Last September, Lauren and I flew to South Dakota to meet the rest of the Most Interesting Family in the latest installment of our “Tour America” series (see Niagara Falls, Kaiwah Island). We also became vegetarians. But that’s another story. This one’s about our time explorin’ the Mount Rushmore state, chasin’ prairie dogs, and recitin’ the collected works of Charles Badger Clark.

More photos and poetry after the break.

Mount Rushmore did not disappoint. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the monument exceeded all of it. As did Crazy Horse, Korczak Ziolkowski’s absolutely MASSIVE tribute to the North American Indians that could fit all of Mount Rushmore in Mr. Horse’s head. Can’t wait to come back in 378-ish years when it’s finished.

After the highlights, our driver John took us around Custer National park, reeled off Cowboy poetry, and overloaded us with geologic facts and figures. He also gave us apples to feed wild donkey’s, so that was pretty sweet. Nothing for the buffalo though. Suck it buffalo.

Next up, the Badlands. While I couldn’t live ’em everyday, they were absolutely spectacular. The winding road cut through miles of eroded land, and we ate up every second of it. The ghost town prairie dog village? Not so much.

As John did to us, I’ll leave you with these parting words from CBC himself.

“I don’t need no art exhibits when the sunset does his best,

Paintin’ everlastin’ glories on the mountains of the west.

And your operas look foolish when the night bird stats his tune

And the desert’s silver-mounted by the kisses of the moon,

Just a-ridin, just a-ridin’ 

I don’t envy kings nor czars when the coyotes down the valley are a-singin’ to the stars.”

– Charles Badger Clark Jr.

– John the tour guide.