South Dakota Was Great!

I remember telling someone that South Dakota was on my list of states I would visit and they responded with “ooh, why South Dakota?” I was mostly thinking about the Badlands and the Chief Crazy Horse sculpture, but I came to find it much more interesting and fun. I took a look at economic factors and was surprised to find the overall poverty rate is about 11.8%. That’s pretty low when you compare it with Oklahoma at 15.9, but higher than near-by Colorado at 9.8 or Nebraska at 10.5% (2024 figures from the U.S. Census website; numbers vary across sources). One observation made in an article I perused was that the poverty was is much higher in the nearly 9% Native American population. World Population Review reports that rate at 45.33% in 2026. Although not surprising, it is mind boggling that the richest country in the world allows this and other racial disparities to exist.

On that downer-note, on to my visit.

I almost can’t believe that my gap year road trip is coming to a close. On the one hand, I’m looking forward to being home with family and friends, staying in one place, doing ordinary things, and doing some sewing and other activities I’ve missed. I’ll spend time looking for a job and, if I’m disciplined about it, writing a lot more about my journey. At the same time, the novelty of each place, day, or experience I’ve had has been energizing – there’s so much to see, do and learn! So many people to interact with, lives to get a glimpse of, connections to make. Knowing that I’ll hit the road in the coming years – maybe for a month or two, maybe six, who knows? – softens the loss of the freedom and wonder I’ve felt throughout the last nearly eleven months.

But right now, I’m still trippin’! I went to the Harvest Host Stroppel Hotel and Mineral Baths in Midland, SD but the 103 degrees sent me inside. I got a $60 room that has seen its better days, but the air-conditioning worked! Plus, I was the only guest there so I was able to spread out my maps, guide book and computer and plan out the last couple of weeks of my gap year. Although quite worn out, the hotel and natural mineral baths were a historic site, dating back to 1939 when the owner, John Stroppel, dug a 1,780 foot well and found water at a toasty 119 degrees. Although the idea of a plunge given the heat outside nearly made me faint, I checked out the pools and felt the heat rising up from the water. That also made me feel like I might faint.

It got silly as soon as I traveled west from Minnesota to South Dakota. Signs like “5 cent coffee!” “fresh donuts!” and “free ice water!” peppered the side of the freeway for miles. I had been told about the phenomenon that is Wall Drug and decided I’d stop for breakfast and the five cent cup o’ joe. My tasty egg and cheese sandwich on white bread was tasty, the coffee good and strong, and the donut outstanding. I passed a family with a box of them as I walked to my car and when the mom asked “who wants a donut?” it was all I could do to resist the urge to turn around with an “I do, I do!” There were a lot of stores and some kid-oriented things, like a huge jack rabbit, but I was eager to get to the Badlands so i didn’t spend much time there. I did get a bumper sticker!

Between Midland and Wall, around mile marker 264 on I-90 there exists a sculpture – Dignity: of Earth and Sky that is the polar opposite of silly. Honoring the Lakota and Dakota people of South Dakota, it is a magnificent and moving reflection of the cultures, resilience, and grace of these communities – https://www.travelsouthdakota.com/trip-ideas/dignity-earth-sky.

I felt like I’d been transported back to Utah when I got to the Badlands – breathtaking, beautiful, awesome! I drove the Badlands Loop Scenic drive, stopping along the way to get up close to the geological structures. I hadn’t been able to get a campsite so I didn’t spend nearly as much time as I would have liked, but I enjoyed the eye candy as I made my way to Wind Cave National Park in the southwest part of S.D.

I fretted as I drove across the Pine Ridge Reservation and miles and miles of farm land but few cars, homes, businesses, etc. My fret-level rose when I recalled a man i met in Mississippi telling me how he had two blow outs in one day from the hot asphalt. I’d been driving more than an hour at this point and it was in the mid-90s. I couldn’t remember if he’d said it was 110 that day or if I just wanted him to have said that to ease my worry. It subsided a little when I encountered a different problem – a 22 mile washboard dirt road googlemaps had led me to. I went about a hundred feet before deciding it was a no-go. As I maneuvered my 5-point turn to go back an SUV entered the road; I quickly rolled down the window and waved to stop him so I could ask about an alternative. Just like the UPS man when I was stuck on the van roof, he waved back and carried on. I guess I need to get a little more exuberant when I’m actually trying to stop someone.

I figured out a route and before too long, i started seeing houses and felt less isolated. I made my way to Elk Mountain Campground where a bison was wallowing just outside the fence line. I had learned on the Bison Tour at Blue Mounds State Park in MN that bison create the wallows (a shallow bowl in the ground with dirt, plant life removed) so they can roll around in it to get the bugs off. Fun Fact: this is something taught from generation to generation and not something cows or humans do. Although some humans make sport of mud wrestling:)

Without a ticket to the Fairgrounds tour of Wind Cave I set out on the 1.4 mile walk to the visitor center to see if I could get a day-of ticket. Although the center wasn’t open yet the line was already about 50 people long and I was pessimistic. The man ahead of me looked at my Communities for Our Colleges hat and asked about it. His curiosity launched a conversation with he and his wife that lasted about an hour, right up until we got to the front of the line. They were in their 70s and on a road trip to Alaska, having a long history of outdoor adventure including hiking the entire Appalachian Trail…that’s 2180 miles! It was a great way to wait in line and it was topped off with success – I got a ticket to the tour I wanted!

The geology of caves is interesting, and so is the story of their discovery and development. I enjoyed the story of the Lakota Oglala people to explain how bison came to exist in the area as well as how the indigenous people came to live on the surface of the earth after many years of souls existing below. The story is shared at https://www.nps.gov/wica/learn/historyculture/the-lakota-emergence-story.htm and the tour ranger added an additional element. She said that for many years native people would not go into the cave as it was intended for the earlier “soul” version of the tribal people and not meant to be visited in physical form. Some people do go into the cave, but some hold to the tradition and don’t.

I was camped about thirty minutes from the Crazy Horse Monument so I hopped in the van and headed there, passing through the busy tourist town of Custer. I didn’t realize that there’s a big culture, history and art center at the monument from which you can see the monument. I enjoyed the movie that provided the story of how the monument came to be. The artist, Polish American Korczak Ziolowski, took several years after being asked to create the sculpture by Chief Standing Bear to agree to the project. Several of his adult children and grandchildren continue the work on it and were interviewed. His dedication to realizing the vision of the Lakota people to honor Chief Crazy Horse was moving and reflected a deep awareness of the injustice they have endured. Notably, the project is privately funded and will take many more years for completion, but the ongoing involvement of his family and the development of the center demonstrate robust support. The final sculpture will be 563 feet high and 641 feet long!