We're in Wyoming now, having covered South Dakota in great time. Not much in the way of internet access though, so I'm just putting up some random thoughts I've been collecting over the last few days. I'm sure I'll edit them later.

We've been driving through the western end of them for the last half hour or so. Melissa is falling asleep at the computer. Buddy is closing his eyes and trying to ignore the bumpy road noises. Dad is sitting up front, looking back every so often. I'm not sure if he's looking to see what we're up to, how we're doing, or what.

The Badlands are pretty spectacular scenery, kind of like giant sandcastles out in the plains. It is such an odd contrast, and even on a hot day like today, they are oddly compelling.

Riding across the country was going slow, but now we are making great time. We will have covered South Dakota in just over three days, and hopefully we'll make similar time in Wyoming. It doesn't leave much time to enjoy the company or to find the stories like we would prefer, but it is getting us closer to Oregon and California, which seems to be Melissa's great concern now.

Well, her great concern outside of money. We're running out now pretty quickly, and I haven't been able to check my account for a few days to see how I'm doing. The Cash is low and we're dependent on the American Express to cover our expenses. We've got a couple of thousand left there to get us through, and hopefully we can make it. The whole country's financials seem to be in a mess, and I don't expect much help to come our way, so I guess we're pretty much on our own when my dad takes off. For now, we've got plenty of food and a place to stay the night in the camper. When he leaves us around Yellowstone, we'll be on our own again and we'll need to re-evaluate what we have going for us.

... We're nearing Rapid City now, and I'm going to get off.

... Just got back from Crazy Horse. In the last 24 hours we saw Mt Rushmore, camped at somewhere called Oreville, and drove through the Black Hills to Crazy Horse Monument. Oreville was a nice campsite, and we had a crisp, clear morning to wake us today. The Black Hills are lovely country, serene and powerful in the background.

Rushmore has a new visitor center and lodge, made of stone and filled with people. The monument is impressive, as is the vision of the sculptor, who wanted to leave a lasting lesson on Democracy to people still to come. It is interesting how only the hagiographic part of the monument was finished, and never the parts that would really be a testament to why we honor these men and what legacy they left us.

It's really a shame that even in the Visitor's center, there isn't a good distillation of who the Presidents on the monument were, or what they meant for our country. We watched an older video narrated by Tom Brokaw about the making of the monument, but there were only short snippets about each President. It was mostly a celebration of making the monument itself, and not an explanation of what we should learn from the men on it.

In sharp contrast, the Crazy Horse museum and video really accentuate what Crazy Horse stood for, why he was important to the Lakota, and really serves as a celebration of Indian Culture and heritage. There was very little in Rushmore's Visitor Center that didn't pertain directly to the making of Rushmore or its appearances in pop culture. Where are the descriptions of American History that was shaped by these 4 men? Where are the overviews of what it means to celebrate living in America and to enjoy the legacy that was left to us by our forefathers.

Crazy Horse is a part of my legacy as a white American that makes me pretty cynical about how much the ideals put forth by our forefathers really counts for. My forefathers killed, stole and betrayed the native americans until they were a marginalized and powerless group. Crazy Horse fought against it, and was stabbed in the back under a truce flag. That's my legacy.

It's pretty sad really, how little we are taught about any of the substantial parts of our history, and this plays a huge role in how we allow ourselves to still act as a nation.