Compared to previous days, our drive from Rapid City, SD to Wall, SD was a short one. This allowed us to spend some time in the Journey Museum in Rapid City. It covers life in the Black Hills from the dinosaurs to today but particularly focuses on the Native Indians and the impact of European settlement on their lives. The Native Indians had a wonderful harmony and affinity with Nature and the Land, and one can't avoid feeling a deep sense of sadness and loss at the way that that symbiosis was destroyed by the imposition of a supposedly more sophisticated European culture (on reflection that sounds a bit opinionated and pompous - sorry about that!).

We arrived at Wall just after lunchtime. Its claim to fame (indeed its main reason for existence) is the Wall Drugstore, which provides a stopping point on the very long road across South Dakota to Minnesota. It grew from a single drugstore in the 1930s that attracted travellers with the offer of free iced water to the small town it is today.

However, it is a good base from which to explore the Badlands. We spent the afternoon driving aroung the Badlands National Park. We had visited the Badlands ten years ago, where we found a native Indian Prayer Tree. (A Prayer Tree is covered in pieces of cloth or ornaments, each of which represents a prayer made by a tribe member and is a sacred location to them). Gerry wanted to try to find it again. I offered her odds of 50:1 that we wouldn't - sadly, I won the bet but we did see some awe inspiring rugged country. The land is very arid but the contrasts in the subtle colours of the land and the vivid blues of the sky were amazing. It was also the only time that we had to drive extensively on gravel roads - initially a novel experience but really slowed progress and soon lost its appeal.

Cheers for now