In the spring of 1999 I drove from Pittsburgh, PA to Seattle, WA. I took 3 weeks for this solo road trip. Along the way I stopped in national parks, historic towns and roadside attractions. I also met some interesting folks along the way.
While I was on the road I had sent some emails to friends and family to share my experiences. Below is the first email I had sent.
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(¸.Michelle ¸.·
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Date: Friday, April 30, 1999 12:22 AM
Subject: Notes from the road...
I left on my journey west on Sunday morning. The first day I drove almost 500 miles to Portage, Indiana. Day two was about 400 miles to Preston, Minnesota. And day 3 took me over 500 miles to Badlands National Park.
When you drive this far, you notice a lot of variances between the states. Almost as soon as you cross the state lines you notice a change in the landscape and the roads. This has certainly given me a new perspective of this country. Even though these first three days were just driving, I have seen a lot of the land and the way that people live.
In Minnesota, I had stayed in a hostel. They called themselves a resort. I didn't expect the place to have many other hostelers. But it turns out that I was the ONLY person staying there! It was my first ever experience staying in a hostel...anywhere. And it'll be my first of about 4. By the end I should be able to give good information on what visitors to the USATourist site can expect from US hostels.
In Badlands I stayed in the Cedar Pass Lodge, the only lodging inside the park. The lodge is operated by the Oglala Lakota (Souix) tribe. And, once again, I was the only person there!
The weather was perfect and I was able to hike most of the trails. (There aren't many). On one of the t rails I spotted a coyote. He was using the trail also, heading towards me. He spotted me too. I think he was a little shy because he decided to take a detour across the prairie. I was able to get a good view of him through the binoculars though!
There were very few other tourists in the park. In fact, I didn't see another person on any of the trails. I almost literally had the park to myself. All I could hear were the crickets, birds and the wind whipping through the grass.
I decided to take a drive on the Cedar Pass Rim Road. It's a gravel road that the rangers close after rainstorms. This road takes you past a Prairie Dog Town. So of course I was able to see (and hear) many of the cute creatures. While I was standing in the pull off next to the town, I noticed that I was standing in the middle of bison tracks. Then in the distance I noticed two groups of bison. I wasn't able to get a good look at them, but I felt rewarded anyway.
As I continued down the road, I stopped next to a big dark shape in the tall grass. About 50 feet from the road were two bison sitting in the tall grass! And even further down the road I came upon another bison. He was also 50 feet away, grazing next to one of the few trees in the plains.
At the end of the road I found myself near a town called "Scenic". I followed the sign that said "business district". This business district was actually about 100 feet long and was made up of about maybe 5 businesses: A small gas station. A closed shop, an open oddities shop, and "The Longhorn Saloon". The buildings were all made of wood that was so weathered, it was almost white. I don't think that they were replicas because the homes were also run-down. And the church even had holes in the walls. The Saloon's roof was covered with the skulls of long horns. This town was certainly a unique experience!
That evening, I decided to go up the I-90 to Kadoka for dinner. I had seen almost every other small town in the area. (Joane, if I got your e-mail before I was there, I could have mentioned your name!) It was dark when I drove back into the park. And when it's dark in South Dakota, it is really dark! As I was driving, I saw an animal running across the road in front of me. Being from Pennsylvania, my first reaction was that it must be a deer. But when I stopped next to where i saw the creature, I realized that I was looking at two antelope!
This morning I checked out of the Cedar Pass Lodge ready to depart for Wind Cave National Park. I decided to ask the Lakota there a couple of questions about his tribe. Guy Dull Knife Jr. is a soft spoken man. But I could tell that he was proud of his heritage and a little sorry about it's history. The Badlands used to be Lakota territory until they were pushed off by white settlers. Part of the park lies on the Pine Ridge Reservation. But they were pushed to the south, where the scenery is a little less spectacular. Guy expressed some disdain for this. He also commented on the use of Native Americans as mascots for athletic teams.
It turns out that Guy is an artist who has some works on display in the Smithsonain! The lodge shop has a gallery with the work of local Lakota artisans. He showed me his work and the work of his friends.
As we talked longer I found out that a book was published about Guy's family. His father, at the age of 87, at tape-recorded his family history for his children to remember. A writer had learned of this and, with the Dull Blade family's permission, wrote the book. "The Dull Knifes of the Pine Ridge" by Joe Starita covers four generations of the family. Guy's great-grandfather was a chief who, in 1878, lead his people 600 miles in mid-winter on a flight from the army. His grandfather was a wild west showman who toured Europe with Buffalo Bill Cody. Guy's father was a farmer who, at the time the book was written, was the sole living Souix WWI veteran. That's quite a family history! Needless to say, I bought the book. And it looks like the book may be made into a television show. I have Guy's address and phone #, so hopefully I'll be able to tell you all when it'll be on!
I took a long detour to Wind Cave following a route that Guy suggested. It took me down through the reservation. During the drive I listened to the reservation radio station "The Voice of the Lakota Nation!" I stopped at the site of the Battle of Wounded Knee where I met another interesting person.
The battle site is not a tourist site. All that stands is a a large sign with the battle story. Over 200 Souix and 30 soldiers died because a gun was misfired. The soldiers were mostly killed by their own fire. There is also a small grave yard with a large tomb stone for those who died.
As I was looking at the sign, I noticed a car parked nearby with a Lakota woman and man sitting in it. After a couple of minutes the woman walked towards my car. She said "Welcome to Wounded Knee"! I thought maybe she was some type of tour guide. She was a large woman wearing an ill-fitting short sleeve t-shirt with holes in it. It was about 50 degrees today. But the strong winds made it feel much colder. I felt cold just looking at her.
She pointed to an empty area where she said a museum used to stand. It had burned down along with a grocery store. I asked if they were building a new one. She pointed to a small cement building across the road with grafitti on the walls. She said they were going to use that building, but as you can see, it isn't ready. She she then told me how they have to drive to Rapid City (an hour away) or another distant town to buy food. She also pointed out a small red log house 100 feet back from the road where she lives.
At this point, I began to wonder where our conversation was going. She let me know by asking if I was interested in buying arts and crafts. I asked where they were. She said "just over there" and pointed to her car. So I walked over with her. She took out a large zip lock back and began placing various dream catchers and small drums on the hood. I decided to purchase one of the large dream catchers, which was the most expensive item at $20. I chose the one that she said had the colors of her people: black, yellow, red, white. The dream catcher isn't very large. And she thought for a few moments before telling me the price. So I think the price may have been a little high. But I didn't feel like bartering. And after I paid her, she said that she could now buy gas. I think that she may have been sitting there just waiting for a tourist to come along.
Today has been cold, rainy and foggy. And Wind Cave was closed to tours. So my adventures ended once I arrived in the park. Hopefully tomorrow will have better weather! I'm spending the night in Custer. And tomorrow I plan to go back to back to Wind Cave, then on to Jewel Cave, Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore. I hope to end the day in Deadwood where I'll spend tomorrow night.
Well, that's the news of my adventures so far. And it really has been an adventure. I think that I've had some very special experiences that not many others have had the opportunity to encounter! Hopefully I'll have more down the road. If I do, you can be sure that I'll write all about it!
Michelle