You'll Be Seeing Great Sights!

For me, Mount Rushmore lived up the hype.  And it wasn't because of the magnificence of the sculpture.  It is, thus far, one of the more moving moments of my life.  The Spirit of America burns so strong here.  When we walked onto the main viewing platform an army band was performing in the amphitheater below.  They were so talented as they played one patriotic selection after another.  We listened for a bit and then started the Presidential Walk to all of the viewing platforms situated around the monument.  We could hear the band for most of our walk.  At one platform I started talking to another family that was taking pictures.  They were from California and had been travelling for  a few weeks.  They went as far eat as Milwaukee and were slowly making their way back to CA.  They planned to be gone 6 weeks!!

When we got back the main platform the band had finished.  We found seats to wait for the lighting ceremony.  Then I heard clapping that slowly grew.  I looked around and a few of the musicians were walking up the stairs,  The people in the audience clapped and shouted out thanks to all the soldiers that passed by.

The ceremony itself was quite interesting.  It consisted of a speech by the park ranger which talked about eh promise of the "unborn millions" of Americans that were influenced by the four men depicted on the mountain.  We then watched a short film about the their lives.  The history buff in me rejoiced at the educational aspects of the movie.  But the best part of the night was yet to come.  At the conclusion of the film everyone was asked to rise as the National Anthem was played.  Everyone joined in the singing.  Then the park ranger asked for all military personnel,  past and present, to come up on stage.  Despite there being a few thousand people in the amphitheater you could have heard a pin drop as dozens of people came forward. When the last person made it up the applause began and went on for at least 2-3 minutes.  They then lowered the flag, again with the crowd watching in respectful silence.  As each man and woman left the stage they stepped forward and spoke their name and branch of military.

It was a beautiful end to a spectacular day!

....In the Wide Open Air!

Finally, Mount Rushmore!!  We decided to end our day at the monument since they do a lighting ceremony at 9 PM.  So we headed from our hotel into old Keystone to see the mining town.  I read in my trusty AAA book (gotta love the TripTiks) that there was a self guided walking tour so we stopped at the information booth and picked up a map.  The "tour" consisted of walking past semi-decrepit buildings with little signs in front of them.  Not really interesting to any of us.  The most interesting thing we saw was a garage that resembled an old oil tank.

We headed back to the car to drive through the Iron Mountain Pass and Custer National Park.  As we rounded the first bend out of Keystone we got our first glimpse of the heads:

We proceeded on our way.  The Iron Mountain Pass is not for the faint of heart.  There are numerous sharp turns and narrow passages, but the views are gorgeous.  As you wind your way around Mount Rushmore is a constant presence.  You can see it from many of the clearings.  The road was even designed so that as you go through the tunnels the monument is framed before you. Here's just a few of my multitude of picture from that drive.

The Iron Mountain Road leads to Custer National Park which is basically a very large drive through safari.  I was so excited when we saw the first herd of bison!  They are enormous.  The first bunch we saw were at a distance- but as we drove we suddenly came upon a group that was right next to the road.  The line of cars came to a standstill as everyone snapped picture of these huge animals.  During the drive we also saw prairie dogs (they can transmit the plague), pronghorn deer and wild burros.  

We stopped for drinks in Custer for drinks and then went to the Crazy Horse Memorial.  This is a monument that has been under construction for over 50 years and probably will be for another 50.  The story behind the monument is quite interesting.  Here's the link if you're so inclined:  http://crazyhorsememorial.org/   This is a not to be missed stop on any trip to South Dakota.

The Crazy Horse Memorial

The finished plan superimposed.  When completed the memorial with be the largest sculpture in the world,

It will dwarf Mount Rushmore.  

We stopped on the small town of Hill City and ate at a local joint called Desperado's.  It is housed in a historical building from the late 1800's.  The food was very satisfying.  Now it was time for the main event of the day!!

You'll Look Up and Down Streets

For anyone who has travelled through the Midwest, I'm sure you are familiar with Wall Drugs.  As soon as you hit Interstate 90 the signs appear on the highway enticing you to visit their store in Wall, SD.  Wall Drugs started as a small local store in the 1930's.  According to AAA, in order to promote visitors to their store they placed thousands of billboards advertising free ice water to thirsty tourists.  The signs remain to this day and the store has expanded to be a city block long with various souvenir shops inside.  They also have an outside courtyard with cheesy displays for the kids.

We were not immune to the signs.  I think we were all looking for a brief respite from the road, and as there was also a Harley Davidson dealer in Wall we stopped to explore.  Wall certainly lived up to the hype.  It was a quintessential tourist trap but was quite fun.  I took many pictures of the kids posing with various statues.  We also found the necessary South Dakota golf and baseball for the boys' collections.  Rich found a cool new Harley shirt as well. 

It was now time to complete this leg of our journey.  We piled back into the car for the last push to Rapid City. After checking in to the hotel we headed into the city for dinner.  Rich had seen an ad for the Firehouse Brewery so we opted to try their fare.  Their food was pretty good and I even enjoyed one of their beers.  Ian was impressed by the entertainment.  It was a couple singing and Ian thought it was neat that the guy could play keyboards, guitar, harmonica and sing.  After dinner we walked through the center of town.  It was only a few blocks long, but there was quite a few public works of art displayed.  Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating and since it was such a beautiful night they were are pretty busy.

Another successful, yet exhausting day.....tomorrow we hit Mount Rushmore!

(Maggie and Ian in front of one of the presidents in Rapid City.)

It's Opener There... (Part 2)

Perfect opportunity to post....Rich taking kids in the pool while I do laundry.  A bit of a wrinkle in the trip today....we got a flat tire while coming back from Sturgis and Deadwood.   Luckily someone driving behind us noticed and warned us.  We were on the interstate traveling at a high speed and we could have ruined the rim.  All the tire stores around us were closed so Rich will be attempting to get a new one early tomorrow morning.

Anyway--- back to the trip.   As I posted in my earlier blog, the Badlands were incredible.  I really didn't know what to expect.  As we entered the park and began the driving loop I was immediately struck by the vast landscape around us.  Words cannot so justice to what we saw.  I was amazed by the rock formations- and this was just from a distance.  When we pulled into the first viewing area and starting walking down the walkway my awe just grew.  I was shocked when we rounded a bend and came to stairway that led out into the park. I was not aware that the Badlands was an "open hiking" area.  You are allowed to hike and even camp out in the area. (Not that I would ever do that!!)

The kids, especially Maggie and Ian, couldn't wait to begin exploring.  I was so nervous- I didn't want them out of my sight.  It is very easy to lose someone here.  They quickly got the hang of traversing over the rocks and  gullies.  Me, on the other hand, kept slipping.  (I know it may surprise some of you, but I am not known for my grace!)  Rich brought up the rear with Danny (who also climbed better than me.)

I started taking pictures and then- low and behold, my camera card showed full.  It was then I realized that for the first time in the trip I did not bring my camera case with me.  It was all the way back at the car.  I deleted a few pictures, then stole Ian's card, and then misfortune struck again....the battery died and,  like the card, my spare was in the car.  Rich offered to go back, knowing that I certainly wouldn't, or couldn't,  make my way back to the same spot. I had the kids camp out in one spot for about 15 minutes while he went all the way back to the car.  


When he got back to us again we hiked out a bit farther.  The older kids really wanted to climb this very, VERY high peak, but even they couldn't manage.  I finally convinced them it was time to continue on the journey and we went back to the car.


We drove through the rest of the park, stopping occasionally for pictures.  The view was so beautiful around each bend and dip in the road.  If any of you ever makes it out to South Dakota- please make sure you stop in the Badlands.  The barren, yet beautiful landscape really gave me a sense of peace.

Here are just a few pictures- Rich has my camera at the pool and that's where the rest of the pictures are!

Things I like- Climbing on rocks. Taking strange pictures. Being a head on Mt. Rushmore.


Things I don't like- Farms. Fields of corn. Not being allowed to sleep.


Thank you for your time. DFTBA.

It's Opener There....(Part 1)

Yesterday we had our trek across South Dakota.  We started at 8:30 in Sioux Falls.  Traffic was pretty light and we made great time to the Corn Place in Mitchell, SD.  For those who don't know- the exterior of the Corn Place is decorated entirely in corn cobs, corn husks and grasses.  Each year there is a new theme to  the murals adorning it.  This year's theme is Celebrating Youth Activities.  It really is a "corny" place- but it is a tourist "must see."  It takes months for them to finish and in August there is a big festival.  Apparently the birds love to come and feed on it.

After out brief visit here we got back on the road for the LOONNGG  ride across the state. We again were passing through beautiful farm land.  The views were gorgeous.  You could see for miles.  After we crossed over the Missouri River (about half way through the state) the scenery began shifted from farmland to cattle farms.  The landscape became much more hilly.  By mid afternoon we reached the entrance to the Badlands National Park.  I thought it would only be a quick 30 mile scenic drive, but it was much more.

I'll update later as everyone is now showered, dressed and ready to go!

Pictures from the Journey

Ian's Birthday in Lake Villa (June 30)

Bowling on Sunday (July 1)

Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI- (July 3)

The Famous Racing Sausages!! (July 3)

More to come later---they take a long time to upload and I'm getting tired!