The current plan is to depart from Willmar, Minnesota where my cousin is getting married. We can leave earlier on Sunday to ensure we get three good days to go out to Rushmore and get back to Rochester, with plenty of stops in between! First thing's first, though. We need to take a look at some South Dakota stats!
South Dakota became a state in 1889, it's the seventeenth largest state in the US with a size of slightly over 77,000 square miles. Here's a comparison between the size of the United Kingdom as a whole compared with the Dakotas:
The UK is only 22% larger than the state of South Dakota as a whole, so despite not even being in the top ten in terms of area in the United States, it's still extremely expansive. On the flipside, less than 900,000 people reside in North Dakota, with large population centers lying on either side of the state: Rapid City in the west (pop. 68,000) and Sioux Falls in the east (pop. 162,000). Particularly big attractions in South Dakota include Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, and the Badlands.
Onto the planning! Here is, day by day, the sketched out plan for our road trip.
The first day, as aforementioned, will begin in Willmar, Minnesota. Total drive time will be just under six hours until we reach Pierre, the destination for the day. The only real major city on this route is Watertown, which we'll reach roughly two hours after leaving; a perfect place to stop for lunch! There's not a whole lot on the way, though, but here are some stops:
Replica Liberty Bell - Milan, MN
Just what it sounds like. Apparently, nearby there is a Viking carved from wood and a mural depicting the history of illustrious Milan. Milan bills itself as "Norwegian Capital USA," and has a population of just over 300 people.
Gnometown USA - Dawson, MN
The city of Dawson regards itself as Gnometown, USA. Seeing a pattern here yet? Spread all around town are small gnome statues, including what appear to be around a dozen hanging out by the welcome sign. Dawson's pretty big for a rural town weighing in at a population of around 1,500.
World's Largest Lutefisk - Madison, MN
In remarkable rule of threes serendipity, Madison calls itself the Lutefisk Capital of the USA. Yup, that's their claim to fame. The town has a gigantic statue of the eponymous fish that symbolizes the yearly lutefisk-eating competition. Madison is around the same size as Dawson at about 1,500 people residing.
Minnesota's Salt Lake - Marietta, MN
Due to its placement among a bunch of alkaline soil, the Marietta area features the only salt lake in the state. Unique wildlife are attracted to the area because of this, and there's a nice walkway that allows you to take a look across the lake.
Cowboy Statue - Watertown, SD
Not too far from the border is the city of Watertown, which features a giant cowboy statue. Watertown is a relatively large place with a population of nearly 22,000 people. Great stop to take a look at the statue and grab some lunch.
Tiny Traveler's Church - Henry, SD
Near the tiny town of Henry resides a teensy church on the side of the road, available for travelers to pop in and take a look. The roadside chapel couldn't have more than four or five seats, but it'd be great just to stop and take a couple pictures!
Pheasant Capital of the USA - Redfield, SD
Redfield was the first place where settlers released pheasants in the North American continent and, therefore, has to be honored as the Pheasant Capital USA. The town features a nice little pheasant statue and boasts a population of around 2,500.
Sinclair Mascot - Pierre, SD
Pierre is the capital of the state of South Dakota - and South Dakota is a state associate with dinosaurs. With a dinosaur park in Rapid City and several dino discoveries through the state, the green apatosaurus Sinclair mascot is right at home, here. Pierre is the destination for the first day!
Here's the final map with all the stops, weighing in at five hours and forty-two minutes:
Pierre features plenty of cheap hotels that we could check into and stay the night. With a population of slightly under 14,000, Pierre is beaten only by Vermont's Montpelier as the least populous state capital in the nation. Its capitol building sits right on the Missouri river that dissects the state.
The second day of the trip will feature the end goal of the drive: seeing the famous Mount Rushmore in the west end of the state. It'll be a full day that will feature Sturgis and Rapid City, as well as a stop in Deadwood. The winding drive will take us through the Black Hills where Rushmore sits, and end in Wall, SD, the namesake of famous tourist trap Wall Drug.
Bear Butte - Sturgis, SD
A butte (steep hill) that sits outside of Sturgis apparently looks like a bear. The diverse geological form results from a hill with erosion specifically on its sides to make it much more steep than most of the rolling hills surrounding it. Not strictly a butte, Bear Butte is more akin to laccoliths like the nearby Devils Tower in Wyoming.
Devils Tower - Crook County, WY
Though it would be quite the detour, Devils Tower is a sight to behold. Another laccolith created from ancient lava flow injection, Devils Tower rises over 1,200 feet above the surrounding hills and can be viewed easily from the road. Again, it would be significantly far from the beaten path, but it may be worth taking a look if we felt adventurous. The downside, however - it would add three hours to the drive for the day.
Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame - Sturgis, SD
Open Su-Sa, 10am - 4pm
What would Sturgis be without a motorcycle museum? We'll miss the Bike Week rally by just a few days in Sturgis, but when the population drops from almost half a million to under seven thousand.
Deadwood, SD
An attraction in itself, Deadwood was the subject of a 2000s HBO series about the Old West. Wild Bill Hicock was actually shot here, as well. The town has tons of touristy stuff related to the Old West, including a town center Old West show.
Ornate Junk Horse - Hill City, SD
A gorgeous sculpture of a horse resides in this small town of about a thousand situated in the middle of the Black Hills. Across the street is a cafe that might be a good place for lunch before we head to the big monuments.
Crazy Horse Monument - Crazy Horse, SD
Intended as a companion, or maybe one-upmanship, to the nearby Mount Rushmore, this gigantic sculpture isn't quite done, but then, neither are the presidents down the road. Crazy Horse's face peers from a cliffside in a monument that may never be finished, but one has to admire the determination put into creating this Native American memorial.
Mount Rushmore
The goal of the whole road trip. Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million tourists per year who arrive and gawk at the immensity of the presidential memorial. The carved face features two of the founders of the United States of America (Washington and Jefferson), the president who waged war to abolish slavery in the United States (Lincoln), and the father of the concept of National Parks (Theodore Roosevelt). August is the high season for visitors, so the monument will no doubt be crowded, but the sight will definitely be worth it.
Borglum Rushmore Museum - Keystone, SD
Open June - August, Su-Sa 8:30am - 4:30pm
A historical center honoring the artist who conceived of and designed Mount Rushmore. The museum features information on Rushmore and Borglum's other works.
Dinosaur Park - Rapid City, SD
Open dawn to dusk daily
Dinosaur park was a favorite of mine as a kid, featuring tons of gigantic green statues of dinosaurs. Some of them look a little... off, but that's part of the fun, assuredly.
Presidential Statues - Rapid City, SD
To go along with the giant statues to the east, the street corners in Rapid City feature presidential statues with the famous men in different settings. Really worth walking around a bit to see them and get your picture taken with various historical presidents!
Wall Drug - Wall, SD
The mecha of kitschy tourist stops, Wall Drug is the ultimate in tourist traps. Filled with robotic bands, stupid gift stores, and the most gimmicky food shops of all time, Wall Drug harkens back to a day when tourist traps looked exactly like what they were.
Wall Drug Dinosaur - Wall, SD
Near Wall Drug is the famous Wall Drug dinosaur. The statue is about eighty feet long, or so advertises a sign nearby.
Leaving out Devils Tower, here's the day's map:
After staying over in Wall, we start down I-90 eastward and head back to Rochester. This is probably the most active section of the trip, owing to the fact that we'll be using a major thoroughfare. There's plenty to see and do on the way!
Minuteman Missile Tour - Ellsworth Air Force Base, SD
Open M-F, guided tours at 9am and 1:30pm
The only tour of what was once a nuclear missile launch silo, one of many that used to (and still) call the Dakotas home. Self guided tours are available as well, but most recommend arriving at a time when guides are available.
Skeleton Man Walking a Dinosaur - Murdo, SD
A rather amazing and striking sculpture on the side of I-90 of a skeletal T-rex being walked by a skeletal man on a leash. Though it would be difficult to stop and take a picture, I'm sure we'll be seeing these fellows on the drive.
Mitchell Corn Palace - Mitchell, SD
An old favorite, the Corn Palace serves as a municipal building. The outside features images made completely of different colors of corn which is changed yearly. Usually the images represent some sort of activity or concept important to the area.
Porter Sculpture Park - Montrose, SD
Open 8am - 6pm
A rather extensive and strange sculpture park, featuring a bull sculpture with massive horns, a terrifying looking dragon, and a mantis with a flyswatter. Hard to resist an interesting place like this one.
Tiny Church - Luverne, MN
Another tiny church on the side of the road. What can I say, I love these things!
The Jolly Green Giant - Blue Earth, MN
A statue of everyone's favorite vegetable mascot. Of course, the headquarters of the company he represents resides about sixty miles away, but even so, he stands guard over the city of Blue Earth. Ho ho ho!
The SPAM Museum - Austin, MN
Open M-Sa 10am - 5pm
Hopefully we'll get through in time to visit the fantastic SPAM Museum. Even though SPAM is most closely associated with Hawaii these days, most people aren't aware that Hormel's headquarters is right in Austin.
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