South Dakota
We stopped at the Denver Airport and started towards Mt. Rushmore as that was the highlight of our trip. We passed through Wyoming and into South Dakota for the night. We stopped at a quaint, little, town named Custer at a small inn. The next day we decided to get some brunch and continue to Mt. Rushmore. We ate at an excellent Pizza place and we took some pictures with the variety of painted cow statues scattered throughout the town.
Then we went back to the inn to get into our car and start towards the national monument. It was a very scenic route and when we reached the entrance to the Mt. Rushmore National Park we noticed many others had similar plans. We bought an entry pass at the gate and went to the massive parking lot space. It was difficult to find a spot and it took several minutes. When we finally found a nice spot in the middle portion of the parking lot, we glimpsed a slight bit of Mt. Rushmore itself.
We went out and started walking towards the archway that indicated entry to the Mt. Rushmore National Monument. We continued walking in hoping to get a better picture of the monument itself. On the way we passed through numerous flags, arches, and saw several plaques with historical information. We finally reached the peak of the pathway when, there it was the monument in all it's full glory! We took several photos from different angles for a couple minutes before it started pouring.
Everyone there rushed towards closed areas. We decided to head underground to the museum section of the monument. We went through an elevator and explored various exhibits of history. Then we saw a short documentary on the monument and its past. Let me share some of it with you, for those who do not know yet. Gutzon Borglum took up the project, assigned by Doane Robinson who conceived the idea at first. Doane wanted to sculpt heroes and chose the Needles but Gutzon decided on presidents for larger appeal. The Needles were opposed by American Indians in the area so Mt. Rushmore was decided upon. The project was later led by Lincoln Borglum, the original sculptor's son after he passed away. So after we saw the documentary we went back up via elevator to the main deck. It stopped raining now so the statue looked different as it was wet in some areas.
We left back to our car and decided to visit the close by Crazy Horse monument also as it was quite interesting for us. It took a while and we reached the national park just in time for a bus ride up close to the monument. We marveled at the detail of the whole project. I couldn't understand what the picture was about so when the bus driver/tour guide started answering questions, I asked. He showed me a picture of the final product that was supposed to be finished in 50 years. I was puzzled at how the mountain with only the face done could become such a wondrous, humongous statue of the Native American riding a horse. We then went back by bus to the main museum and explored the entire place.
There was a short documentary playing here also. There was many seats so we located a nice spot and watched it. For those who may not know the history of the Crazy Horse monument here is a summary. The monument is being carved out of Thunderhead Mountain and was commissioned by Henry Standing Bear. It was sculpted by Korczak Ziolkowski to depict Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse. After we heard of a light show happening soon, we hurried back to our car where there was a great view. We watched the whole show and it was astounding how they even projected the show in the air. We then returned to our inn for the night.
The next morning, we rose early and had a good, healthy breakfast nearby. We decided we would explore more around the area and take a nice scenic drive around the Black Hills area. We had also planned to go on the 1880 train later in the day so we could not spend that long in the drive. We planned our route and started out. We stopped at a trail after an hour opposite of Sylvan Peak. It was quite timid but at the peak it was beautiful. It was a magnificent view of the large forested area and peaks nearby. We then continued driving through the Needles and viewed numerous bikers in the area. It seemed popular due to ease of travel and harsh car traffic. We wen through the Needles and continued on our route. We lost GPS for an hour or so where we relied on a road map. We even sighted deer on the way there. When we went out of the forested area into a small town where the 1880 train started, we noticed we had some time left over.
In the time we had we saw a nearby wood art exhibition. We went and viewed all of them, and wow where they beautiful. Some were for sale but most were for viewing. They were large structures and I wondered how they even carved this with a chainsaw. Then we went next door where we saw a Mt. Rushmore museum but that was closed. We went back to the car and into the main street where the 1880 train station resided. We were hungry so we stopped for some ice cream and headed into the 1880 office. We received our tickets and headed out and waited for the train. My father was nostalgic, reminiscing of his young years riding trains. We rode and listened to the history told by the guide. It stopped at a city and we had some coffee before it started back to the starting station. It was a calm journey and when it ended, we went back to the car. We ate some dinner at a nearby restaurant and started heading to Denver.
Read more about our trip at the Colorado section!