There are five cows for every person in South Dakota, and most of the bovines end up as hamburger meat. (That's 3,500,000 McDonalds-bound critters to 700,000 people, if you need the stats.) The people are something else, however, interesting enough to make a trip here worthwhile if only to meet and interact with them. Perhaps the most fascinating to the average visitor are the three tribes (historically, the Teton, Yankton and Santee) of the Sioux Nation, whose 59,000 members are today governed by nine tribal authorities, and who speak one of three dialects--Dakota, Lakota or Nakota. The Great Sioux Nation (which has its own national anthem) gave names to most of the famous geographical features of the state, such as Paha Sapa (Black Hills) and Mako Sica (Badlands). Another reason to meet the Sioux people is their four cardinal virtues, which are wisdom (woksape), bravery, (woohitika), fortitude (wowacintanka) and generosity (wacantognaka). The Sioux regard the forces of nature as holy, and seek to live in harmony with the natural and supernatural world. Those combined attitudes are hard to find in many 9-to-5 workplaces these days, so exposure to them could be refreshing, no doubt.
Natural Beauty and Unnatural Kitsch
Two spots should be at the top of your agenda here, one magnificent and natural, the other kitschy and manmade.
The Badlands National Park may remind you of the face of the moon, or what you have seen of the latter on film, with its barren miles of windswept space, but parts of this expanse of some 382 square miles (244,00 acres) are positively awe-inspiring. Nature has carved out fantastic steeples, rugged ridges and vast canyons, the result of erosion over many millions of years. Frank Lloyd Wright visited in 1935, shortly after the Badlands Memorial opened, and wrote "I've been around the world a lot, and pretty much over our own country, but I was totally unprepared for that revelation called the Dakota Bad Lands?What I saw gave me an indescribable sense of mysterious elsewhere--a distant architecture, ethereal?an endless supernatural world more spiritual than earth but created out of it." And you might want to hurry, as experts predict that at the loss by erosion of an inch per annum, the Badlands will be a flat prairie in only 500,000 years!
If you have little time to visit, take the famed Loop Road (Route 240) which runs from I-90's Exit 131 south to the park's northeast entrance, then westward to the Pinnacles Entrance and finally, north to Wall SD. It's a distance of only 41 miles, but during the trip, you'll see many of The Badlands' most amazing sights. Included here are Big Pass Overlook, Prairie Wind Overlook, Conata Basin Overlook, Yellow Mounds Overlook, and the Pinnacles Overlook as well as Saddle Pass and Dillon Pass. To the south or Route 240 is the Buffalo Gap National Grassland; to the north, The Wall.
The Wall is a series of spires, pinnacles and ridges interspersed with gullies that twist back almost upon themselves, as wide as three miles and as narrow as half a mile, which runs from east to west, serving as a barrier between the upper prairie and the lower prairie, the latter lying along the floodplain of the White River.
Within the park are eight hiking trails, ranger programs, two visitors centers, picnic areas, two campgrounds and a modern lodge. Among the animals you can expect to see are bison (the proper word for buffalo), coyotes, bighorn sheep, pronghorns, mule deer, prairie dogs and rattlesnakes, not to mention the black-footed ferret, the most endangered mammal in North America, which has made a comeback in the park, the latter being the nation's top reintroduction site. It's ideal for the little creatures, as they love to feast on prairie dogs.
Contact the Park Rangers at Badlands National Park, PO Box 6, Interior SD 57750, e-mail badl_information@nps.gov, Web site www.nps.gov/badl, phone 605/433-5361, fax 605/433-5404. Admission is $10 good for a week. Half the admission is turned over to the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and 30% stays at the park for local projects. The park is open year round.
The second "must-see" is Wall Drug, which modestly calls itself "the world's largest drugstore." Admission is free to this wacky place, which has grown since 1931 from the only drugstore in a one-horse town (pop. 326 then, 834 now) to a huge complex containing an animated cowboy band; a full-sized, roaring and fire-breathing T. Rex model; a chapel, a 500-seat dining room (see below for sample menu); a giant jackalope; a 1908 Hupmobile; a gallery of over 1,500 historic photos of the region; and a recreation of Wild Bill Hickok's last (and fatal) poker game. Free ice water started the rush of travelers stopping at this place along I-90 just north of The Badlands National Park, and savvy marketing (signs almost everywhere!) has kept it going until today as many as 20,000 visitors pour in to see the place. And oh, yes, they still have free ice water for you to drink, and even a pharmacy if you need a prescription filled. Located at 510 Main Street, Wall SD, just off I-90 at either Exit 109 or 110, phone 605/279-2175, Web site www.walldrug.com.
You should visit Scenic, a good place to stop en route between Rapid City and The Badlands, if only to visit two spots. The first is the Longhorn Store, a combined museum and shopping center, with Indian artifacts, beadwork, war relics, antiques and hand made quilts, as well as other craft items made by the Oglala Sioux, owner Twila Merrill says. You can also buy cold beer, liquor and pop (soda, that is), as well as snacks. 19 Main Street, Scenic SD, phone 605/993-6822.
Down the street a few steps is Bears & Buggies, owned by Barbara (Nichols) and The Bear (John). In addition to checking out the Bear Creek Station here, with teddy bears made by Barbara, you can see the home, on the premises, of the C.H. Merrill Museum of Natural History, featuring fossils, agates and a 1910 John Deere Doctor's Buggy. 24 Main Street, Scenic SD, phone 605/993-6121 (store) or 605/993-6150 (home), e-mail scenicbear@gwtc.net.
Don't Forget the Souvenirs
The area abounds in arts and crafts made by members of the various Sioux tribes. You should be careful that what you are buying is a real Indian artifact, however. Under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, a truth-in-advertising law, it is illegal to offer or display for sale, or sell any art or craft product in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian tribe. Vendors who violate this law are subject to punishment of 5 years in jail and/or fines ranging up to $250,000. To protect yourself, buy from a reputable dealer and ask for written verification that the item is authentic Indian art or craftwork. If no written verification, don't buy. For more information on this, contact the Indian Arts &Crafts Board, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, MS 4004-MIB, Washington DC 20240, phone 202/208-3773, e-mail iacb@os.doi.gov, Web site www.iacb.doi.gov.
A Tipi or a Bed
For an authentic lodging experience, stay at the Wakpamni B&B, located on the Bar-O-Bar Farm on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation near an Oglala Lakota village. There are two guest houses, each with three bedrooms (starting at $60 per room), and several tipis (better known to many as teepees), with wooden floors and outdoor showers and toilet facilities. Included in the rates is a full breakfast. Activities center around tours with a Lakota guide and horseback riding. Contact them at HC 64 Box 43, Batesland SD 57716, phone 605/288-1800, fax 605/288-1868, e-mail bswick@gpcom.net, Web site www.wakpamni.com.
The Triangle Ranch B&B is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and has been in the same family for six generations, they say. Housed in a house right out of the 1923 Sears, Roebuck catalog, the accommodations consist of four airy rooms (two with private baths) and a Cowboy Carriage House, the latter sleeping six persons, with kitchenette, private bath and sitting area. Included in the price are afternoon snacks and a full breakfast. Activities include horseback riding, fishing, ranch tours and campfire sing-alongs. Contact them at HCR 1 Box 62, Philip SD 57567, phone 888/219-1774 or 605/859-2122, e-mail triangle@gwtc.net, Web site www.bbonline.com/sd/triangleranch.
Grub
If it's authenticity you want, stop in at the famous Old Longhorn Saloon in Scenic, halfway between the park and Rapid City on State 44. Here, Dave and Lee Ann Keester keep an ox-skull festooned bar and caf?unning, with sandwiches (averaging about $6), beer and snacks, as well as a wall of names. In this place voted by "the Bikers as the best Watering Hole in the Badlands," you can dance on sawdust floors and sit on tractor seat stools. Contact them at 17 Main Street, Scenic, phone 605/993-6135.
At Wall Drug, the big restaurant (500 seats) serves all three meals daily, the lunch/dinner roast beef favorite going for $7.25 (with mashed potatoes & gravy, veggies and a roll). The baked ham dinner, with baked beans, potato salad and a roll, goes for $6.19, a ham sandwich for just $3.25. 510 Main Street, phone 605/279-2175, Web site www.walldrug.com.
For more information on The Badlands, contact the Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Association, 1851 Discovery Circle, Rapid City SD 57701, phone 605/355-3600, Web site www.blackhillsbadlands.com; or the Wall Badlands Area Chamber of Commerce, phone 888/852-0255 or 605/279-2665, Web site www.wall-badlands.com.