South Dakota Straddles The Border Between Old And Otherworldly (PHOTOS)

South Dakota is an oft-overlooked state full of characters and defined by a quirky sort of humor involving tall-tales of mythical creatures like the Jackalope and the sky, which seems wide as the universe as it stretches between distant towns. Ghost towns here seem to outnumber inhabited ones and time seems to have come to a screeching halt at the turn of the last century.

There is also a pervasive feeling of loneliness and longing is reflected in the art, the roadside attractions, the homestead exhibits and on local faces. Pine Ridge, the poorest county in the country and the site of Wounded Knee, still embodies the raw history of Indian-Western racism. The highlight of many trips, seeing buffalo and moose, is tainted somewhat when those majestic beasts are seen again on local menus.

A road trip through South Dakota is truly an other-worldy adventure.