The Rock Head Presidents

The Husband and I finally went to Mount Rushmore on Monday. We got tired of waiting for the rain to stop and we were running out of  time as well.


We had a late breakfast in Rapid City, did a bit of shopping at an antique mall and then headed to Mount Rushmore National Park.

Can you see them? They are up there, above our heads in our fancy self-portrait.

Oh, you want to see a better picture? Okay, here you go...

When I told my sister we were coming here on this trip, she related the story of her oldest daughter (now 7) coming home from school last year talking about the "rock head presidents." It took my sister and her husband asking a few questions to understand she was talking about Mount Rushmore! Funny!


After leaving Rushmore, we drove through Custer State Park. Beautiful, beautiful country. We saw mule, pronghorn and white-tailed deer. Plus, wild burros and buffalo.


You are not supposed to feed the animals in the park, but of course some people do not believe those rules apply to them and do so anyway. We got stuck in a bit of a traffic jam, because the burros know cars = people = food. Here's a shot of one of them trying to get us to feed him:

On the scenic drive through Custer State Park the roads are narrow and extremely winding, with a few very narrow stone tunnels. Here's a shot of a commercial tour bus coming through one of the tunnels. It took him a while to get through and by the time he did, he had a large audience watching him.

Here's a shot of the tunnel as we drove into it:

After we left the park, we headed to Wall, South Dakota. Home of the famous Wall Drug Store.


It was overwhelming. Any type of junky souvenir you could possibly desire is available here. They also have places to order food and opportunites for weird pictures. To wit: 


Me and a large, white rabbit. Harvey, perhaps?

The Husband and the elusive Jackalope.

After walking through Wall Drug (and, I confess, purchasing a tee shirt) we checked into the local Best Western Hotel and got settled. We went out for a quick dinner and I was in my pj's and in bed by 8:30p.m.


I think this road trip is beginning to kick me in the butt!

I Have No Idea How Many Miles On Sunday!

The Husband and I slept late on Sunday morning. We checked out of the Deadwood motel by 11am and then had a great breakfast.

We drove to the historic Mount Moriah Cemetery for a walking tour.

This cemetery is famous for being the final resting place of Wild Bill Hickcock and Calamity Jane.

Wild Bill's bust:

Calamity Jane's marker, located next to Wild Bill.

We walked in this cemetery for quite a long time. It is very large and the inclines are very steep. It is situated above the town of Deadwood and it was quite surreal on this cool, rainy morning.

We left the cemetery and made our way to the Crazy Horse Memorial. Even though it is not finished (after 60 years of work), it is still very impressive. And the dedication of the sculptor's family to continue his work is impressive. I would recommend you visiting it if you ever have the opportunity.

The entire time we've been in SD, it's been rainy, foggy and cool. Temperatures ranging from 45-55 degrees. This was the best picture we could get of Crazy Horse as it is today:

This is the model of what he will look like eventually.

Hopefully, it won't take the family another 60 years to finish this sculpture!

After leaving Crazy Horse, we drove to Rapid City, SD and checked into the Hotel Alex Johnson. It was a pretty nice place. We ate dinner at Botticelli Ristorante that evening. The food was very good and our waiter was quite entertaining.

Another great day on our "See the USA" tour!

130 Miles (plus or minus)

So, we took it easy Saturday in Deadwood, SD.

We didn't get up and around until 9:00 am or so. We then took our time getting ready for the day. We had a lovely breakfast at the hotel.

We took a scenic drive, beginning in Deadwood and winding through Spearfish Canyon on highway 14A. At the end of the scenic drive, we headed to Sturgis, SD.

We did not get out of the car in Sturgis. I think it was because:

1) We didn't bring our Harleys
2) We didn't wear our leathers
3) We didn't have any tattoos

Nah, those weren't the reasons! It's just that the town was really, really slow. Not many tourists in evidence.

We returned to the hotel in Deadwood and I took a nap while The Husband explored the town. Unfortunately, his report upon his return was not good.

Deadwood makes it's money on gambling. There you have it. Gambling.

Gambling is not so bad, but you would think they would mix it with high end shopping (art galleries, jewelry, etc.), like Las Vegas. That is not, however, the case in Deadwood. Tee shirt shops, TV show memorabilia and a few Indian pottery pieces are the extent of the shopping. I'm sure, however, they know their core audience better then we do.

From all appearances, the primary gambling crowd is "blue haired." Which sounds bad, but how else do you describe it? This primary crowd are at a point in their lives when they don't want or need to purchase many things. So, it makes sense there is no really high end shopping in town.

The Husband and I are not big gamblers. We are, however, people who are looking for a really nice dining experience. That's not so much what we found in Deadwood. However, I will say that we ate at Bully's in The Bullock Hotel on Saturday night and the meal was quite good. My filet was "melt in your mouth" good, which says a lot!

We walked to The Franklin Hotel after dinner to have a drink. We met a group of mid-20's kids out celebrating the birthday of one of their friends. Everyone in the group was very funny, nice & polite. The birthday boy was celebrating his 25th birthday (what a baby!) and was quite the talker. He was from Montana and had been raised on a 10,000 acre ranch that his great-grandfather homesteaded. He sells insurance during the day and works on the ranch the rest of the time. He said he's on "weed duty" at the ranch.

We had a good time in Deadwood. Yes, we did. And we only lost $21 on the slots!

Have you ever been there? If yes, what did you think? If no, do you have any desire to visit?

335 Miles (plus or minus)

The Husband and I had a late, leisurely breakfast at the hotel in Sheridan, WY.

Afterwards, we drove out of town and headed toward the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument.

Witness my first arrival in Montana:

Shortly thereafter, we entered the National Park.

It is very difficult to describe the magnificence of the scenery. The land is large, wide open and awe inspiring. It is no wonder the Indians did not want to be restricted to living on reservations. They wanted to continue roaming this large, beautiful land as they had always done. Hence, their logical decision to fight back against the US government. The decision led to many battles, one of which was the Little Big Horn.

Actually being on site at the battlefield gave me a much richer understanding of the battle. It spread over a realatively narrow corrider of land, spanning approximately 3 miles in length. Tombstones are placed over that 3 mile stretch to indicate where US soliders and Indians fell during the battle.

It is very moving.

This picture of The Husband is at the location of "The Last Stand" where Custer died. If you enlarge the photo, the tombstone with the black highlighting is Custer's monument. (I really must invest in a more sophisticated camera!)

Here I am at the Indian Monument on the Battlefield.

Check out my new hat, purchased in the gift shop. Cute, don't you think? The Husband has one that is very similar. We also purchased the National Park Service Passport. Between stopping to take photos of every "Welcome to this state" sign and purchasing the NPS passport, The Husband has officially declared our "dork" quota is at an all time high. But you know what? We don't care!

We spent almost 3 hours at the Little Big Horn Battlefield. Easily, we could have spent another 2 or 3 hours to complete all the walking tours and to view the film at the park center. However, it's not like this battlefield is in the middle of a densely populated area, or even a commercial area, so you have to PLAN to go there. Next time we visit, we will plan a bit differently so we will be in the area for a couple of days.

After leaving the battlefield, we drove to Deadwood, SD.

The obligatory "Welcome to South Dakota" sign.

Deadwood has a long and sordid history. But what US town doesn't? Some towns may not, but this nation was scratched out by "hook or crook" frequently and Deadwood fits that description. The Husband and I were fans of the HBO series, Deadwood. Have you seen it? We are not thinking the actual town was like the HBO series, but who knows?

We walked around downtown tonight, stopped into one of the many casinos to have a cocktail and assess the situation. The Husband lost ONE DOLLAR in a penny slot machine! I cut him off, needless to say. We ate dinner at the Buffalo Saloon, which has a long history in Deadwood.

We have a big day planned for Saturday, visiting a number of local sites. Hopefully the rainy forecast, with highs around 48-50 degrees, won't put too big of a damper on our plans!