Close Encounters.... Badlands!

Hungover. Ugh. Supposed to drive all the way to Fargo, ND today but didn't think I could drive that far. Aiming for Sioux Falls instead. Another 5 hour drive or so. But I stop by some sights along the way so I end up arriving after dark.

The first stop is a kitschy tourist destination, almost at par with the world's biggest ball of twine! Wall Drug. From miles and miles before you get to Wall, they advertise with lots and lots of funny signs along the freeway. Apparently it's gotten to the point where you can see Wall Drug signs in Nairobi, the London subway, Israel, and other spots all over the world! It's grown over the years from a drug store to almost a mini-mall in the middle of nowhere, South Dakota.

Next stop is Devil's tower. A short (40 mile) detour away from the freeway, it's an interesting geographical oddity. Created by volcanic energy and by the surrounding soil getting eroded over the centuries, this "tower" has been the center of Native American and other mythology: including the 70's movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Next stop: Badlands.

Oooops. Wrong Badlands.

I drive through the (real) Badlands, another geographical sight-to-see, created by centuries after centuries of soil erosion. You can actually see different colored layers in the formations, representing different eons in history. Fossils from the Badlands are found in museums everywhere.

After a long drive, I end up in Sioux Falls where I quickly find a room and lay my head down to rest.

Funny thing. I didn't know there was a time change (I'm now on central time) driving from Rapid City SD to Siouxs Falls SD. I thought the time zones went by state, and didn't cut individual states into two time zones. I guess I was wrong. So I was actually having dinner at this brew pub at 10 pm, when I thought it was only 9!)