Badlands National Park - Part 2

Ahhhh day two (Thursday). This was supposed to be the day when we struck out into the park to explore but instead we spent it looking for a mechanic. At first I thought it was a wheel bearing causing the noise but after having Jean drive the truck and me running along side I found that it was coming from the rear differential. Sweet.  Since we were in gods country the closest auto shop was more than 40 minutes away in a town called Wall. It's the home of the famous Wall Drug. Never heard of it? Well drive anywhere in South Dakota and you will. There are signs for it every 15 feet along the road. After arriving in town we stopped at three different mechanics. The first was closed, the second one said their only mechanic took the week off and the third was so swamped that he had us leave and come back two times. While he was looking at the truck we explored Wall and all of the touristy stuff it had to offer. The old drug store isn't that bad to tell the truth. They still offer coffee for 5 cents and free ice water. Jean has been looking for hiking shoes the majority of the trip and she found some at the drug store. Now when I was drug store it's more of a general store. They have everything, shoes, knives, guns, all kinds of cowboy stuff, food, nic-nacks, weird stuff and a pharmacy museum. We both had a burrito called the Barnbuster at the Cactus Cafe and strolled up and down Main Street. We did find one souvenir that would help us remember our time in Wall. Steer horns, which we mounted to the front of the Dodge. We did see Ram horns but they were still attached to a taxidermy head.

We went back to the shop and he said that it was definitely the differential. He also said that he called a junk yard in Rapid City and they had a rear-end off of a truck with 100,000 miles. After consulting friends on DodgeForum.com, we decided that we would go elsewhere.

The next day (Friday) we drove an hour and a half in the opposite direction to Rapid City.  We ended up finding a Dodge dealer, who,  from what everyone said was the best in the area. He told us to go to lunch while he looked at it and he would have an answer when we returned. After lunch we watched "That 70's Show" while we waited to hear the news, which wasn't good. He said the pinion bearing was to blame and after it was all said and done we were looking at $1100 for parts and labor. He also said it would most likely take until Monday to get the truck back. We wanted to leave on Saturday for Yellowstone. He ended up giving us a rental car at no charge, so we could at least see the sights.  Mount Rushmore was nice but it was freezing and we were yet again unprepared. The weather goes from 80 to 50 in the matter of an hour and it started raining. After Rushmore we went on to see the Crazy Horse mountain carving. At first I was pretty disappointed because it is nowhere near being completed. Work first began nearly 60 years ago and the only thing completed is the head. We went into the museum on site and we were both inspired by the exhibits on display. It displays all of the artwork, artifacts and history of the Plains Indians. Again if you are in the area please go and see this. We spent 2 hours just walking around.

The good news was, the truck was done on Saturday and after we picked it up, we spent the day doing laundry. The majority of Friday and Saturday was a wash because of the rain, travel and repairs. Today which is Sunday (I think) we saw most of the things we wanted to see in the park and stared out trek to Yellowstone.

Tune in tomorrow for Devils Tower and whatever else we discover along the way.