Minnesota Trip, Day Two: See it. Feel it. Survive it!

Today started with a continental breakfast in which my we only sprayed the bottom of the waffle iron--not the top--with non-stick spray, and then I spent the next ten minutes trying to scrape burned waffle out. So, awesome!

Today's highlights:

• I'm not the only famous celebrity in Rapid City tonight. None other than Hillary Clinton was in town. Whilst driving around tonight looking for a grocery store I instead found a big rally with a few hundred people and about a million cops.



• Custer is an awesome little town. We ate at the Baker's Cafe, and the hamburger buns were better than the hamburger. It was delicioso!



• We stopped at Mt. Rushmore, and it was actually much cooler than I expected. I was thinking that it would be pretty much the same as looking at a postcard. Granted, that was about it, but it's just neat in real life. However, if you ever go and you ever think about taking the loop trail, don't. One side of the loop is a liesurely stroll--and then there are four thousand stairs. And then, when you're at the farthest point from the visitor's center, and when you're in the middle of the steps, your daughter will need to go potty RIGHT NOW!!!!



• We tried to go to the Crazy Horse Memorial, but there were too many clouds and we couldn't see the mountain. Since arriving at the hotel and checking Wikipedia, I discovered that the Memorial isn't nearly as neat as we thought it was. So, no big loss.



• I've been in tourist traps before--even big tourist traps like West Yellowstone or Santa Fe--but I've never seen anything like the road between Mt. Rushmore and Rapid City. There are all the usual things, like gift shops, helicopter rides, and bear pens, but the further we got away from the mountain the weirder things got: a snake pit, a kangaroo ranch, and a "Mystery Area" (slogan: "See it. Feel it. Survive it!")



• Inside the drive-thru window of an Arby's, I saw a sign which read "Suggestive Selling Tips". I would assume they mean "Suggested Selling Tips", but maybe not. Maybe it's a really sexy Arby's.



• Somewhere between Casper and Newcastle, Erin introduced me to the soundtrack of Wicked, and I liked it. For those who don't know, I'm a fan of musical theater, and worked many years in a theater. However, I've been reluctant to listen to Wicked, for one reason or another. And the verdict? The music is good, and I hate the story. I understand the concept: it's not unlike a fractured fairy tale, where we see the "true" story. But, I really hate the fact that the Wicked Witch is the only good person, and everyone else is screwed up. Sure, if you want to show us that Epseba is misunderstood and has a tragic past--great. But, do you have to make everyone else scummy in the process?
  
  You know who that show is written for? Teenage girls. The entire point is: I'm not popular, but it's because everyone else is so evil, and they're all trying to tear me down, and whine whine whine. For the love...
  
  But the music is good.

The main convenience store in Wyoming and South Dakota is the Loaf n' Jug.