This campground, while just off Intestate 90, was over a couple of steep hills and set up in the mountain. You would never know that we were so close to a major roadway.
So this morning we are really relaxing and taking our time over coffee. It is a luxury that we really do not get when we are travelling each day. Rick looks out his window and says "Wild Turkeys!" I grab my phone bcause my camera is still up front on the dash and go to the door and see a herd (5 or 6) deer taking a leisurely stroll beside the camper! I asked Rick to grab my camera and I stepped outside, expecting them to take off, but they didn't. They just continued their grazing and slowly moved across the campground. It was a truly wonderful start to our day!
When travelling in our RV, we like that our plans can be somewhat fluid and we do not have to adhere to a strict schedule. We decided late last night that we would stay an additional day in South Dakota. That would allow us to take the Jeep to the Devil's Tower, rather than the RV towing the Jeep on our way north. That really made a lot more sense now that we see the rugged terrain of the Black hills.
Somewhere as we were crossing Iowa in those big winds we lost the vent cover for our bathroom. This meant some repair work needed to be done while we were staying in one place for a few days. We passed a very large RV store on our way to camp last night so that was going to be our first stop today. Since that put us halfway to Rapid City, we decided to see Mount Rushmore at the same time. It looked like the Mammoth Museum in Hot Springs will have to wait for another visit.
We spent an hour or so going through RV World. It is amazing to me the vast number of things you can purchase for your RV. Rick found the parts he needed to fix the vent top and I picked up a couple of kitchen gadgets, a set of sheets and a toothbrush holder that I "needed" and we were on our way!
Ever since I can remember I have seen pictures of Mount Rushmore and thought it would be great to go there, not really thinking I ever would get to see it in person.
Like Most Canadians, this was all I ever thought I would see of those four presidents:
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I was so excited! The drive up was really something. The Black Hills were really big and we went down and up and around many steep hills. Mostly, though the rugged landscape was amazing. I don't think my pictures adequately show just how dramatic some of the valleys and rocky peaks were.
Before we got to Mount Rushmore National Park, we went through a little town, although I do not recall seeing a town name. Anyhow it was done up like an old western town with all kinds of tourist shops that sold Mt Rushmore Souvenirs and t-shirts. there were hotels built into the side of the hills and it seemed like it was quite the tourist trap. as we rounded a bend to leave this town there was a huge display of wooden carvings. It was in this area that we found Bigfoot!
A couple more steep hills and we were finally there! As we were approaching the National park we got our first look at the heads.
As you approach the main viewing area, you walk through an arch of sorts, which consisted of 14 posts made of what looked like granite. There were 7 square posts on each side and each of them had a state or territory flag on a side, so 4 flags per post. Beneath the flags was a plaque that gave the name of the state the flag belonged to and the date that they joined he union.
Finally, we got to the main viewing area. To say it is impressive is an understatement. In fact, I am not sure there are any words that can describe Mount Rushmore in a proper way. Men built this. They carved it out of the side of a mountain.
Of course, just looking at the carvings are only a part of the story. This is where it gets interesting for me. There is a story behind the carvings. A really interesting story. We spent as much time below ground going through the museum that told the story of how Rushmore came to be as we spent staring at the carvings. Probably more.
Like most great things, the Mount Rushmore carvings started as one man's vision. That man was Gutzon Borgium. hs dream was to build a monument that symbolized the nation and that people from all over the country and world would come to see.
I thought the presidents that graced the mountain were a little bit random, but it turns out that he had a valid reason for his choices.
The museum also had the most famous quotes from the four presidents.
There were plenty more pictures and displays in the museum about planning the carvings (they used scale modals) and many stories about the workers themselves. Just imagine working on the side of a mountain carving granite rock! Rick was quick to point out what he would not do!
Oh and one more fun fact: Thomas Jefferson invented ice cream! If that is not a good enough reason to be memorialized I don't know what is!
When we finished in the museum we had one last look at the faces of Rushmore and then headed down the mountain, through the stone tunnel and the amazing landscape.
When we were on our way up, I noticed that some of the mountains were "bald". All of their trees were gone from the top of them. You could see trees, but it sort of looked like they had been hit by something like an explosion. This made me curious, so I hope to have the time to research what happened to them.
Rapid city also has several statues on their street corners in the center of the city. As well, the streets were decorated with banners that represented what the city was about. i did not get pictures of all the statues, nor did I get all of the banners but here is a small sample.
Oh and I saw a billboard for a very interesting wine....
Back at the RV, Rick went to work replacing the bathroom vent. He had to work from the roof of the RV which, not liking heights very much, did not thrill him. As usual, he did an excellent job and the chore was done in about an hour. It made for some interesting photo opportunities, though.
I went out to take a picture of him working on the roof and then I took a picture of him taking a picture of his work.
I then went into the bathroom to see if I could see what he was working on. I couldn't, but got a pretty good picture of him!
Finally, my biggest surprise was when I thought I heard him talking to me so I went and looked and all I saw was a leg dangling from the roof. Wait, what is this leg doing in my bathroom??!!
That was about the extent of our adventures for today. Rick did tell me that the local turkey's wee doing their afternoon walk about and, sure enough, they strolled by the door of our RV.
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