Day 2 in Sioux Falls, SD started with a stop at the reason the city got its name.  The falls on the Big Sioux river.

One thing about traveling in South Dakota in early March is you don't have to fight the crowds.

Leaving Sioux Falls we headed west on I90.  Our first stop was Gillette, SD to see the corn palace.  The corn palace is an arena which is decorated inside and outside with murals composed of corn cobs and husks.  Each year the design is changed at a cost of $130,000.  The corn palace has been in Gillette since 1892.

Back on the highway, our next stop was a rest stop named the Lewis and Clark information rest area.  The rest stop is on a hill that overlooks a wide section of the Missouri river.

After crossing the Missouri river, we were back on the interstate driving at warp factor 8.  I like these states where the legal speed limit is 75.  Our speed was between 80 and 85.  With very little traffic on the road it was also nice to be able to use the cruise control.  I think this is the first time cruise control has been engaged on the Titan.

A couple of hours later we arrived at out first National Park stop, the Badlands.  Last summer for Cheryl's retirement my family gave us a national parks annual pass and this was our first opportunity to make use of it.

Along with the annual pass Cheryl got a log book to record the national parks we visit.  At the visitors center she got our first stamp and cancellation.

Leaving the visitor center and driving along the loop road through the park we stop to visit some of the park's residents.

There were two locations that we passed where we could see and hear the praire dogs.  It was fun watching them scurry between their holes.  Every so often one would stand up and you would hear it squeek like a rubber dog toy.

The next stop was right outside of the Badlands in Wall, SD.  The first time I heard of Wall Drug was in a case study in a business class at Miami University.  All you see along the interstate from Iowa are billboards advertising Wall Drug.  Since it was off season, only half of the large store was open and the main street stores and restaurants were closed.

Our final objective of the day was to get to Mount Rushmore to see it lit up after sunset.  We were successful and it was a great finish to a busy sightseeing day.  We are looking forward to all the other sights the Rapid City area has to offer tomorrow.