7. Day 3 South Dakota

Ron, to our great amusement, tried on a few different types of head gear without a purchase. We also got a souvenir for Paul then headed to the town of Deadwood where Wild Bill Hickcock was shot and killed.

The town of Deadwood took me by surprise. Legalized casino gambling saved this beautiful town nestled in the Black Hills. In 5 years, gambling proceeds raised over $35 million for historic preservation of this town's unique architecture. Shaelyn drove the winding 2 lane road through the beautifully wooded Black Hills on our way to Rapid City. The countryside was green and obviously water logged, a condition we were not expecting. When we got to Rapid City we made an important stop for Lola's benefit and luckily found the gate to Moore Salvage open on a Sunday. We drove up the dirt road to the office past acres of well organized rusted classic cars. The owner's son Mark pointed us in the direction of Chrysler's A-body cars. where we found the remains of a few Valiants of Lola's vintage. We began our search for missing body parts by stamping through tall grasses and stamping down even taller picky weeds. Shaelyn and I kept the blazing sun off our upper bodies with umbrellas. Nothing kept the mosquitos off. Bitten, scratched, sweaty and bloodied, we found the parts we were looking for including: a metal threshold piece that sits between the front and back doors; a black plastic cover to put over the seat bolts; a Valiant emblem and our biggest score - 4 matching hubcaps embossed with the Valiant logo. Shaelyn made friends with Sue (could be spelled Sioux), the sweetest junkyard dog ever.

We followed the bizillion signs to Wall Drug and were lucky enough to park Lola under the only shade tree in town. The store was packed with people and merchandise. We browsed for a while then headed out after well deserved milkshakes and a root beer float. Between Wall, SD and Champlain, SD we found the heat less oppressive than in Montana. All along the road to Champlain SD, we saw many metal grain silos that were crushed in and many road signs knocked down. We later learned from the owners of the Bridge View Motel that a few days earlier a storm came through with 100 mph winds. Evidence of the damage was everywhere. The Bridge View Motel, a classic 1950's motel, sits right on the Missouri River with a unobstructed view of the bridge. One of the windows in Shaelyn's room was boarded up after being broken by a flying picnic table. Right at bedtime, Shaelyn dropped one of her favorite earrings fell down the bathroom sink drain. The owner graciously took the sink apart the next morning to retrieve her earring. Nice place. Nice people.

Lisa