I Can't Believe I'm Here!

Dear Friends,

We left the desolated city of Murdo, SD, this morning around 10AM, with Wall, SD, as our first destination on today's schedule.

We also crossed the time line again, setting the clock back another hour to conform to the Mountain time (GMT -07.00), bringing us two hours behind EST.

The drive to Wall was relatively an easy one. You can't go wrong, all the way west on a basically straight line from Murdo to Wall, on I-90W.

Wall, SD is a tourist trap (I know, I know, what else is new? LOL), but a nice one. They have a visitor center for the Badlands National Park which we visited, with a very nice ranger who was very helpful, demonstrating to be knowledgeable, and sensitive to our needs. He had some suggestions for us (after I explained what our intentions were), that avoided us something like 30 miles on a gravel road (Thank You Ranger!).

The Badlands were absolutely fantastic, at some point more than breathtaking, and those of you who have been here already know that. I planned on getting ourselves started at the westernmost entrance, the one that begins in Wall, SD, rather than the one at exit 131 on I-90, mainly because of the fact that we wanted to go south and then west on SD-44, but the advice that I would probably give you right now if you're coming from eastern South Dakota is to get off I-90 at exit 131, and start the "Badlands Loop/SD-240" right there, going south and then west towards the other exit in Wall, SD, so that then you can drive to Rapid City, SD on the highway.

Not that I regret what we did, I absolutely loved it and had the chance to see for example, Interior, a small village with only 67 souls!

So, if you don't mind driving, go for it, the speed limit is 65mph anyway, and I doubt you'll find any traffic on the road at all, not even at rush hour! LOL

We also came across some very interesting signs who are NOT very inviting (at least in my opinion) if you're passionate about hiking and you would like to go for a walk!

This afternoon I fulfilled a childhood dream, "An Italian Across America" finally arrived at Mount Rushmore, SD!

Timing couldn't have been worse, as today was the BIG day for fireworks at the memorial for the 4th of July. We therefore didn't stop and visit the memorial itself, but the shots I got with the camera, and the view from the panoramic road were enough to make me feel like I was really right there, and it wasn't just a dream I was having. The mountain with the faces of the four presidents carved on the rock looks impressive, that's is really a very important landmark, a piece of history, and I feel so proud and honored to had the chance to be there for such an important celebration for American people, but also for people like me who are living their personal American Dream, who has different meaning for different people.

Once we left Mount Rushmore, our initial thought was to drive south to Hot Springs, SD and spend the night there, because we figured that the town would have been far enough from Mount Rushmore to be able to find a room at a decent price.

On our way to Hot Springs we saw signs for the "Crazy Horse Memorial", and being such a nice day, we decided to stop this afternoon instead of tomorrow. I must admit that we've been lucky as we've killed two birds with one stone: we paid $20 entrance fee for the Memorial, but that included our afternoon visit (Orientation Video, Museum, House and Lab of sculptor Korczak), and 9.30PM laser show (which we really appreciated...).

The carving is far from being completed, and this is mainly due to the fact that the sculptor wanted to do this without the help of the government. He had his own philosophy, and when you see the video, his wife explains the reasons behind this choice; it makes sense, and I can only applaud his stubbornness and courage. So, this is the way the memorial looks right now, 60 years after it's been started:

And this is the way it is supposed to look like:

I don't really think any of us will be able to see the memorial finished in our lifetime, but who knows, never say never...!

I'm quite happy to had the chance to see it the way it is now, it's been quite an experience.

Tomorrow we will drive through Custern National Park, and see many other things (like Devil's Tower in Wyoming). We will also try to see if we can get in at Mount Rushmore to take some extra shots, but I doubt it.

I'm tired, I need some sleep!

Good night,

Nico