Blogs from Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, United States, North America

From the Pecos River in the heart of the Santa Fe Wilderness, then north on I-25 to Raton, New Mexico on the eastern edge of the same wilderness, and on again to Trinidad, Colorado, the terrain changed dramatically. High mountains full of pine, oak and aspen trees, to flat land with forever views and little to no trees. From Trinidad, we drove northeast to La Junta (La Hoonta), Colorado, and then straight north to Sidney, Nebraska. Sidney is the home of Cabela’s headquarters and is right on I-80. It’s like the ultimate hunter/fisherman/outdoorsman’s paradise. From there, north through the pan handle of Nebraska to Scottsbluff. Scottsbluff is a landmark that early American pioneers looked for on their way out west on the Oregon Trail. On the Nebraska quarter, there is an image of Chimney Rock. It’s ... read more

We started the day at Mount Rushmore. The weather gods were smiling on us. The clouds parted and gave us a clear day! While Ed was in the museum I sat on a bench, in the sun, and just studied the monument. It was a inspirational moment. Sometimes you can be in the middle of a crowd and have a wonderful solitary moment. I'm not sure how to describe it, but I was there for several minutes, just enjoying the true beauty of it all. Ed and I took off for the afternoon by ourselves. We didn't intend to drive far, so we headed off on an interesting road, Iron Mountain Rd to Custer State Park. What a cool road. It had 3 tunnels that were carved into the mountain. The tunnels are one lane tunnels ... read more

We headed over to another part of the Black Hill's area where we saw Mt. Rushmore ,Crazy Horse and some really cool landscapes !!! We drove through mountains, beside mountains, around mountains, on top of mountains...you get the picture, the place is very mountainous........ but not the kind of mountains we have at home in the Rockies , but weird protruding rocks that are stacked up on each other coming out of everywhere !!! You have to take winding narrow roads that have hairpins turns, 15% grades and piggy tail switchbacks, that are no wider that 8 feet. I was very glad we had the car to tour around with as the motor home would never have made it. Crazy Horse is the one that really amazed us. The mountain carving was started in 1948 by ... read more

Friday was a travel day, across Wisconsin & Minnesota...saw lots of farms & cows! Rolled into the Badlands at sunset...wow! Found a campsite with a great view, check out the photos Chloe took from our campsite of the horses! Next morning we got up @ 7am and hiked the "Notch Trail". 1 3/4 mile trail throught a canyon, up a step wood ladder to some great views. The rangers warn that it's not the anyone with a fear of heights & to watch out for the drop-offs...they aint joking! Got back on the road to Mt. Rushmore, did you know that it was named after a slick New York lawyer trying to get land rights to the gold in the Black Hills and asked the guide what the name of the mountain was called and the ... read more

After a cold night's sleep in the van (at a KOA, not Wal mart...yay, showers!) we woke up to frost on the inside of our windows. A hot shower felt great! We left for our next destination: Mt Rushmore. On our way we made an impromptu stop at a veteran's cemetery with fields of white tombstones that could be seen from the road. The pristine green grass and the manner in which the two men working in outside stopped their work and removed their hats as a funeral procession drove increased our sense of respect for those who served our country in this way. After walking up and down a few rows a man who was a Vietnam veteran stepped out of his car to pay his respects to friends and acquaintances. He shared with me ... read more