With the long drive east 'across the top' before us, we allocated 4 days to make it to Chicago breaking the journey now and then to visit little pieces of pure Americana.First pit stop was one of the most famous icons of the US - the 4 presidents cut into the rock at Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills.Hadn't quite appreciated before that it was literally in the middle of nowhere in South Dakota and still don't quite know why it was constructed there.Anyway, it was amazing to see it and stare up at their nostrils, although in the last few years these hideous concrete walkways have been built obstructing any view of the monument until you hand over your dollars and get up close.

We couldn't visit Mount Rushmore without going to see Crazy Horse, a memorial to the native peoples being constructed as a counter to the presidential monument.The problem with Crazy Horse however is that it's a non-governmental project so is still decades away from being finished and in the meantime is just serving as a massive souvenir shop trying to rinse every penny from any passing tourist.

Back on the road again, we made a stop at Wall Drug - another American institution.Way back when, a couple running a drug store in the small town of Wall wanted to think of a way to coax drivers off the interstate and into their shop.They began advertising 'free iced water' along the road and years on the adverts for Wall Drug have spread as far as the other side of the world and people are indeed being coaxed to stop for the free iced water and to pick up any other supplies or souvenir crap and pose for cheesy pictures with dinosaurs (true yes, and no, we're not sure of the relevance either).

Feeling refreshed from our iced water, we headed into Badlands National Park with its weird rock formations and amazing rainbow colours.As we posed for yet more photos in yet another National Park, we noticed this strange spaceship mushroom cloud forming nearby…As we drove on, the traffic report interrupted our Christian Radio Station (that's all we seemed to be able to tune into in the north) alerting drivers to a deadly storm moving east with golfball-sized hail, overhead lightning and 80mph winds.The next few hours were spent storm-chasing ducking off the interstate now and then to shelter under an underpass as the locals did or take cover in a roadside diner.Bit scary and exciting at the same time!Thankfully we made it to our destination of Mitchell with no lightning strikes and no dents on Frank's bonnet in time to see a bit more Americana - a palace made of corn and a drive in movie.Gradually ticking it all off!