Day 3 - 9/8/2007

  Keystone, South Dakota
Saturday, September 8, 2007

We started off the day with a hearty breakfast of 99 cent pancakes, among other things.  We headed out to the Badlands, stopping at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota.    We arrived at the Badlands to discover amazing scenery, with hills horizontally striped gray, yellow, green and red. It was also bitterly cold and windy so we debated the merits of each overlook as to whether or not it was worth getting out of the car for a picture.  We finished the route in record time.  After we exited the park, we visited a restored prairie homestead with a sod house, sod barn, and sod storage room.  We commented on what a dreary life it must have been for the inhabitants.   The grounds were populated with a colony of white prairie dogs - the only all-white colony in existence.  They ignored our offered peanuts, but the flock of chickens didn't, pursuing us to the exit building.  V.V. was afraid.  We drove directly back to Mount Rushmore, which turned out to be an amazing place.  We had seen it from a distance but it was much more awe-inspiring up close.  Upon our exit there was a family of white mountain goats grazing right by the parking lot.  We were able to take pictures as they met the 10 foot rule.  Dinner was at the local saloon and afterwards we went back to the hotel and had an early night.