Friday Sept. 10 Afternoon
If you missed the Morning post for Day 4 of my trip, please click here to read it first.
The next stop for the day was at Wall Drug which is the requisite stop if you’re on 90. They have over 2 million people visit each year and there is a lot of cute little shops and stores you can visit. It was quite crowded even though I had gotten there before noon. Several of the stores outside the main complex were already closed for the season. I just breezed quickly in and out of the shops, got myself a bumper sticker and I was on my way.
In less than an hour I arrived at Rapid City where I spied the Cabela store off the expressway. I pulled over to buy myself a new chair for my campsite. The canvas chair I had was so uncomfortable to sit and read in for any length of time. So at Cabela's I bought myself a darling little canvas rocking chair that is so comfortable and well worth the $69 it cost me.
The next stop was a park in the middle of Rapid City where they had a large section of the Berlin Wall. I just happened to see a sign about it so I decided to go check it out. That was extremely interesting and it was a nice place to walk around. It was also a geocache site so I was able to snap a photo and grab a cache!
After that I went over to see the Dinosaur Park which was fun to walk around and I did a couple of geocaches and an Adventurelab there. The park is free and they have a nice visitor center and store. Kids will love this place with the tall dinosaur statues but I think adults would enjoy it too, if not for the dinosaurs, then for the sweeping views from the top level of the park. Be ready to walk up a bunch of steps though to reach the top.
My campsite for the night was a little south of Rapid City at Rushmore Shadows Campground. Oh my goodness - what a beautiful campground! This was one of my favorite places to stay on the entire trip. I loved all the pine trees and down the hill from my tent you could see the covered wagons that they rent out. How fun would that be?? It felt just like being out in the old west and I was waiting for the cowboys and Indians to show up. I was wishing I had brought my bathing suit along because their pool was still open and it was in the 90s. A dip would have felt wonderful. Instead I went and took a shower and then sat around in my new rocking chair and read a book until it was time to fix myself some bratwurst for dinner. It was a beautiful evening and I sat outside until after dark just enjoying the fresh air....
