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Although this trip certainly had its academic adjectives, it didn't stop us from having some fun along the way. We stopped for and looked at all sorts of things, some more "academic" than others... For example, our first notable sighting of the trip was the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. We didn't even stop, choosing instead to simply drive by. The Corn Palace was never on our itinerary, but there were a few students in the van who hadn't seen it. So, like the hoards of curious tourists before us, we made the obligatory block-circling of the "World Famous" Corn Palace. Our second notable sighting actually had great academic significance, particularly in quaternary studies. Near Chamberlain, SD, at the crossing of the Missouri River, you can observe where the edge of the last great continental ice sheet stopped and formed its terminal moraine. Although probably not totally obvious to the casual traveler, this moraine determined the path of the Missouri River. In an otherwise minimally-featured landscape, the transition to the flatter, east side of the Missouri to the more undulating, west side of the Missouri clearly displays the contrast between the glaciated and non-glaciated terrains. After traveling through the Badlands we decided to spend the night in Wall, South Dakota. Wall is famous for (and mostly consists of) Wall Drug, a long-ago stop "in the middle of nowhere" that has come to define the word kitsch. Once just a stop for ice water, now Wall Drug is more famous for a 12-foot rabbit and free bumperstickers. We were too early in the tourist season to see Wall Drug in all its glory, but we browsed its shops (there is a drugstore in there somewhere, trust us) and took time to eat breakfast before continuing west on Interstate 90.
Although there are plenty of other kitschy things to see in South Dakota, particularly in the Black Hills, we opted to hurry on to Wyoming. We managed to get a distant glimpse of Devil's Tower from the interstate and soon we were headed into the Bighorn Mountains.
Beyond the Bighorns we observed some interesting landforms in and around Wind River Canyon, which, incidentally, is not near the Wind River mountains. Wind River Canyon is just south of Thermopolis, WY (home of the world's largest mineral hot springs), located in the north-central part of Wyoming. Dr. Dahms told us about an attempted dam project in this area that initially failed due to a fault running right through the dam area. The fault was even visible from the road, and it left us curious as to why the project was ever begun in that location. A dam was eventually built, and the result was Boysen Reservoir, located just south of Wind River Canyon. Just south of the reservoir we entered the Wind River Reservation, home to both Shoshone and Arapaho tribes. The Shoshone and Arapaho are historical enemies, but now they struggle together against poverty in one of the poorest areas of Wyoming. We stopped to see the grave of Sacagawea, the Shoshone Indian that served as a guide for Lewis and Clark. Lander, Wyoming, is located on the western slopes of the Wind River Range. With a population of about 7,000 people and at an elevation of about 5,400 feet, Lander is a great example of a Wyoming mountain town. Lander is the international headquarters of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and is home to the International Climbers' Festival. More relevant to us was the Lander Bar and Gannet Grill, a worthy stop for great pizza if there ever was one. A few more pictures from our day hike from Camp Branson up to "George":
One of the highlights of the entire trip was our tour of the Atlantic City Iron Mine. This mine was special for two primary reasons. First, it is one of the few places in the world that contains banded iron. Second, the mine is the subject of a large reclamation project for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality - Abandoned Mine Lands Division. Our group was given a great tour by two people involved in the reclamation project. Part of our tour involved searching for folded banded iron formations, and many of us (particularly the geologists) came away with some excellent samples.
As part of our Yellowstone detour we took a trip into Montana to see Earthquake Lake. Earthquake Lake was created in 1959 as a result of the largest earthquake in Montana history. A landslide, caused by the quake, took the lives of 28 people and caused about 11 million dollars in damage. This landslide of rock, soil and trees created a barrier that blocked the gorge where the Madison River flowed, thus creating the present day lake.
One of the few stops on our way back to Iowa was at Independence Rock. Located southwest of Casper, WY, Independence Rock is an elongated granite dome famous for the inscriptions carved into it by pioneers on the Oregon Trail. The names date anywhere from recent to over 150 years old.
And finally, some random fun pictures from the trip:
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