Mount Rushmore

Day 10 (June 6): Detour alert!

Today’s scheduled detours included Wall Drug and Mount Rushmore. I’ve been to both before, but so many years ago, I just barely remember, and Daniel has never seen either. We were going to head out first thing in the morning to see Wall Drug, and then remembered that it was our own schedule, and we could actually leave whenever we wanted to, so we decided to sleep in instead.

It felt so good to sleep in a real bed, and take a real shower, and be able to sort through all of our clothes and reorganize. We also took some time in the morning to hand wash a few pieces of laundry, since we aren’t hitting a place with a washing machine until next Sunday.

Once we finished all that, around 10:30, we finally headed out towards Wall Drug. Now, basically every time we told someone we were planning to see Wall Drug, they took it upon themselves to tell us it was a waste of time, but we ignored their sound advice to see for ourselves whether it was so, since I remembered being fascinated when I saw it as a teen.

And I admit that I am very glad we went, though we both openly acknowledged it was a tourist trap. We explored all the shops, saw the huge T-Rex, and I pretended to drive a wagon. We also bought souvenirs, and, I couldn’t resist, because I never can, I bought a grab bag when I found one in store. It was filled with things I will probably never use, other than a couple magnets and shot glasses, but my curiosity was satisfied, so I cannot regret buying it.

Now, I have to admit that earlier at the hotel, a brochure for a winery caught my attention, because on the front it said they had rhubarb wine. And anyone who knows me, knows my weakness for rhubarb. So, on our way back to the hotel after Walldrug, when Daniel saw an advertisement for the same winery, we took it as a sign. We went back to the hotel, ate lunch, took a nap, and then went to the winery.

They didn’t have any tastings available, but they did have flights, so we enjoyed splitting a flight, and then a glass of our favorite, which of course, was the rhubarb wine, and eating some cheese and crackers.

From there, we finally headed to Mount Rushmore. It was as breathtaking in person as it is on postcards. Okay, probably more so. But my favorite part was watching how excited Daniel was to see it in real life. We sat and gazed for a while, got lots of pictures, and then headed back to the hotel, where we packed up the car, spent a little bit of time in the hot tub, worked on the budget, and are now getting to bed way too late.

All in all, it was actually a very relaxing and restful day, and we are both so grateful for it as we move into the next part of the Oregon/California Trail and several nights of camping.