Saturday, September 29, 2007
Three Flags RV Park, Black Hawk, SD - Sept 6-11
We chose this less lovely but more convenient PA park for attending the bridge tournament in Rapid City. Since we would be spending most of the weekend at the tournament, it didn't matter that the cg was right next to the interstate. We enjoyed the bridge tournament and earned a few silver masterpoints (plus we never noticed the traffic noise inside our trailer). The park was well maintained and had a really nice owner, so we were happy to give him some business.
After the bridge tournament was over, we decided to stay a couple more days, mainly as a convenient starting point for a sightseeing trip to Badlands NP. We planned our trip to include a stop at the famous Wall Drug first. This started out in the 1930s as a small store that attracted business by posting "free ice water" signs along the highways and is now a mega-business that is really fun to explore. The rest of the town is a real "tourist trap" that also has some appeal.
Wall was named for the wall of "badlands" that are formed when the lower southern plains run into the higher northern plains. From Wall you drive south through lovely rolling prairie, and suddenly before you are the breathtaking vistas of the badlands. Much of the scenic area is within Badlands NP, but it is surrounded by Buffalo Gap Natl Grasslands, which abounds in lovely places in which one could dry camp. Since we spent so much time in Wall, we were treated to the beautiful colors of late afternoon for many of the great views.Click here for More Badlands pictures.
The next day we relaxed, then drove into "Rapid", as the locals call it. While walking through the William Noordermeer Formal Gardens, we noticed a life-sized dinosaur on a ridge overlooking the city. 
We learned it was part of Dinosaur Park, a collection of 7 concrete dinosaur models constructed by the WPA in 1936 and now on the National Register of Historic Places. Skyline Drive, the road leading to Dinosaur Park, with scenic vistas of Rapid, was also a WPA project.# posted by Doug and Willie @ 1:32 PM 
