It was around the 10th-12th of June, 1976. The family trek west was about to begin. The West would never be the same! Our family of 6 left early on a Saturday morning in the “Rusty Zipper”. It was partly cloudy. I knew that the first two days were going to be boring because our first major destination was Rapid City, South Dakota. Rapid City was the beginning of the Rocky Mountains and the site of Mount Rushmore.
The plan (my plan) was to take a northern route going west and a southern route coming back. The AAA auto association had a “trip kit” and they mapped out what they would recommend each day. They also showed places where there was major road construction. I then added the “Andrews Factor” to come up with our plan.
We headed west on Highway 23 headed for LaCrosse where we could pick up Interstate Highway 90 through Minnesota and South Dakota to Rapid City. I remember the weather kept changing. It rained. The sun shined. It was cloudy. It rained. And so it went. By the end of the first day we had made it through Minnesota and just entered South Dakota. There is nothing in western Minnestoa or South Dakota. Just as we entered South Dakota we hit the thriving metropolis of Sioux Falls. That is where we stopped for the first night. The motel had the mandatory swimming pool and we probably ate some greasy Kentucky Fried Chicken. It would take a few days to get sick of greasy fast food. Not real exciting.
The second day set the tone for the rest of the trip. We got on the road early between 6:00-7:00 AM and waited to eat breakfast around 10:00 AM. We weren’t trying to save money! Nobody was hungry early in the morning. Then we planned arrival around 4:00 PM at our next destination. We would have a large restaurant meal late in the afternoon with a swimming regimen mixed in. On day two, it again was a lot of driving before we reached Rapid City. We were starting to get used to the CB radio unit and found it more entertaining than the normal AM/FM radio.
Amist all the boredom we decided to pull into an Interstate tourist trap to vist the Corn Palace in South Dakota. The Corn Palace? It was something to do. It was awful. Corn displayed in ten thousand arrays and patterns. It was like looking at the largest ball of string in the world or collection of belly button fuzz. So much for diversion.
And then the trip started to get interesting. We began to enter the Black Hills. It was colorful and the landscape began to exhibit some hills. Hills are good after two days of flat, flat, flat. This is where all the cowboys had their hideouts and held famous gun fights. Based on the landscape, I think most cowboys died of boredom, heat, lack of water or killed by Indians.
At the end of day two we rolled into Rapid City. They held a parade on our behalf because we were some of the first famous tourists of the season. We anxiously anticipated touring Mount Rushmore the next day.
From Rapid City on, we mixed together sight-seeing, fun and modest travel to the next destination. Most of the daily driving marathons were over.
I remember thinking that the next time I go to Rapid City I was going to fly.
I haven’t received any trip memories from you Grasshoppers so you are going to keep reading my version of the trip.
Day three would begin with Mount Rushmore. Seems to me that the National Lampoon Vacation began the same way.
Love,
Dad