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Published: August 7th 2009
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Mt. RushmoreAnother spectacular day in the greatest country in the history of the world. Had another brief thunderstorm this morning around 4 a.m. As soon as the tent was dried out I packed everything up and hit the road. First stop, Mt. Rushmore. It was worth going there to get the picture, enough said. Next stop was Crazy Horse. Honestly there really isn't much there. It was also worth going to get the picture but I think I'll wait out the next 50 or so odd years till its done.
Now to the fun stuff. I heard about Wind Cave N.P in the guidebook I'm using. I called ahead and reserved a spot on the advanced spelunking tour. It was a 4 hour tour that takes you off the beaten path and you get a chance to see how amazing the cave really is. Helmets, headlamps, knee pads, gloves, crawling, sliding, stooping... a once-in-a- lifetime experience. The cave was full of boxwork, frostwork, and gypsum needles (the real names for cool-looking cave stuff). Arguably the best moment was when the guide had us in a room and had everyone turn off their headlamps and then sit as still as possible. You couldn't
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Mt. Rushmore see your hand if you punched yourself in the face. The silence was unexplainable. It was ABSOLUTELY incredible in its simplicity. I nearly started to freak out. All in all an amazing tour... thanks Barrett, you do good work.
Then it was off to Rapid City, staying in a hotel tonight to take the first shower since Minneapolis and to catch up on the blogs. Tomorrow is off to Sturgis to see all dem bikers, then Devil's Tower, and hopefully get close to Yellowstone by evening.
Until we meet again.
Cheers,
Josh
Lesson of the day: The more billboards you see for a certain park/attraction, the bigger waste of time it is.
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Mark
non-member comment
great blog!
Hi Josh, We will be travelling through some of the same places that you have done later next week. Hopefully the rain will have died down by then (:-). Your short stories are really getting us into the vacation mood! I look forward to reading the next part of your story. best regards, Mark (The Netherlands)