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Thursday, August 23, 2007

South Dakota

We arose early on our first full day in South Dakota with a very aggressive itenerary planned. Would we be able to see it all? We thought we would just play it by ear.



After an early breakfast at the cafe down the street - burrito for Lorraine and again I forgot what I ate (maybe because I was looking at hers and only eating mine) - we headed off for our first stop, Mt. Rushmore. The drive was to be about 1 hour and the excitement started right away. As we were driving down the highway, I saw some Bison off in the distance and then, closer and closer and........closer and, suddenly, the Bison was right in the road. The cars ahead slowed down, as did we and I snapped a picture. As we were driving away, I turned to see more Bison running out into the road and blocking the way of the cars behind us. I wondered how long it would be before the Bison moved and let them through.



Then came the groundhogs (prairie dogs) - just the darned cutest little things with all of their posturing and chirping. Lorraine pulled over and I got out to take photos. That just drove the prairie dogs crazy and they chirped away like mad in warning. There were mothers with babies racing for holes and general commotion all around. I did manage to get a few shots off. They reminded me so much of the meerkats on Meerkat Manor.



At last, we were on our way again. There was a little coffee stand at the junction to Custer and I got a nice Mocha to start the day. We traveled on through the roads and at last arrived at Mt. Rushmore. It is up in the mountains, not along the prairies as I thought. You drive up an up to get to it. Once you arrived, there is a huge parking structure. It was nearly empty when we arrived and we parked right up on the top for a nice walk into Rushmore. We had shorts on and it was not yet really warm and, in fact, just a little cool. It warmed up soon enough though.



And, wouldn't you know, the new camera I bought for the trip chose just that time for the battery to die so I was out of luck in the photo dept. We headed into the gift shop but they didn't have the batteries I needed. Lorraine bought a disposable and off we went. The park is free and there is only a small fee ($5?) for parking. We rented audioguides and started off on the walk around the monument.



As you walk up, you are walking down a long walkway. There are 4-sided pillars to the left and right with flags on them. Each pillar side lists one state and the date of entry into the Union. We found California and Colorado on the same pillar, early in the walk. The two states had been admitted into the union very close to each other.



We could see Rushmore beyond the flags. It looked so small. Of course, it was big and looked big but small compared to the expectations you get when you see photos of it.

There is a large amphitheatre in the front along with elevators that take you down to a museum below. We started the tour walk around the monument. It was fascinating hearing about the workers and viewing the monument from its many different sides. The walk meandered around in front of the monument so that you were positioned to look first at one face and then another - Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and, at last, Lincoln. The walk took about 2 hours and a little longer if you were to listen to every part of the audio tour (which of course, I am driven to do). I heard most of it and only missed small portions. The museum had a smaller scale model which was still much taller than me (maybe 10 or 12 feet tall). It showed the monument as it was originally designed to be. Instead of just the heads, the 4 Presidents' hands and shirt tops were also showing. Time and money ran out so the monument is as we see it today.

There was also an explanation as to why it was named Mt. Rushmore but that story totally escapes my mind at the moment.

Next installment: Beyond Mt Rushmore - Missiles, kitschy shops and giant missiles.

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