INTRODUCTION
A couple years ago, we did a blog post on this website which resuscitated an old blog detailing our family's 2013 road trip from Colorado to California and back. That post can be found here. In 2014 we made another epic road trip, and this series of blog posts celebrates the 10th anniversary of that journey.
Our summer 2014 trip was unusual as it did not include Sarah, who had expended her meagre American annual holiday allocation travelling to Scotland for a solo exhibition of her paintings. So the rest of us - myself (Blake), Kenny and Sam - were faced with the dilemma of taking the annual trip but avoiding new regions, such as the Pacific Northwest, deep South or northern Rockies, that Sarah would have wanted to see. So we decided to visit my family in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
We had previously driven to Minneapolis many times from our home in Colorado. The shortest route is through Nebraska and Iowa; about 1900 miles return. It's not the world's most exciting journey and we usually made the trip either in one long marathon drive or with a hotel stay along the way. I wanted this trip to be a bit more interesting, so planned a big loop through the American Midwest - nearly 3000 miles total. Here are a couple maps showing the general route through the states of Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico:
The trip included an exceptional variety of visits to magnificent natural areas, interesting and provocative historic sites, amazing art museums, humorously kitschy tourist traps, and uniquely American cultural oddities (often one-in-the-same as those historic sites and tourist traps). The time I got to spend with the boys and with our Minnesota family made those experiences immeasurably meaningful and unforgettable.
The blog will be presented in 3 separate entries:
Part 1: Wyoming | South Dakota
Part 2: Minnesota | Iowa | Missouri
Part 3: Arkansas | Oklahoma | Texas | New Mexico
Part 1: Wyoming | South Dakota
The first bit of the drive was through northern Colorado, Wyoming and into South Dakota. Here I'll not emphasise Colorado since we really didn't make any significant stops or visits when departing or returning home. Also, Sam was sufficiently anxious about the trip that he was sick about 2 hours after we left home; but the further along we drove, the better he felt. He was definitely getting into the spirit of the trip by the time we reached Chugwater, Wyoming:
I was particularly excited to stop at Oregon Trail Ruts State Historic Site near Guernsey, Wyoming. I remember seeing pictures of this site in history textbooks when I was in school. In the 19th century, nearly every westbound wagon on the Oregon Trail passed through here, wearing down the sandstone to a depth of 5 feet in some places.
Our destination for the first three nights was Custer, South Dakota. We booked a cabin in a quiet, wooded spot that provided a great launching point for activities in-and-around the Black Hills.
A few scenes around the cabin:
Clockwise from top left: Sam checking-in with Mum; a curious visitor whose own mum was not far away; former resident of a local lake enhancing the cabin's rustic decor; last sun through the trees.
Our first full day included two big visits: Jewel Cave National Monument near Custer, then Devil's Tower National Monument, which meant a drive across the state line back into Wyoming.
We had been advised by our cabin hosts to avoid the route to Jewel Cave as roadworks were causing major delays. I had also read that it was impossible to pre-book timed tours at Jewel Cave, and that the tours filled quickly during summer months. So the best plan for success, as always, was to venture out early and arrive early. The first cave tour was at 9:00 am, which would hopefully get us past the roadworks before they began for the day.
At such an early hour, the road was indeed pleasantly clear of construction and traffic. We arrived at Jewel Cave with time to spare and were able to get tickets for the first tour. It was a promising start to our first day of Midwestern adventures.
We even managed to be first in the queue that gathered by the lift. Our guide joined the group and announced that we would be entering the lift and descending more than 800 feet into the caverns beneath us. As the guide described the cave's history, (under)ground rules, and emergency evacuation procedures, Sam began to shift anxiously and turned very pale. When the guide finished his introduction and opened the lift doors, Sam quiety revealed to me that he had begun feeling ill.
Neither a crowded lift, nor a cave 800 feet underground, would be the best place for spontaneous projection of bodily fluids, so we peeled-off from the tour as it started to enter the lift. While Sam disappeared to the toilets, I confirmed with the ticketing staff that we could latch on to a later tour if desired. Sam returned from the toilets feeling better, reluctantly agreed to join the next tour, and gave the descent a heroic try.
Down in the cool, quiet cavern, Sam's anxiety began to subside as excitement prevailed. The tour then proceeded over about a mile, up-and-down through soaring chambers and narrow passageways.
Jewel Cave is the 2nd longest cave system in the USA and 5th longest in the world, with more than 200 miles of connected subterranean spaces. It's definitely not as blow-your-hair-back spectacular as better-known cavern complexes such as Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, but I appreciated the way that our tour guide's knowledgable presentation and enthusiasm kept our attention on small, subtle details. The tour of course covers only a small fraction of the entire cave system; there were nonetheless a few thrilling experiences such as the point at which our guide shut off the lights. It's quite sensational to be thrust into total darkness beneath 800 feet of rock, even if just for a moment.
Despite his initial anxiety about Jewel Cave, the place turned out to be one of Sam's favourite bits of our trip.
Some of the geological finds from Jewel Cave were on display in the visitor centre. Sam found the fake animal poo to be particularly engaging.
After a picnic lunch, we drove north-west back into Wyoming for a visit to Devil's Tower National Monument. Anyone who really knows me will not be surprised that, prior to embarking on this epic road trip, I required the boys to prepare by watching 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. These were the three main moments/scenes/themes they went away with:
the crazy dad shaping a mini Devil's Tower with his mashed potatoes
Devil's Tower - a unique (and of course American) geologic landmark as the setting for humanity's first formal contact with extraterrestrials
five very memorable musical notes (D E C C G) establishing a tonal alphabet used to communicate with the aliens
From first sighting of Devil's Tower's unmistakable shape on the horizon, the film's signature tones provided the afternoon's musical score - relentlessly.
Walking along the path, I challenged the boys to identify animal tracks, which gave Kenny a platform for the day's most creative application of the 'Close Encounters' musical tones. With each set of tracks identified, he would sing the tones as if made by the related animal. In other words, the film's theme sung by squirrels, birds, deer, porcupines, rattlesnakes, bobcats, bears, etc.
As this activity began to stretch beyond any interest in accurately identifying tracks and into correspondingly non-local animal sounds (spider monkeys are not indigenous to north eastern Wyoming), Sam's amusement turned to irritation. Time to change the subject.
Dad: 'Ok kids, since this place is called Devil's Tower, have you seen any devil tracks? No? Then why is it called Devil's Tower?'
Kids: 'dunno.'
Dad (seriously simplifying the history I'd read) : 'Probably because some white explorer in the 1800s decided to call it that'.
Kenny (snarkily): 'Maybe he named the mountain after his wife, like other explorers did.'
Sam (astutely): 'Did the people who lived here before him call it something else?'
Dad: 'Them's my boys. Yes, the Lakota people called it something like 'Bear's Lodge'. Does that seem more appropriate?'
Sam: 'Yeah, that's better.'
Kenny (imitating a bear's growl to the tones of 'Close Encounters'): 'Rahr Rahr Rahr Rahr Rahr'
Sam: 'Can we go now?'
Driving back through the Black Hills to Custer was slow-going as we happened to be visiting during the famous annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, when tens-of-thousands of bikers descend upon the region.
The next day we stuck closer to the cabin, which was just as well given the high numbers of bikers on the roads. It was nonetheless a full day, beginning at the Crazy Horse Memorial.
This monumental sculpture commemorating the Sioux leader Crazy Horse (ca. 1840 - 5 September 1877) was begun in 1948 and the work of carving its form out of Thunderhead Mountain continues to the present day. Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski was recruited by Lakota elder Henry Standing Bear to design and sculpt Crazy Horse in response to the depiction of historic United States presidents on nearby Mount Rushmore (see below). Fittingly, Ziolkowski had assisted Mount Rushmore's sculptor, Gutzon Borglum in its early stages but had parted ways with Borglum after disagreements regarding his role. Although Ziolkowski died in 1982, his family continues to make slow progress on the sculpture.
Two images showing progress on the Crazy Horse Memorial: 2003 (left) and 2014 (right). The main difference is that a significant amount of rock has been blasted away around the area of the horse.
Quite reasonably, the Crazy Horse Memorial has provoked mixed feelings from some in the Sioux Nation. Opponents have stated that it is a blight on the landscape and that Crazy Horse's own efforts to avoid portraits in his lifetime have not been honoured after his death, while others support the project. Kenny, Sam and I discussed these views and hoped that people will at least listen to each other. The memorial currently has an educational and cultural center on the grounds. The site will apparently include a campus of the University of South Dakota in the future - I hope it will be an environment where open, honest and tough discourse regarding this project and related history will be encouraged. These sorts of discussions early in the trip will be revisited again much more intensely in the final days of our journey.
We also agreed that, as a work of art, the sculpture's pose is uninteresting and a bit rigid - the latter perhaps being a structural necessity. It could be said that the sculpture was conceived in a different era and specific cultural context; only time and rich discussion will determine its continuing meaning and relevance.
Then we moved on to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The site's large parking structure was filled with...you guessed it: motorcycles.
This sculpture by Gutzon Borglum was begun in 1927 and finished in 1941, shortly follwing the artist's death. Unlike Ziolkowski's Crazy Horse project, Mount Rushmore had significant government support and funding behind it. Interestingly, the original proposal for this monument called for depictions of western American historical figures, including Crazy Horse, but Borglum rejected it in favour of U.S. Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln - all of whom oversaw policies or supported views that were anti-indigenous.
After those two historically heavy visits, the rest of the day was filled with fun. First on the agenda was the Reptile Gardens. Opened in 1937, this attraction seems a bit out of place in the Black Hills. Like most zoos, the majority of the animals were also not indigenous to the local area. The displays were mostly good and the boys enjoyed it.
Next, we were off to Custer State Park for a refreshing swim in Sylvan Lake.
The boys really enjoyed the lake. It was exactly what we needed, as the lake was surprisingly quiet and free of the tourist hordes we had experienced earlier in the day. We were also thrilled to watch a resident osprey hunt for its fish supper.
We finished our Black Hills adventures with dinnner at the Buglin' Bull in Custer. Inspired by the osprey, I had my own fish supper: a delicious filet of regionally-caught walleye, baked with vegetables and rice in butcher's paper. In another instance of foreshadowing for later in the trip, I also had to sample the (George) Armstrong (Custer) Ale - it was a bit bitter.
The next morning, we departed the cabin before sunrise, beginning a long day's drive east across the length of South Dakota toward Minnesota. I had heard of the legendary breakfast at Wall Drug, itself a historic icon of America's interstate highway system, so that was our first stop.
The kitsch factor was off-the-charts at Wall Drug (evidenced by the large-scale jackalope above); sadly the breakfast proved quite flavourless and was distinguished only by the quantity of food (evidenced by the massive pancakes above). Not impressed.
We were happ