South Dakota

The majority of summer 2k15 has been spent soul searching #cliché There's a lot I need to figure out in regards to my life. In actuality, what 22 year old knows where they stand in the world? Well, probably a lot of them. I have the privilege of not being one of them resulting in feeling lost. A career seems so foreign, but yet, it's so close. The concept of a god is fairly overwhelming in the midst of such a broken society. The concept of finances is scary. Pretty much, the real world is terrifying but exciting. Thus far I have been fairly comfortable wandering through life and trusting my heart while rolling with the punches. With all of that said, I had the intention of spending this past weekend camping out in the wilderness of South Dakota figuring things out. Do I know what that would have entailed or have meant? Absolutely not. But, Friday night a few hours before I was going to leave for my life quest, a group of friends decided to join me. I am so thankful that they did because it was the weirdest trip ever.

Time of departure from Eau Claire was about 8:30 PM. We alternated driving, listened to some jams, read about the Goat Man, and made the 685 mile drive to Keystone, South Dakota. Also known as the home of four stone(d) presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. AKA: Mount Rushmore. We rolled into the park at about 6:30 AM, prior to the park officially being open. As a result, we were able to avoid having to pay for parking or an entry fee #holler I don't know what I thought of Mount Rushmore. It was cool. Maybe beautiful? Too commodified?

We then made the drive down the Needles Highway to Custer State Park. GAH. It was BEAUTIFUL. So much wildlife. I cuddled with a wild donkey. Saw some bison. The nature. All the rocks. The trees. The blue sky. Winding roads filled with switchbacks. Feeling like you were on top of the world, but actually on top of South Dakota.

After exploring that area, we made way to the presidential wax museum. I don't have the correct words to describe my emotions towards that place. A waxed figure of President Reagan, terrifying. Jackie O covered in her husbands blood while Lyndon B. Johnson is being sworn in, tasteless. Teddy Roosevelt sitting in his room surrounded by game, interesting. If you find yourself in that area ever, check it out. It's worth the $10.00

Our next adventure was the Badlands. Another two hour drive. So...we were there. It was like, over one hundred degrees. But also, we weren't there. At least not the designated tourist portion of it. We couldn't find the trails or anything. After sitting in a driveway trying to figure out where the heck we were, we decided to abort the plan. I'm sure you would do so after entering and leaving the Badlands like, five times in a half hour period. The next plan was to drive an hour and a half to our campground. Once the tent was up and everyone settled in, the night was spent at the fire making pudgie pies and eating s'mores. We then all proceeded to pass out from exhaustion.

The 'site was offering a $2.99 all you can eat pancake breakfast. It was heavenly. We then made our way to Wall for the infamous Wall Drug around 9:30 AM. Possibly the weirdest portion of the trip. Within a thirty mile drive, we drove past forty-five signs advertising Wall Drug: Drug is thug, free ice-water, five cent coffee, etc. We got there, went into some really bizarre shops and made our way to the 'pharmacy': giant jack rabbits, stuffed bison, miniature mount-rushmore, free ice-water, a t-rex simulation, more wax figures, a gorilla playing a piano, and more! GO THERE.

THEN on what was supposedly the last lag of our trip in the lovely state of South Dakota, we came across a sign advertising the World's Only Corn Palace. What does that even mean?! So we went. It was...interesting. Corn walls. Corn murals. Corn puns. Corn sculptures in the roads. Corn on the cob.

We made it back to Eau Claire around 11:00 PM Sunday and I'm pretty sure everyone passed out. Lots of bonding was spent in the car. We all lost our sanity at some point. But got closer because of it. I'm going to speak for the crew and say that the weekend away was much needed in the midst of the Eaux Claires music festival preparation, which is this current weekend.

Lots of footage was captured on the GoPro and will be posted at some point. So stay tuned for that in the future. Otherwise, enjoy the (weird) photos below!

-A