America, the tourist trap

I recently returned from the longest trip of my life.

No, not to the Himalayas. Not the jungles of Africa, either. Not even from the mighty castles of Europe. I recently returned home from Chicago. I flew out there and drove the 2,000-plus miles back home to familiarity. I had never ventured east of the Rocky Mountains before, so the trek home from this Midwest metropolis was a new and nerve-racking experience.

On the way home from Chicago, my girlfriend and I saw the heartland of America for the first time. I had to fight off my childhood impulses to stop at every tourist trap we came across. This wasn't an easy task, seeing how South Dakota has more of these traps within its borders than I thought was geographically possible.

We did succumb to one of these tourist traps, however. It was the famous Wall Drug, a giant drug store in Wall that has signs advertising its greatness every 10 miles along the freeway, starting way back in Minnesota.

Wall Drug was nothing more than a giant tourist trap. Its inside was lined with racks of souvenir T-shirts, shot glasses, coffee mugs and just about anything else the Wall Drug masterminds could stamp their name upon.

We returned to the freeway discouraged. We drove by other traps along the way, including places that housed things such as dinosaur bones and one of Elvis' motorcycles.

We arrived at our destination for the day, a little later than expected: Mount Rushmore. As a child, I never saw the mighty mountain -- which some might find strange, seeing how it is basically a requisite for middle-school family vacations.

When we arrived, I was initially impressed. However, this feeling of American pride slowly faded as I began to realize that this national monument was nothing more than a gimmick for tourists. The gift shop at Mount Rushmore rivals the sculpture itself in size. Much like Wall Drug, the gift shop at Mount Rushmore was filled to the brim with souvenirs. The effect of Mount Rushmore was overshadowed by the commercialism. Instead of taking home something personal from the sheer sight of the mountain, someone has also decided that you need a $20 coffee mug to go with that emotion.

I am not saying that souvenirs are bad, because I bought my fair share along the way. I am also not saying tourist traps like Wall Drug are bad, because I realize that if it wasn't for this place, the town of Wall would have dried up many years ago. However, I do think that places of importance, such as Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park, shouldn't be handled as tourist traps.

This is like an attractive, respectable girl turning to prostitution. She doesn't need to sell herself, because people will be attracted regardless. This is the same for our national monuments. People are going to come to see something that is distinctly American for the sake of simply witnessing it, not because they absolutely need an Old Faithful key ring.

It would be nice to see the monuments of this country rise above the simple label of tourist trap. However, if you are going to see a distinctly American monument, I guess you will also have to see distinctly American commercialism at work as well.