Mt Rushmore, SD

The quick stop by Wall Drug turned out to be a couple of hours. It was pretty cool to see. Specialty shops such as chocolate and candy, pharmacy, and of course, free ice water. It really was icy cold. The coffee was five cents too. I don’t drink coffee, so I don’t know whether it was good coffee or not. I feel like no one should complain though, it’s five cents.  I’m attempting not to eat out too much on this trip. But a café offered buffalo burgers. It isn’t something I can get anywhere, and I figured the buffalo in South Dakota would be better. Alas, to my disappointment, it tasted just like a beef burger.

Two and a half hour drive to Mt Rushmore. At this point, the roads were getting more hilly and there were more trees. It was a different kind of gorgeous. I’m not sure whether I prefer the open fields or the forests. Every time I truly looked outside, I felt like I was looking at a computer background for Windows XP or some other sample pictures that come with the computer. On the way I saw a zoo looking area, with bears. Baby bears! They were so cute, I had to stop. But it was $16 per adult. So I said no thanks, pulled over by the side of the road and zoomed in with my camera on these cute cubs. Pictures on facebook later. I figured I may come along some bears in Yellowstone or Glacier. And those are free. Scary, but free.

Drove past Mt Rushmore, through Custer State Park, and to Wind Cave National Park. I don’t care what anyone say, caves are cool. I wish I knew Bruce Wayne so he could give me a tour of his cave. The Wind Cave was huge. It was very interesting. But again, I became numb to the scenery. All the rocks and trails started looking the same. But as I walked through it, I still had that sense of adventure, of discovering something new. The idea of a really cool hideout. It was very interesting how this cave came about. A small hole that sucked a fella’s hat in. So he went down to explore. Makes me wonder what else is out there. Caves are interesting discoveries in that there are no signs that any of them exist. I wanted to take the crawling tour, but let’s get to Mt Rushmore already…

Drove through Custer State Park to get to Mt Rushmore. The park was mostly forests. It was pretty to drive through. Very windy, almost made me car sick. And I was driving the whole time. Stopped by the Mickelson Trail and saw the old huts where gold miners settled. Pretty neat, but the scenery was what stole the limelight. Took a few pictures and moved on. Stopped at the Crazy Horse Memorial. It wasn’t finished, and they wanted to charge $10/adult. Really? Made a u-turn and zoomed in on my camera to take a picture just like I did with the cubs. I later found out that there hasn’t been much accomplished in the past 20 years on this. Not surprised. But more on lack of accomplishments later…

Finally got to Mt Rushmore, but it’s dark. Watched the overly patriotic light show and went searching for a campsite. There was one not too far from where the monument was, and it was free! Set up camp thought about what wiki said about Mt Rushmore. Fun facts, it’s not finished. It was originally supposed to be from the waste up and they only got the heads done. It wasn’t dedicated until 1991 be Bush Senior. However, I am impressed that it only took $1 million and 12 years to get as far as they did. Better record than Crazy Horse. Yay government.

Concentrating on living in the moment, I looked up at the stars. It was a clear night. I looked up in wonder, feeling incredibly small. Then a thought came to mind. How did I ever end up camping underneath Mt Rushmore? Here I am. And here I will stay for the night.

7/27/11