Jul 20, 2012 - Mont Rushmore

Lors de l'organisation du voyage, voici un endroit qui ne nous disait pas grand-chose. Les visages de 4 présidents dans une montagne!!! On va y faire un petit arrêt parce qu'on passe tout près. Wow, cet arrêt a été une belle surprise. Nous avons passé beaucoup plus de temps que nous avions prévu. L'endroit est impressionnant. A l'aide d'un audiophone, on se fait conter toute l'histoire de ces sculptures et la façon dont ils ont réussi à travailler le granite, roche très dure pour obtenir des visages très réalistes. Dynamites, gros...

May 28, 2012 - Mt Rushmore

Sorry about the delay. We are running a little behind on the postings.Things have been happining at a fast pace. I hope you enjoy the photos of Mt Rushmore. I like the ones of the mountain at a distance. We were held off from going into Yellowstone as they had a bad snow storm and the road was closed. Who would figure on that at the end of May. I will post the pictures from Yellowstone later. We didn't have any phone or internet service in Yellowstone, I guess it was too far in side of the park. The weather there has been cold with lots of...

Dec 10, 2011 - Mt Rushmore and then to KS

Now that all the business stuff was taken care of, we had a bit of free time before making our way to Chanute, KS. Since we were now 'South Dakota' residents, a mandatory visit to Mount Rushmore was in order. The weather was clear and cool, but warming up fast. The drive was about 45 minutes or so to see all those 'stone heads', as I always called them. Just before arriving at the park we passed through a small town. I don't remember the name, but it was sure full of tourist stuff. Luckily for us, it was all closed for the season. But we...

Oct 11, 2011 - Mt. Rushmore & Custer State Park Wildlife Loop Road

Great day for sights today! We first drove to Mt. Rushmore. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to see this historic monument. We took some pictures, had some delicious bison stew for lunch in the monument's cafe, then walked the Presidential Trail, which is half-mile paved trail that offers the closest views of the Rushmore faces. History of Mt. Rushmore We then drove to the Crazy Horse Memorial. But since we had spent much longer at Mt. Rushmore than we planned, and it was getting late in the day, we decided not to pay the...

Aug 28, 2011 - Mount Rushmore National Monument

2011 August 28, Bad Lands & Black Hills, SD Mount Rushmore National Monument As mentioned in the primary entry (“Bad Lands & Black Hills, August/September 2011”), Mount Rushmore Monument is worthy of its own entry and, to me, is one of America’s most special places. For Gutzon Borglum, who created the sculpture, the four presidents on the mountain represented important moments in American history. “My plan is to make Rushmore a center in the heart of America so attractive, so comprehending, that the inevitable visiting world will assemble...

Aug 10, 2011 - Mt Rushmore, SD

Aug. 10-Wed.- Going now to Mount Rushmore, Hill City, to our campsite; “Rafter Bar Ranch RV Park”. Said Good Bye to our neighbors, next to us at our campsite in Colorado, Louise & Jerry Patterson, from Dallas, TX. They were so very nice. We headed toward Denver, & I decided to call Kim Rieke, Nate’s stepsister, who moved there recently from Greensboro. We made sure it was alright if we just stopped to see them for a short visit, while passing through. We stayed for about an hour & had a lovely visit with a cup of tea. Kim was glad we...

Jul 28, 2011 - Night on Mount Rushmore

Our long awaited trip to Mount Rushmore almost didn't happen. The skies were threatening, and as we all gathered to get on the bus, the driver said he had been authorized to cancel and do the trip the next day. We were leaving the next day, so we voted to give the weather a chance. The rain began to fall heavily as we boarded, but soon quit and we saw a beautiful rainbow. We arrived at an intersection close to Rapid City and saw what the storm had left behind. I've never seen such a large amount of hail. I'm just glad we were not there when...

Jul 14, 2011 - Mount Rushmore

Today our caravan began. We had a get-together at 1 PM where we met everyone going on this caravan. The group is very diversified. One gentleman that is traveling alone is 92 years young and is driving a three quarter ton pickup truck hauling a 29 ft. 5th wheel with two slides. He was a prisoner of war during WWII. A true American hero. Another gentleman is the inventor and has the patent of the bar code scanner that we all use many times each day. Each couple is each interesting in where they have worked, what they have done, where they...

Jun 25, 2011 - Mount Rushmore

Our first stop of the day was to see Mount Rushmore. It was really neat and huge! We took a short hike to get a closer view and toured the information center. It felt like a heat wave hit us today as the temperature reached 80! We could even wear shorts for the first time in over a week! After seeing Mount Rushmore we took a scenic drive through Custer State Park and along the Needles Highway. We did not expect it to be as fabulous as it was…lots of narrow, curvy roads with gorgeous views at every turn. We saw deer, pronghorns, bison and...

Oct 8, 2010 - Mt. Rushmore

After sleeping in Sioux Falls, SD last night, this morning we got on the highway for the drive to Mt. Rushmore. We passed flat farmland for hours and came across many fields of sunflowers, which were a happy alternative to the dry corn stalks that we've seen for the past few days. We also saw many signs for the "badlands" of South Dakota -- a place I thought I'd only read about in books. The open space we drove through was prime for advertisements so we passed tons of billboards. A store called Wall Drug had signs posted here and there for...

Aug 3, 2010 - A perfect wrap

We were on the road again by 11 a.m. and headed for the Black Hills of South Dakota. Traveling those miles across Montana has given me a much deeper appreciation for that favorite old refrain, "Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam, and the deer and the antelope play..." As Kiera rode shotgun for much of the afternoon, she pointed out that those herds of beautiful creatures grazing in the fields were not deer, but actually antelope! Amazing... Poor Ric was deathly ill, and trying to survive as he was thrown around the back of this boat....

Jun 19, 2010 - Devils Tower and Mount Rushmore

Beautiful scenery, wind, beautiful scenery, wind, beautiful scenery… yes, that is a description of our last three days in Wyoming and then into South Dakota. We are truly enjoying our time in this part of the country, seeing all these wonderful sights, but the wind blows constantly! The wind blows so hard and steady that poor Blayde is sometimes blown over when he lifts his leg to relieve himself. Now that is a lot of wind! Aside from the wind, however, we really can’t say another bad thing about this part of the country. I never realized...