Road Trip!

So the first semester of grad school is finished. Ready, set, BREAK! One of the few breaks I'll be getting for the next three years so I am told. With only a week and a half to get into mischief, I called Aunt Tish and asked if she was ready for a vacation.

Decisions, decisions. Do we go to Disney World and Universal Studios or the bottom SW corner of South Dakota to see four giant stone heads? The stone heads, of course! And to make it even better, we decided to drive! Don't get me wrong, it was a fun trip. Extremely fun, we just expected to see a little more than 400 miles straight of flat farm land. It was pretty to be sure, and I truly believe the end result was worth the total 3015 miles driven! :)

So we decided to drive straight to Mt Rushmore (with a small stop at Blue Earth, MN for some warmer clothes- and the very neat Jolly Green Giant) and do some road tripping on the way back if time permitted. Very cool! Four 60 foot heads staring out into the gorgeous Black Hills of SD was an awesome sight. George, Tom, Teddy, and Abe don't have a whole lot to say, but their images do mean a lot. The Birth of, Expansion of and Integration of the US, and the role of the Common Man are all symbolized in granite. It is a pretty spectacular picture, and I would suggest all Americans go see it at some point in their lifetime. Preferably- fly into SD, have a 5-6 hour lay-over, and fly back home. 400 miles seems to take forever when you can't really tell one field from the next. :)

11 miles away from Mt Rushmore is an even bigger head that is still in the process of being carved. Rushmore was impressive, but looking at the Crazy Horse Memorial can take your breath away. Especially when you see the proportions. The face of Crazy Horse is complete and part of the rock for his arm is beginning to take shape, but it will be an estimated 30 more years before it is complete. From what we were told, Mt Rushmore (all 4 faces) will be able to fit within the flowing HAIR of Crazy Horse when the monument is complete. And unlike Rushmore, Crazy Horse will be completely 3D. A poem written by the original sculptor will also be written into the rock with 3 foot high letters. This monument is not funded by the federal government and is carried on by the original artist's family (first name Korczak, last name.... I don't remember how to spell it). Most of the "sculpting" is done with dynamite!

Another must see in SD is the "world" famous Wall Drug in Wall, SD. Definitely a tourist trap, but they have lots of cool things to buy. And they had a small wooden duck on a stick that when he "walked" his feet slapped and sounded like a real duck when it walks on hard surfaces. So of course, Aunt Tish had to buy one. His name is Hubert. Be careful, he's vicious!

We started our trip back to OH and stopped at the Badlands of SD, World's Only Corn Palace, Mall of America, Frederick Meijer's Flower and Sculpture Gardens, and Frankenmuth, Michigan (home of the replica of the Silent Night Chapel in Austria and also home of Zehnder's famous fried chicken dinners). And now... back to the books... ugh!