What I did on my Summer Vacation (1996)

On 5 July, 1996, I loaded up the Saturn wagon with camping gear and a laptop computer (known as George--all my networked computers are named after "Seinfeld" characters) and started driving west on a trip that would last 11 days. My only map consisted of directions downloaded from the Web. My only plan: To see Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Mountain, and the Badlands of South Dakota. Being a sometimes repressed INTP personality type, I made no reservations of any kind. I would drive until I got tired, then stop at either a campground or a motel.


 
 
Statue in the town square of Angola, Indiana. The town square of Angola, Indiana, where I camped on my second night (at a campground, not in the square).
Driving through Chicago would not have been complete without a photo of the Sears tower. I had hoped to stop at the original Pizzeria Uno on my way back through, but time did not permit.
Photo of the Sears Tower taken from the road
Photo of a bison This nice critter is a bison, better known as a buffalo, one of a herd grazing behind a Burns Bros. truck stop in South Dakota, just after having had a tasty meal of one of its kin. In my guilt, I decided to publish the photo on the web. Trust me, you don't want to get one of these critters angry.
South Dakota has a lot of cattle grazing land, and occasionally people live there too. I call this "Little House on the Prairie". After all, South Dakota is the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Little house on the prairie
A photo of a grain elevator I call this one "Little Nuke Plant On the Prairie". It's actually some sort of grain elevator, but its sheer size was overwhelming contrasted with most of the other structures I saw in eastern South Dakota.
The Badlands. At first glance, it looks like a giant kitty-litter box.
A photo of the Badlands
Just lil ole me Here I am relaxing with a ginger beer at Badlands National Park after a long day of driving.

More photos of the Badlands

Mount Rushmore

Crazy Horse Mountain

Return to home page