Hello everyone:
We are “on the road” now, driving 100s of miles almost every day as we move from the American West through the Mid-West to the East Coast. But when we are passing by interesting sights, we take time out. The States we have crossed since leaving Nevada, are Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa; we just entered Illinois. Iowa is one State I know somewhat as I did “Bike Iowa” in 2004: with a group of friends from DC (including Jan-Eppo, my daughter’s father-in-law from Holland) and 10,000 fellow bikers, we cycled for 7 days from the west side of the State (Missouri River) to the east side (Mississippi), for a total of some 550 miles,(almost 900km) no small feat in the heat of July (I think).
Here are photos taken along the way; several while driving so the horizon may not be quite as perfect as it should be……..
Here we are driving in Utah through the Great Salt Desert; it is as flat as Holland
There are also dry prairies where horses are roaming wild, although we didn’t see any
Commercial salt production along the salt flats and pools
Salt Lake itself, to the west of Salt Lake City
We drove in Wyoming for the second time during this trip; we had been here in June to visit Grand Teton and Yellowstone Nat Parks. So this is what the Great Plains look like and the wind is usually blowing. Wyoming is committed to renewable energy hence these extensive wind farms
Also you see these fences seemingly placed at random, not too far from the highway. They are there to prevent snow from blowing on the road in winter.
Prairies but no cowboys. To see those you have to go to rodeos….
We entered South Dakota from the southwest side, the Black Hills. There are several interesting sites, concentrated in the area. First, you have the Mammoth Site. Twenty six thousand years ago, a large sink hole was created as a result of underground caves collapsing. The sink hole filled with water and mammoths (only males!) sometimes fell into the hole and couldn’t get out. They drowned and their skeletons were later covered with sediment which hardened and the hole filled up. The ground around it eroded over many 1000s of years, so actually a hill was created. In the 70s, they wanted to build houses there. A bull dozer dug up a mammoth bone. They stopped the project. The owner of the land, realizing the importance of the find, sold it at cost to a non-profit organization which has since been digging up these mammoths. The site is about 50 by 80m (my estimate). They built a roof over it; and they created a very nice facility. This is great for both visitors and paleontologists. The photos below give you an idea of what it looks like. If you google the Mammoth Site, you’ll learn a lot more than I am giving you here.
This picture shows you how the mammoths got trapped
Two kinds of mammoths have been found; the Columbian m. and the Woolly m. Far more of the former than the latter.
This is a replica, of course (I am still real)
This is what the area where the dig takes place looks like….
Mostly volunteers are doing the real work here
There is an ongoing debate whether mammoths became extinct because of climate change and lack of food or because of hunting by humans. There is evidence that mammoth were hunted. And huts were built from mammoth tusks and bones, see a replica below
We thought we were done with Nat. Parks. Not so. Here is Wind Cave NP, in South Dakota. Not only did we camp there (with a camp fire), we also toured the cave which derives its name from air moving in or out at considerable speed depending differences in air pressure inside the cave and above ground.
The late sun made for a beautiful picture (we think)
A walking stick saved from the fire as it was sitting on a log to be burned.
After we heard coyotes howling and yelping at night, we saw a large male bison as we were leaving the Park the next morning.
We took a cave tour with a park ranger
“Boxwork” is the special feature of this cave (no stalectites because there is no dripping water)
My own pictures of the cave’s ceiling with “boxwork.” They also compare the shape to honeycombs.
Betsie in front of the original hole where the air was/is blowing in and out - depending on the differences in air pressure - and which led to the discovery of these caves in the second half of the 19th century. These caves are still being explored. At this point over a 100 miles of caves have been identified. It’s the third longest cave in the world.
As we moved on, we passed by Custer State Park and ran into a small herd of bisons (buffalos) right along the road. Actually, the largest free-roaming herd of buffalos in the US, which totals 1600, is living in this area.
Next ,we stopped at “Crazy Horse” which will become the largest sculpture in the world (but it’s far from finished). It’s a joint project of all native american tribes (indians) to honor this great chief; and as a counter to Mount Rushmore (see further down). So far the head is finished but the outstretched arm and the horse still have to be done; it’s estimated that that will take another 50 years. Again, if you like to know more about it, just google Crazy Horse……
Compare the size of the head to the heavy equipment in front of it. Crazy Horse’s head is double the size of the presidents’ heads at Mount Rushmore….
This gives you an idea of the work yet to be done
The weather was bad: high wind and drizzle, so we didn’t hike closer to the actual statue, nor do we have really clear pictures of it.
It was a great surprise to see mountain goats, the best of all climbing animals in the mountains, right by the road. So far, we had seen them only through binoculars at great heights on mountain ridges. We are here in the Black Hills “only” at 2km above sea level….
The next must-see point in this area of the Black Hills of South Dakota is, of course, Mount Rushmore. Google it if you want to know more. The main facts are that this sculpture of four gigantic heads of US Presidents was started in 1927 and finished in 1941. Apart from the principal sculptor, 400 people worked on it.
The head of George Washington could already be seen from the road before we were at the actual site….
Betsie in front of the main entrance
From left to right, you have: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
George close up
Abe close up
The Presidents and us…..
After overnighting in the village of “Interior,” we toured the Badlands. They got their name for a reason. Not much is growing there. It’s dry and the thin clay top doesn’t hold water. Only in the surrounding prairies you find cattle and bisons.
Here several pictures of the Badlands. The various rock layers can be seen easily because of the colors. The rock is soft and is eroding relatively fast (not to worry: they will still be there for my grandchildren to see; erosion is at the rate of 1 inch per year)
We continued our drive east through South Dakota on Interstate 90. Our next stop was in Chamberlain for the Sioux or Lakota Museum. It was very interesting with beautiful artifacts and a detailed account of the sad history of the Sioux/Lakota indians ; unfortunately no picture-taking inside. However, they recommended we also visit the Lakota catholic church and see the stained glass windows. No one around in the church, so I took several shots of the windows, which represent a mixture of catholic and indian culture. They are indeed beautiful.
The next day, we crossed the State line of Iowa and decided to leave the Interstate and detour to “Orange City,” so named by the Dutch immigrants who settled there. Seventy Dutch families came to this spot in western Iowa in 1870; the colony prospered: after 2 years there were already 1000 people living there. Today, Dutch memories are kept alive by the annual tulip festival in May and various Dutch-style windmills, buildings and signs. On Sat. afternoon, we found most shops closed, so no Dutch treats for us. For an impression of Orange City, see below.
This full-size windmill (also closed on Sat.) certainly looked very nice. Next to it were memorial stones/plaques with the names of those who died in various wars. You will see the Dutch names of the ones who died in WWII
Iowa is of course farm country extraordinaire; the main crops are corn (maize) and soy beans. Here 2 photos of this extensive farm land, taken while driving
We passed by Des Moines, the State capitol of Iowa and stopped at a Walmart for a haircut (me) and a pedicure (Betsie). About an hour to the southeast you find another town of Dutch origin: Pella.
We walked around for a couple of hours to see the Dutch-style buildings and names. Pella also has its annual tulip festival in May and compared to Orange City, it has many more Dutch “things.” It was established in the middle of the 19th century when Dutch minister (“dominee”) Scholte and his whole flock, emigrated to the US and established a farming village in the middlle of Iowa. Today, the Dutch heritage is very clear when you see the names of the various businesses. Also, there is an abundance of “Dutch” architecture. Even the local Walmart had some type of step gables (trapgevels)…..
Here a selection of pictures of Pella…….
The house of the Dutch minister who established the town in the mid-eighteen-hundreds
The gift of tulips…
We are driving more than 300 miles each day, despite our stops for sight-seeing. In the late afternoon, we crossed the Mississippi on Interstate 80. (It is the second time during this trip: in May, we crossed the Mississippi by New Orleans in Louisiana, when we were heading West). So now we are in Illinois. In the light of the setting sun, Betsie took several pictures of the endless corn and soy fields as we were heading towards a campground about 10 miles off the Interstate…….
Well, my friends, that’s it for now. We are continuing our trip east and - I hope - we will have a few more interesting stories to tell and pictures to show you. So do stay tuned.
All the best from Geneseo, Illinois
Henk and Betsie
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