Bison, bison, and more bison!!

 

Our first day in Custer's state park and wow, just wow!!

We got on the Needles highway right away and the main things I can say about this road were that I was very glad to be driving a small car and I hoped I wouldn't have to drive it again!  (Unfortunately, this would not be our last time on this highway!).  The road was right on the edge of the mountain and there were one way tunnels to drive through...one of which was called the eye of the needle.  Again, very glad for a small car!  Some vehicles are too large to drive through this tunnel!

This was the Hood Tunnel.  One way, but not too tight.

The eye of the needle...which looks bigger than it was!

You can see the car coming out of the eye.  Very tight squeeze!

There were so many needles coming out of the mountains.  It was really a wonder to see!

We took a brief hike after we squeezed through the eye.  We hiked the Cathedral Spires.  It was about a 1.5 to 2 mile round trip hike that wasn't too difficult.  I needed to loosen up my legs for Saturday, not wear them out!  

Camden found a nice spot to sit and enjoy the surroundings.  It was nice to sit and enjoy the world that God has given us!

We finished the hike and figured we needed to head back to Keystone for dinner and to get ready for bed and the next day's race.  But we got distracted by the wildlife loop and were so glad we drove it.  Dusk is a good time to see wildlife!

We had seen bison from a distance in the Badlands, but Camden was super excited to see two close up....and tried to take a selfie with them!

We then saw some deer!

But what was next was blew us away.....

We saw hundreds of bison!!!  It was incredible!

And Camden got his selfie!

The bison kept coming from toward the road from the fields...coming and coming!

We finally were able to continue driving down the road!  We then headed to a pizza dinner in Keystone and back to the Powder House Lodge for a good night's sleep.  Saturday would be an early morning!

Camden spotted two Shelby Cobras in Keystone

Our lodging for our adventure in SD

Rushmore from the air!

Our fun on Friday began with a helicopter ride around Mt Rushmore!  The flight took us in front of and behind the mountain.  Extra fun was Facetiming Nathan during the flight!

After our flight, we went to pick up my bib for the race.  Then we drove the course on Iron Mountain Road.  It made me a little nervous to see the hill!  But it was also cool to see Mt Rushmore from the road and through the tunnels.  They did a great job planning and building this road!

Mt Rushmore was a mile across from the road

At the top of Iron Mountain Road

Our ride for the week...a Hyundai Kona

Then we left Keystone and headed to Deadwood.

More Mt Rushmore sightings on the road to Deadwood

We got a coke at Saloon 10 in order to see Wild Bill Hickok get shot!  Deadwood is basically a wild west Vegas!  Lots of restaurants called saloons which had casinos inside.  But it was fun to see the shooting of Hickok and the actor told the story well.

We ate lunch above the saloon at the Deadwood Social Club

Our plan for the rest of the day was to go to Custer State Park.  But since Lead was 5  minutes away, we stopped there at the Sanford Lab Homestake visitors center.  Behind the center was a huge hole in the ground leftover from gold mining.  And the lab is underground near there.  They do nuclear fusion stuff.  Again, didn't take the time to read all the displays!  But I do know gold mining started this town.

Camden in an old elevator used in mining days

The hole!

So far this day had been fun, but we were ready to head to Custer State Park!  It would prove to be a great decision!!

I can't forget that we bought our favorite souvenir this day!  I had asked Dave what he wanted us to bring him, and joking he said Kristi Noem (governor of SD), but maybe some bison jerky.  We found the perfect gift for him!

The reason we went...

 Mt Rushmore!!!

The Shrine of Democracy

Mt Rushmore was carved over a period of 14 years from 1927 to 1941.  Gutzon Borglum was the man who carved Mt Rushmore, and this involved a lot of dynamiting.  Borglum died in March of 1941 and his son Lincoln finished the project in October of 1941.  Originally the idea was to carve Old West heroes into the Needles, what the granite formations are called, but Borglum decided that Presidents would appeal to more people nationwide.  

Washington was chosen because he was the Father of our country.  Jefferson was chosen because he made the Louisiana Purchase which expanded our country.  Lincoln was chosen because he kept our country together.  And Roosevelt was chosen because of his conservation efforts, especially dealing with the creation of national parks. 

400 men worked on Mt Rushmore hanging from seats such as these, and not one died!

The sculpture that was used as a model  for the carving.  Not all of this sculpture made it onto the carving.  There was also supposed to be a tablet and a history time capsule. The tablet never made it, but even though they said the time capsule wasn't completed, I think we know better!

We arrived at Mt. Rushmore around 4:30 and made our trek around the Presidential Trail.

It was hard to not keep looking at it!

Wildlife sighting even at Mt Rushmore!

This is a picture of a picture of a man working on the carving!

We stayed that evening for the lighting of Mt Rushmore and I am so glad we did.  When it became dark and you could not see the carving , a ranger came out and spoke about freedom and liberty.  She was so patriotic and had a powerful American story of her grandparents immigrating here through Ellis Island and becoming Americans.  The woke culture has not made its way to this national treasure!  Then they lit up the carving and we sang the national anthem.  After that, all active and retired military were invited onto the stage and they lowered the flag.  It was a very moving experience!  And it was nice to see so many people loving America!

This was a long day and we had a cozy room at the Powder House Lodge waiting for us!