We finally made it to Mount Rushmore!

We made it!!! The first time we planned a trip to Mount Rushmore our children were toddlers.  It's now 33 years later and we arrived.

Yesterday had been such a long day and we just weren't able to get in what we had planned. So today we thought we'd sight-see in the morning and be on our way to Billings. This is the first day we REALLY didn't plan well.  The day began perfectly with our drive to Mount Rushmore. It is a thrill when you come around the curve and there it is! Just like we've seen in pictures our entire lives.

The funny thing is that after waiting for so many years to see this, we didn't stay very long! We looked for about 10 minutes and that was it! We were both ready to move on.

 The plan was to see the two monuments, go see the Mammoth site and that would be our morning. Wrong! First we found out that the mammoth site was about a 2 hour drive in the wrong direction. We were a bit disappointed but knew we couldn't fit it into our day. A quick trip around the loop of Custer State Park and up to Crazy Horse Monument.

The problem is there's just so much to see and it's all so interesting. You just can't rush this.  We started the loop and it is very slow driving. Most of the time is about 25 mph and you just HAVE to stop at every look-out point.

 This is one of the tunnels in the park and when you come out you can see Mount Rushmore across the canyon. The drive was on a winding road with so much to see.  We came around a curve and there were buffalo, hundreds of them! These were right on the side of the road. It was so hard to stay in the car. I felt like I could walk up and pet them. There are warnings everywhere that they are dangerous so we sat tight and just watched.

 

This was the most exciting wildlife experience I've ever had.  They keep the number of buffalo in the park controlled. They round them up each year. Right now there are about 1,300 in the park.

  We had been told about the wild burros before we came and I had thought people were crazy to be so trusting to feed them by hand. We came to an open area and here they were, just as adorable as they could be.

 They are so tame and just want to be fed. I was still not sure I'd be letting my children get so close but all the kids were loving it. The parents weren't concerned at all. I wouldn't put my hand in front of their mouths though, they're still wild animals!

 After the burros we continued around the loop and on to the Crazy Horse Monument that is still in the works. On the way we encountered road work and had several delays. This made the time in the car even longer!

The drive was worth it because the Crazy Horse story is a wonderful one. This work started in 1948 and is an amazing undertaking. There is an inspirational video with the story of the artist and his family that is continuing his work.

This is the sculpture that shows what the monument will look like when it's completed. It's so hard to imagine that anyone could have the vision to carve this out of the mountain, and with dynamite!

 We really need to get going but there are more road delays. Our next stop is right on the way to Billings and then we'll hit the road. What looks so close on the map takes hours to get to!

The next stop is The Devil's Tower. This was the first National Monument in this country. It was formed 500 Million years ago by volcanic activity. The magma burst up through the layers of earth. When it cooled it formed columns. Erosion eventually left the columns of rock that are there today.

It  was such a great day. To see these marvels and be able to see wild buffalo and burros. Wow, this was really something!

Also in the area is a field of hundreds of prairie dogs. They are so cute and they are everywhere! There are only three major areas where these animals live now. They, too, are very tame and not afraid of people. You are asked to not feed them. They are sure fun to watch.

It's too bad we have made plans for hotels for the next week because we could have stayed here in South Dakota and Wyoming for several more days. It's a wonderful place. However, it's now late afternoon and we still have a 4 hour drive to Billings.

On the way to Billings we want to see the Little Big Horn Battlefield. It is in Montana about an hour before Billings. After driving for two hours we knew there was no way we could make it before the Visitor Center closed. I got on the iPad and started looking for a hotel in Wyoming close to Little Big Horn.

Let me tell you...there are slim pickens' out here in Wyoming! This is the most wide open country I've ever seen! You can drive for miles and not see another car. At one stretch we went 66 miles between exits!  So finding a room isn't as easy as I thought it would be. I was able to get a room and this place is a dive! However, it's a place to sleep and we're happy to have it. This was such a long day and we're so tired but it was a fabulous day.  We'll be up early and on the way to the battlefield. Then we'll have a long drive ahead of us to make up for the time we lost today. Thank goodness we have a couple of wonderful days planned at Glacier and Yellowstone. We need a rest from our vacation!