Hotel Granvia Kyoto / Day 2

Our hotel, the Granvia Kyoto, was built by the Japan Railways company. It is a modern, business-oriented hotel, and is situated right on top of the JR Kyoto station (so the business people can just hop right onto the Shinkansen downstairs). This is a view towards the west side of the Kyoto station -- to the left are all the trains, and in the background is the Isetan, a massive department store. It has 11 floors (the escalators on the right go all the way up to the top past the big christmas tree), and the top floor has 10 or so pretty high-end (and $$$) restaurants. The 10th floor is where the 7 ramen shops are located. There are also a number of coffee shops, boulangeries, and snack/sweets stores (those that sell pretty nice mochi box sets, for example) on the ground and 2nd floors.

The escalators heading down (center of the photo) takes you downstairs into a mall that connects the Isetan and the subway station, and is called The Cube. We happened upon this massive food court on the 2nd basement floor that had many, many stalls selling bento boxes, curry sets, unagi, you name it. For once in my life I was sick of seeing so much food everywhere!

Tourists can buy passes that allow unlimited use of the JR trains for a period of time. Similar passes also exist for the bus and subway. Even though we had things to see every day, we ended up not being able to save by buying these passes.

Train and subway tickets can be bought at kiosks such as these. Many of them are quite limited in English, however; usually you look at a map overhead, determine the cost (the farther you go, the more it costs), and buy the ticket value you want.

This is a view from the northern side of the train station. To the left is a large taxi and bus terminal; from here, we can catch a bus to pretty much anywhere in the city (as long as you can understand the maps in Japanese). The tall building in the background is our hotel, the Granvia. It has 15 floors (the city has a historical height limit to 3 stories, but somehow this was allowed), and there are some very $$$ restaurants serving kaiseki meals on the top floor. There are walkways and escalators to the station, and each morning we could walk downstairs, buy coffee and pastries, or figure out which transportation to take (given all of our choices!) to get to where we wanted. The location was really good for the end of the day as well, when we were tired and wanted to just get off the train and walk upstairs to our room. Oh, and I forgot: there are more restaurants and cafes outside the station within the block, but we didn't try them.

This is what I mean by the nice breakfast options downstairs (versus paying $20 for breakfast within the hotel restaurants). There is this Burdigala bakery in the train station, and they serve these wonderfully crunchy, somewhat-buttery pastries. This was an almond-chocolate croissant and a pear danish; for $8 (including a cup of coffee), she neatly packed it inside this take-out bag with a rigid cup holder to keep everything together. Why can't Starbucks be this nice?

Our room was on the 11th floor, and when we checked in, this nice Japanese bellgirl walked us up to our room, showed us different features in our room, and was extremely gracious. The staff's english was pretty good, and the concierge was able to point us to many things, make calls for us, and even find local cheap (very casual) foods for us (we wanted oyako-don one night). Our room was very comfortable, and it definitely deserved the positive reviews we read prior to choosing it (plus the price was quite affordable). The room lighting can be controlled from a digital panel next to the bed, there was a nice desk and flatscreen TV in the room, and the view can't be beat. They even brought us special things each day waiting for us when we came home: one day we got a yuzu fruit with a note saying that it is traditionally good luck to take a bath with it as it brings good health for the year! On Christmas day, they gave us a small box of chocolates. They also had one of those Zojirushi hot water dispensers in the room, and an electric clothes press in the closet.

Our bathroom was similarly modern, with a nice counter (we're bathroom snobs when we travel) and a very nice hot shower / bathtub. This was quite a pleasant change compared to this rather sad hotel we checked into in Hong Kong (see here). The most surprising thing, though, was the electric toilet that was there!!! It had this heated toilet seat that hums whenever you sit on it, and has 3 heat levels (it can get quite hot!). It also has a bidet spray function, and also a shower function -- I read about these in Japan, but have never used one until now. Unlike what I have read, though, it did not have an air dry function, and so our tails were left dripping wet after using it. Back to good ol' fashion toilet paper.











It also tickled, but after a few days of use it was a nice thing to have. Luckily, it had instructions in English or we would have had a pretty interesting surprise by pushing those buttons.

Alright, time to head outside for Day 2!

1st day in Kyoto

Our first day waking up in Kyoto... our hotel room on the 11th floor of the Granvia Kyoto Hotel looks over the southern part of the city. We could see the Shinkansen (Japan bullet train) and other trains pulling into the station below us on a regular basis, but we're so high up that we can barely hear them. It's forecasted to rain today, and today's also the last day of the Kyoto Winter Festival where they use lanterns to light up the Arashiyama (western hills) district. Hopefully the weather will cooperate... but look at the glorious sky! Aahhh.... what a way to start the vacation.

Given the cost of breakfast in the hotel, we decided to look around the Kyoto train station for other food. We found this little Japanese-French bakery called Vie de France in the basement of the shopping mall; surprisingly, people smoked inside the restaurants! No one at the counter understood any English, but luckily we could pick up the baked goods ourselves.

By 10am, we were ready to head out to explore Kyoto! Today's there's also a flea market that takes place every 21st of the month at the Toji temple... it's only a 20 minute walk from the hotel, so we figured we'd go there first and come back to the hotel for lunch. The streets were not too crowded at that time, but it was really interesting seeing how different the city is compared to say, Hong Kong or San Francisco. People drove very small cars (smaller than Mini Coopers) that fit in tiny little parking spots under or next to their homes, and many of the buildings seemed to be short (other than hotels) and quite old. The city is very clean, however, and there did not seem to be any litter on the ground.

By the time we got to the Toji temple, it was VERY crowded. As soon as we got to the main gate, we were swept in by the swarm of people. Rows and rows of merchants selling trinkets, food, and other wares under tents filled the temple grounds. Karen and I were just focused on hanging onto each other as we waded through the pushing and shoving.

We managed to get into a corner where there was room to stand, and lo and behold we were in front of a woman grilling battered octopus and fishballs. At 300yen a pop for something totally new, we had to try it. From then on, stall after stall of food, we went to look at each unique offering: fish-shaped waffles filled with red-beans, griddled batter balls filled with squid and cabbage, more grilled foods that we did not even recognize, and many many others.

This man was selling tiny little fish (they're about the size of this "L"), but there was a really long line of people waiting to buy bags of them...















No idea what these are, but no, they are not s'mores...










Fish-shaped waffles filled with sweetened red-beans (with her husband lighting up to keep her company)...


We did buy a box of these squid and cabbage filled batter-balls cooked in their griddles. They were very soft, were topped with sauce and dried onion flakes. Pretty good!













We also saw many vendors selling earrings, kimonos, pottery, and various hand-crafted trinkets (like these little dolls).


The Toji temple consists of several buildings, and was built in 794 by the Emperor as a "guardian of the south gateway" into Kyoto. Like many other wooden buildings in historical Japan, it was struck by lightning and burned down numerous times (the existing one was built in 1644). This 5-story pagoda is the tallest in Japan, but we were not allowed to enter. The grounds before it, though, was quite peaceful, and many people were resting next to the pond.

The other buildings (the Main Hall and Lecture Hall) housed many statues of Buddha, and were filled with people praying.

We got back to the Kyoto train station by around 1pm, and went to the 10th floor food court -- this floor consisted of 7 specialty ramen shops (with little dessert stores in between)! We could not read any of the menus, and so it was hard to know the difference between the shops other than that they represent the noodle styles from different regions of the country. We just found a store which seemed cozy and didn't have a long line.


The ramen floor works as follows: You pick where you want to eat, then go to a vending machine outside the entrance and buy a ticket for your ramen. Then, you line up (each shop had quite a line), and you enter whenever there is room after someone is done eating. Luckily, each shop had plastic food models in front of the windows so we could see what looked good, and try and match up the price of the display against the price of some Japanese name at the vending machine. While you're in line, a woman comes and takes your ticket, and places the order in advance. As soon as you get seated, your order is brought to you... so the only time spent inside the ramen shop is when you eat! Lucky for this efficient system, otherwise those shops with only 10-12 seats would always be full.

The ambience inside is great, and so was the food. We happily joined in with everyone else in creating the incessant slurping sounds as we ate our food. We have no idea what we ate (I think it was a pork-based soup, with pieces of pork loin, noodles, a soft-boiled egg, chives, and some bonito flakes), but the combination with their hot tea was quite good! Each bowl was also only about $8USD (at the existing ~90Y:1USD conversion), and was a quick local meal that was off the typical tourist path!

Whew! All that, and so far it's only 2pm on our first day! We're heading back to our room to take a quick nap before tonight's tour of the Arashiyama district... stay tuned.

1st day in Kyoto (continued)

Kyoto is set within a valley with hills to its north, east, and west. Arashiyama is the district at the foot of the western hills, and is known for its bamboo forests (scene in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), wooded groves, and temples. We were able to catch the last evening to view Kyoto's winter lanterns in the Arashiyama district, we headed out around 4 p.m. and took a train from Kyoto station. It is considered to be a suburban area outside of the city, and would be an interesting view of the more "local" lifestyle.

Public transportation is good, and consists of an extensive bus system, a mix of JR (Japan Railway) and local trains, and a small subway system of only two (2!) lines. Luckily, our hotel is at a huge central hub (JR Kyoto station), and so we took a JR train out to Arashiyama, which only costs about $5USD round trip.

I found it interesting that we blended in so well... no one seemed to give us the foreigner eye, and many spoke Japanese to us (probably because we kept nodding quietly).

Our travels in Japan often required the use of 4-5 maps at any given time. A map to count the number of train stops before we got off (otherwise we would be lost trying to read the Japanese to figure out where we were), one to figure out where to go once we got there, etc. There were lanterns on the streets marking the path of the Winter Festival, so we could just follow the lanterns and wander through the streets. Getting around Japan isn't the most straightforward without understanding the language (some recognition of Chinese characters help, but not too much), but everyone we talked to were very kind and open to helping us out (although 90% of the time they only spoke Japanese, we only spoke English, and both sides eventually gave up, laughed, and bowed as we said good bye).

Tenryu-Ji, one of the eight(!) UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto, is a major temple built in 1339 by the Emperor after a dream about a heavenly dragon. This was quite a large complex with many little shrines, such as this one (right). There is typically a wooden box in the front where the worshipper can toss in money after they pray, and there is a rope attached to an overhead bell. Sadly, we know very little about Buddhism, but we saw many locals write prayers(?) on a piece of white paper, pray, and then rattle the bell by pulling violently on the rope.

I plea guilty to not having done more research on the local religion prior to this trip. I guess not every country has big signs in english explaining what we are seeing :).

There is a 14th century Sogenchi zen garden at Tenryu-Ji with many many types of moss (with labels we can't read) all over the place. It was very peaceful, and even has a beautiful lake next to a raked rock garden next to a big prayer pavilion. Many people were seated here admiring the sunset with the Arashiyama mountains behind the garden.

We then followed the lit lanterns to the Sagano bamboo forest trail, which was about 1km around. It was getting quite crowded, and the rain started getting pretty heavy. Different zones of the bamboo forest had lights on the soil floor illuminating the bamboo, and it formed a nice (albeit a bit eerie in certain spots) surreal yet calm night-time walk through the forest.

Of course, I went nuts trying to get a good photograph of this. Why didn't I bring my tripod? Basic faux pas in photography: Never try and hand-hold a shot when you could have had the discipline to do it the right way (with a tripod and shutter release). However, this was the best I could do at low-light:
I think it still came out okay. :)

By the time we got out of the forest and followed the path back into the main streets, it had become a torrential downpour. I had a semi-broken umbrella and poor Karen only had her raincoat, so we had to duck out in some tea-houses along the way. We were totally drenched, and rather than walking back to the subway, we headed towards a nice looking restaurant near the Tenryu-Ji temple that we saw earlier. We were looking for kyo-ryoji, a local vegetarian tofu meal eaten by the Buddhist monks, and found something similar (though given our inability to read the language we couldn't figured out exactly what we got into). The nice waitress, who spoke a little english, told us it was a special local type of tofu, with some pickled vegetables, a rice with some chicken bits in it, a bowl of clear broth with tofu skin, an egg custard with some mushrooms, and some fish cake. They lit a small burner under the hotpot, and along with the simmering tofu there was also this little jar of sauce that boiled along. We used a small ladle to get the chunks of tofu into a bowl, sprinkled on some dried herbs, mixed in this heated sauce, and ate it with rice. YUM!

The real surprise came at the end: warabi mochi. It is a common dessert eaten in the Kyoto Kansai region of Japan, and consists of a soft sweet made out of fernroot jelly and coated with kinako powder. So what, you might ask?

It was awesome. After rolling it around in the powder with this wooden pick-like utensil, it is very very soft (about as soft as a noodle that has been cooked too long), melts in your mouth like jelly, and the kinako powder tastes similar to peanut and sugar. However, the powder was SO fine that it must have been ground with a high-precision mill... there was no grit in it whatsoever. And it contrasted well with the green tea's bitter taste to round out the meal.

And thus, our first day in Kyoto is complete!

The Best and Worst List

To complete this blog, we have created a list of our best and worst from the roadtrip! As we reflect on this excursion, we realize that the time in each place was a treasured moment--one that cannot be repeated. Most of these places are so far removed and so different from our lives. In discovering the vastness of America, we now appreciate something special in each part of the country. There are many beautiful places that we hope to return to someday, and we are grateful to have shared in this experience together(twice!).

So now, to the list. We'll start with the best and worst meals:

Best Dinners: 1) Corn Exchange in Rapid City, South Dakota 2) Just a Taste tapas bar in Ithaca, NY 3) Nora's Fish Creek Inn in Wilson, WY
Worst Dinner: 1) Cracker Barrel (Karen thinks it's still better than McDonald's!)

Best Lunch: 1) Ithaca bakery & deli 2) Sweetwater cafe, Jackson, WY 3) leftover Giordano's Chicago pizza
Worst Lunch: 1) Chief Schenevus restaurant, Schenevus, NY

Best Breakfast: 1) William Henry Miller Inn (roasted plum, corn pancakes, Miller Mcmuffin) 2) The Mayor's Inn (buffalo sausage, scones, and pancakes) 3) The Bentwood Inn (macademia nut pancakes & evening reception the night before)
Worst Breakfast: Hampton Inn --it wasn't really a "hot" breakfast like they claimed

Most Beautiful Location: Sunset & Lightning at Panorama Point in Badlands, South Dakota (while munching on buffalo burgers!)
Least Beautiful Location: 1) Toledo, OH 2) Tourist Village at the base of Mt. Rushmore

Best Local Attraction: 1) Chicago Architectural Riverboat tour 2) Cody Night Rodeo

Best Roadside Rest Area: 1) Massachusetts Pike rest area (clean and lots of cafes)
Worst Roadside Rest Area: maybe the road stops along the Iowa turnpike

Best Car Snack for Keith: Haribo cola gummies
Best Car Snack for Karen: Kashi granola bars

Place we felt most safe: The Bentwood Inn in Jackson, Wyoming
Place we felt least safe: Omaho, Nebraska at night

Best Accommodations: 1)The Bentwood Inn, Jackson, Wyoming 2) William Henry Miller Inn, Ithaca, NY
Worst Accomodations: 1) Anton Boxrud B&B, Salt Lake City, Utah

Biggest Pet Peeve (for Keith): Inconsiderate RV drivers
Biggest Pet Peeve (for Karen): Trying to capture road signs on the road when the windshield was splattered with bugs

Biggest Pleasant Surprise: The Grand Tetons--very majestic!
Biggest Unfortunate Surprise: Forest fire in Yellowstone that closed the East Gate, forcing us to drive the Northern route (which then turned out to be long but beautiful)

Biggest Disappointment: 1) Salt Lake City--there is really nothing interesting to see in the city, unless you want to visit the Mormon temple 2) Not having enough time to spend in Jackson, WY (but! Our friends M&M decided they are going to get married there next summer! So we hope to be back in Jackson and see the area more carefully.)

Best Value: 1) Walking the grounds at Tanglewood for free (and hearing music rehearsals) 2) $2.00 street parking in downtown Chicago while we took the architectural tour
Worst Value: Inn at Stockbridge--this inn was way overpriced and underdelivered

Best Stretch of Drive (excluding National Parks): 1) Road from Yellowstone to Jackson Hole 2) Road from Utah to Nevada
Worst Stretch of Drive: 1) Traffic in Chicago due to highway accident 2) Mountain pass through Bighorn National Forest (there was also a forest fire)

Best Road Sign: Bison Crossing signs around Yellowstone and Jackson
Worst Road Sign: ??

Yellowstone and Jackson, Wyoming!

Keith and I woke up early since we wanted to spend as much time as possible in Yellowstone. Bill, one of the innkeepers and formerly a truck driver (who supposedly roasted chicken on his hood!), was now the chef, and he served us fresh scones and fruit as a starter. Keith and I agreed that these scones were one of the best that we’ve ever had! They were so buttery and flavorful—we were quite pleasantly surprised. Following that, we had buffalo patties with sour cream pancakes. Dale, Bill’s wife, told us about how she personally visits various ranches in Montana every year to order the buffalo meat. We found out that buffalo meat is actually healthier than beef, because it is leaner. It’s just as tasty, too!

That morning, we kept calling the Yellowstone hotline to find out if the East gate would open up, since it had been closed for the last 2 days due to forest fires. It opened up the morning we were driving to Yellowstone, but since we were concerned about the residual smoke, we decided to take the longer northern route up to the Montana border, and then enter Yellowstone through the North gate. That way, we could also have a greater chance of spotting wildlife! The drive was long and windy along a two lane highway, and Keith was quietly cursing at all the slow cars in front of us (Keith: that is because we had a lot of driving to do and goals packed into our schedule).

After we entered the North gate, we drove through the Lamar Valley and had a chance to see some beautiful scenery. We saw herds of buffalo grazing the grounds, and we also got really close to a few of them right along the road! Apparently these buffalo can run quite fast and they have been known to charge at people (with their 2,000lbs mass). Other animals we saw included deer, pronghorn, moose, and wolves. No wonder they call Yellowstone the “Serengeti of America.”

Our first stop was the Mammoth Hot Springs on the eastern side of the park. They were amazing! You walk along these wooden planks right over the sulfur-smelling hot springs, which consist of limestone being dissolved by the underground volcanic system of hot water. Thermophiles (heat-loving bacteria), grow in these areas and create tapestries of color in the ground. There was steam everywhere, and stunning rock formations. It is hard to imagine that nature can take such varied forms! (Keith: it was fascinating how energetic and active the subterranean volcano was... at times you can see boiling water bubbling through the cracks a few feet from the boardwalk... the signs for us to "Stay on the Boardwalk" was literally for our own protection.)

Because of time limitations, we made a stop to see the Black Sand Basin, where the bright colors of Sunset Lake and Emerald pool impressed us. There was steam and smaller geysers as well. We wished we could have stayed longer to see all the stops along the road, but we had to get going and check into our inn.

Around 6 p.m., we arrived in Jackson, also known as Jackson Hole, the famous resort-town, snuggled in the valley of the Grand Tetons. Upon driving through downtown, it immediately seemed more upscale, with nice restaurants and hotels all around. We checked into the Bentwood Inn, a beautiful B&B that was built from trees recovered from a forest fire. The Inn had tons of character, are we were warmly welcomed by Keith and Susan, the innkeepers. We arrived right during the evening wine reception that is held every night for guests, and it was a nice relief from all the driving and walking that day! We were even invited to join the hosts for dinner, since they were having a small gathering with local friends. Instead, we decided to meet up with Mindy & Mark (MM!), our friends from the Bay Area, who were also in Jackson for the weekend looking at wedding sites. It was wonderful to catch up with them—we ate at a small local restaurant called Nora’s Fish Creek Inn, where we enjoyed house specialties such as nut-encrusted trout and ribs. Whew! What a long but fun-filled day. We returned to our charming inn for a night of much-needed rest.

Cody, Wyoming and a Real Rodeo!

W e left South Dakota humorously excited to drive through Wyoming and knowing that night we will get to watch a real rodeo in Cody! The drive was not too bad... about 400 miles, and since there was nothing else to see in Rapid City this morning, we hit the road bright and early! As of now, more than halfway across the US, I have accumulated this nice collection of bugs and butterflies across my front bumper (even through the grille into the radiator). Poor little critters hitting the steel at 90+ mph... some splattered pretty hard.

(Noteworthy: our hotel in Rapid City boasted "a hot breakfast with real Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches"... yum, nothing like TWO microwaved, high-calorie and fatty frozen sandwiches to fuel me for the day).

Passing through the Wyoming state line, we stopped at a "tourism center" where I asked for directions as to the best way to cross a section of the Rocky Mountains standing between the Great Plains (where we were) and Cody. The kind old lady behind the counter told us of a very windy, high-grade road that is less traveled, and apparently offers a stupendous view "from which you can see all the way back to South Dakota." Wow. We also asked her what is a good place to stop for lunch

Her response: "Weelllll.... I love Applebees!" Hmm.

After a nice supersized meal at Wendy's, we continued driving across the big flats of Wyoming. Yes, there were hills, and grasslands, but for some reason it was kinda draining in a way that I did not feel in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, or Iowa, or S.Dakota. At some point I just had to pull over to make sure I was still alive... maybe it was the damn 1,000 calories from the lunch kicking up my liver in some struggle to turn into nice fatty tissue. Finally, we reached this highway to cross over the Bighorn Mountains... and saw... and smelled... this incredible fire. The entire sky at 2pm was yellow-brown. Hmm... winding, steep roads up the side of a mountain driving into a massive forest fire... excellent.

Luckily the road eventually skirted around the fire, and with less than 100 miles to Cody, we punched it to try and make up some time. Amazingly, the "outskirts" of Cody had NOTHING. It was like a scene in the middle of some Western cowboy film... rolling grasslands to the horizon with nothing else other than a super-straight, empty road in front of you. Needless to say it was a sight for sore eyes when we reached the town and our bed & breakfast (The Mayor's Inn).

Downtown Cody is super cute, and was a relatively long stretch of shops, restaurants, and ends with "Buffalo Bill's Museum." We stopped for a quick dinner at "The Outlaw Cafe", a casual place above a little souvenir shop. A small Asian woman came to take our orders. Amazingly, she is also the owner of the establishment -- she explained that she was originally from Hong Kong, made it big as an IT consultant in Oregon, and decided to go to the wild west as part of her retirement gig! Who would have known... she was super friendly, talked to us while we had a dinner of elk-meat sandwich and bbq buffalo flank.

The highlight of the town was, of course, the nightly rodeo! The show started with cowgirls riding around with large American flags (followed by all of the sponsoring company flags), singing of the national anthem, and even a public prayer for our troops. Then came various competitions for cowboys, cowgirls, and cowchildren(!) to hang onto their buckling horses, lasso the psycho cows, leap from their horses to wrestle down runaway cows... simply awesome. The individual contests were actually quite ferocious and exciting... at one point a cowboy was buckled from his horse only to have the buckling horse fall over and onto him... yikes. In an impressive display of skill, one reigning cowboy galloped from the starting line, lassoed a running cow, jumped off his horse, wrestled the cow to the ground, and tied up its four legs... in a matter of 8 seconds.

Badlands and Staying in South Dakota

In keeping tradition with prior road trips, I [Keith] woke up at 6am to try and take a picture of the sunrise. Given the low number of visitors to Badlands, it was especially calm and serene (and cool!) in the early morning. While I had a chance to sit alone and watch the sunrise for an hour, the sun never really broke from the haze (I was hoping it would bathe the entire valley in shadows and bright orange light). Later on I found out from the park rangers that the haze is likely due to a big forest fire over at Yellowstone (uh oh).

Karen joined for an early morning, before-breakfast hike. We went to the "Doors Trail" which provides an expansive view of one section of the wall. The trails are extremely flat, easy, and fast; sections of the boardwalk also allows you to walk out and wander among the buttes.

By 8:30am, we had checked out of our little cabin at Cedar Pass Lodge. This little lodge is located next door to the park's main visitor center, and is at the bottom of "the wall". Rabbits and various wildlife wander just in front of our doorsteps; it even had its own private bath and shower! A short film at the Visitor's Center explained how Badlands was formed as sedimentary layers over hundreds of millions of years, resulting in the multicolor striations. The entire area was part of an inland sea, and has been extensively studied since many of the Oligocene Epoch era sea-based dinosaur-like creatures have been fossilized and found through the different rock layers. Many active archaeological digs around the South Dakota area are still in progress today.

The entire area is practically inside a Sioux Indian reservation. The Lodge has a small restaurant where I ordered an "Indian Breakfast Taco": It has a cheddar and sausage omelet topped over fried Indian bread. Unlike the sod oven fried bread we had in Taos (New Mexico), this one was like one gigantic fried dough; the size can only be explained by the picture.

Naturally I ate it all. Nothing like a massive dump of calories for those flat hikes today!

We also attended a 10:30am fossil talk at one of the trails where many fossils were found. A huge mother-of-pearl from an old ammonite was found, and so was the "up-to-3-feet-long" jaw of some nasty sea-beast that crunched on these ammonites. The jaw of one of these prehistoric creatures was pressed into my neck for a sense of... scale.
We also drove to "The Pig Dig", an area adjacent to one of the picnic sites where 14 years ago some visitors discovered a huge dinosaur spine in the ground. Since then, scientists have found many many (hundreds?!) of fossils buried in the surrounding 500 square feet! Here they are in the process of pulling a newly-found skull out of the ground (lower right in the picture).

Ever since entering South Dakota two days ago (350 miles ago), we started seeing billboard signs for "Come to Wall Drug, as featured on Times/Newsweek/USA Today/Travel and Leisure/etc." Hundreds of signs later, we finally came to this store that practically defines the town (situated above the Badlands "wall").

Its story is actually quite impressive. A couple moved to Wall in search of a smaller town with a church, and labored through many grueling winters with no visitors or business. Finally, they decided to post billboards throughout the state highway advertising "stop here for free ice water!" Given the parched central plains in the summer, flocks of travelers started going to Wall. Now, they have up to 20,000 visitors a day (including a dedicated parking lot just for RVs and tour buses!) going to their museum, souvenir shops, and massive dining rooms.

After a quick lunch at Wall Drug, we headed to Mount Rushmore. Karen and I both noted that, for some reason, both of our families have not had the urge to take us here before (Is it a requisite American thing to do??). Oh well, now we have done the pilgrimage, and learned about how the 4 presidents were selected, how the entire project was done over decades, and what it symbolizes. I was especially intrigued by how, behind the presidential faces, was a separate tomb called the "Hall of Records" that is unaccessible to the public! So much for our tax money... apparently various histories of the United States are stored as etched tablets there. There is also an explanation for who the presidents are, and why Mt Rushmore was sculpted, "in case our civilization ceases to exist and is later found by others." How morbid.

Arriving at Rapid City, South Dakota, we actually were very much looking forward to having dinner at a new French bistro called The Corn Exchange! MJ, the owner and head chef, was trained as an artisan in the food centers of the world, and decided to open up a haut cuisine place in South Dakota. After years of labor and unfortunate events, she finally brought gastronomy to this small city. Her love of food and travels is well documented on her website, and we made it a point to reserve a spot for dining months in advance!

We started with a pear-cucumber soup, and roasted beets with goat cheese and a glass of Gewürztraminer. Karen had a roast quail, while I had the best filet mignon in my life. It was locally-sourced by a small organic farm, and done just right. MJ herself stopped by and we chatted about various restaurants -- she is so nice, and let us take a picture with her.

By the time we returned to our hotel (Fairfield / Marriott Inn), we noted that over half of our vacation is over. The car has reached 40,000 miles on the odometer, and 2,281 miles was clocked so far on this trip alone (averaging ~29 miles per gallon). Tomorrow we head to Cody, Wyoming!