor. If you are a passenger in the car, be sure to take along a couple of good books, as there will some long stretches of road where there isn't much to see.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
camworld
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Member: Cameron Barrett
Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 143 members
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