I’m coming to the end of another road trip with Ramon; this time to South Dakota to see The Badlands (with the obligatory visit to Wall Drug), Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, and tomorrow, Wind Cave National Park. Having an exchange student has been a great motivation for me to explore new places. Doing so has made me realize how much I enjoy these kind of adventures.
While driving down the Badlands Loop road yesterday on a beautiful, sunny February day, we had the realization of how few other people were around us and how we were almost the only ones to experience that place at that time. The sense of freedom that happens in the middle of these vast open spaces is difficult to know until you’ve experienced it for yourself. I’ve done a lot of reading in the past few years about how beneficial it is for us – for our souls – to spend time outside in nature. It’s true. Maybe more for some than others, but there’s certainly something about exploring creation that you cannot get elsewhere.
Visiting Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore today, we were also lucky to be one of only a few visitor groups. At dusk, I was standing outside looking at the faces of four past presidents on the mountain and I realized that there was nobody else around. The air was perfectly still and there were no voices around me. It was a cool moment.
One thing that struck me about both memorials we visited was how much the men who designed them dedicated their lives to these projects knowing that they likely would not see them to their completion. They had vision, passion, and dedication and, because they were willing to look beyond their own lifetime, they were able to create these projects that have inspired millions and will continue to do so for many more generations. They had to trust that their children and their apprentices would see their work through to completion.
While eating a hamburger and fries at Wall Drug yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice the older gentleman at the table across from me with his worn out cowboy hat and shirt drinking his 5 cent coffee and talking to his buddies. I wondered what he has experienced and how different his life is than mine. To me, the suburban tourist, this was a novel experience. To him, it was just part of his Saturday routine.
I feel lucky to have the means to visit new places. It is good for my spirit to get away from the routine. I need to be able to drive down an open highway occasionally rather than be stuck in traffic on I-25. I can’t wait to get on the road again.
