I was excited to get to South Dakota, another state I had never been to.  The skies, however, were growing darker and darker, and I got caught in a torrential thunder and hail storm just as I approached Belle Fourche, SD, the "Geographic Center of the US".  With all apologies to my Kansan friends, this is the center if you count Alaska and Hawaii -- the center of the continental US is in Lebanon, Kansas.

Right in the very heart of it...this marker in Belle Fourche, SD represents
the geographical center of the United States (Mile 5159)

Thankfully, the storms passed and cleared away nearly as suddenly as they appeared, and as night fell (and I crossed into the Mountain Time Zone, gaining an hour) -- I entered the Black Hills area, and stayed the night in the Old Western Mining Town of Deadwood, SD.  The modestly named black "hills" top out around 7-8,000 feet or so, quite a bit higher than the "mountains" of the Appalachians.  But it's all relative. If you drew a line eastward starting in Denver, Harney Peak (below) is the highest point until you get to the French Alps.  Oh, and they call them "Black" because they look so dark from the thick forests.

Black Hills of SD (Mile 5190)

The next day was beautiful and one of the best days of the trip.  I left Deadwood and headed through Sturgis, home of the big annual biker rally.  I chuckled to see the place below...

Deja Vu??  No, it's just the Wrigley Field Grill & Bar in Sturgis, SD, home of the annual biker rally (Mile 5201)

And after passing thru Rapid City, SD, it was on to Badlands National Park.  It was a gorgeous 100-degree sunny day.  It was some amazing scenery.  After 1500 miles or so of Great Plains, the land suddenly drops off into this twisted, eroded maze of moon-like spires, canyons, and gullies.  I highly recommend you check it out.  Enjoy the pictures.

Badlands National Park (Mile 5280-5345)

Bad enough for ya??  Again, to go from the sublime to the ridiculous, I visited the Roadside Attraction Extraordinaire:Wall Drug in Wall, SD (Mile 5348). Basically, it's kind of like South-of-the-Border in South Carolina.  A drugstore that was the only place around for 100s of miles originally, it has evolved into a whole city block of shops, restaurants, museums, the whole nine yards.  Yes, they actually do still have a drug store with a pharmacy.  I picked up a few souvenirs, had a buffalo burger, and was off...

Mount Rushmore (Mile 5427)

One of the most American of all sights, I was off to the Big Daddy of all tourist attractions, Mt. Rushmore.  I'll tell ya, I liked it alot, really, really glad I saw it, but after a half-hour or so, I'm like, "OK, that's enough".  If Disney ran the place, I'm sure they'd animate the stone figures or at least make water spout out of their mouths or nostrils.  But nope, they just sat there.  The little park ranger tour I took was very cute -- the kids on it were funny --- the ranger asked the kids on the tour to describe what they thought of each figure's facial expression.  Asked about George Washington, this little boy said, "He looked high" -- well, they are all pretty high!  I also learned that they originally were supposed to be carved down to the waist, but the rock wouldn't support it, so they just did the heads.

LEFT: Mount Rushmore for Dummies: Just in case you thought it was Polk, Fillmore, Tyler, and Buchanan

RIGHT: OK, Cover the left picture with your hand and try to remember!! (Mile 5427)

Following Mt. Rushmore, I was off to the Crazy Horse Memorial (Mile 5444), seen below.  Cool, but unfinished -- they won't finish it for like 75 years -- yet still felt comfortable charging $11!!!!  Don't go out of your way.

So who knew SD was so packed with attractions???  As dusk approached, I slipped across the border to...

Wyoming