From Chicago we spontaneously decided that we would drive through the night and try and catch the sunrise at Mt. Rushmore (South Dakota). Switching off every few hours we managed to make it at 5:00am only to find the entrance closed. Not to be stopped we decided to keep driving and find a way up. We parked the car and started scaling upwards to get a better view (avoiding the bears that we were convinced existed from the lack of sleep). We got up to to the top of our destination just below and to the left of George Washington's head. The sun had just peaked over the the Black Hills and we got a spectacular view as the sun moved across the valley. Of course scaling back down I wiped out, but no serious injuries just yet.
Still in an insomniac-induced delirium we took the scenic route through the Black Hills to a little town called Deadwood. Having picked apart the AAA guides for casinos we found that Deadwood had legalized poker and gambling again in the early 90's. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up as usual. This town looked straight out of a western flick -- with saloons lining the main street.
Not sure if the picture does it justice, but it felt like a movie scene. We had lunch in a saloon and wandered around looking to play poker. Unfortunately, the low stakes game we found didn't really interest us too much. We played a bit of poker and enjoyed a much needed hot shower. Paula, the lady running our motel, was probably the nicest and most accommodating person we had ever met. So far the further we go west, the nicer the people get. It almost seems that living closer to the east coast makes us all look like complete, time-driven assholes. That being said, the people love giving you more information than needed and raving about their small towns, which are nothing more than a speck on the map.
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