We exited Yellowstone's East Entrance around 10pm. After several hours, we stopped off near a bank in Greybull, WY to park and sleep for a few hours in the car again. We proceeded by 7am, had breakfast at a rest stop, and reached the Black Hills National Forest, in Big Horn County, after six hours of early driving.
Along the way, we happened to see some interesting roadkill; which included 1 deer, 1 big horn sheep, 1 mountain goat, 1 groundhog, and a porcupine. We also saw a cool little red fox scurry across the road.
Maybe twenty miles South of Mount Rushmore, we passed through the town of Custer, another neat little backwoods town, where we spotted a Flinstones' Amusement Park (up in the mountains!), with its own campground. There were actually a great deal of camping options in Custer. We decided to stay the night at Beaver Lake because it was on the way out, family owned and operated, and had a heated pool with a huge water slide (but they never fired it up while we were there due to a lack of interest).
Anyway, the coolest part of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial is when you are driving up the mountain and you catch your first glimpse of that universally famous carving. It is definitely something to drive up and see a thing that has been so familiar to you your whole life but never experienced in person.
Adam, being the newly ordained sculptor that he is (wink, wink), had a great appreciation for the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum (Swiss perhaps?), and his crew of over 400 men who used the many techniques of sculpting to mold the gigantic faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln into this crazy mountainside. It truly is a remarkable feat. It took nearly 14 years to get it where it is today and it still isn't complete according to Borglum's designs because funding for the project had ceased in 1941, and Borglum died in 1943. And there were a number of deaths during its construction - what a task to be commissioned to. Now, there it sits, forever part of our history, as one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. Borglum and his team have their own tribute there as well.
Trista wasn't feeling too well so we made some quick tuna sandwiches in the parking lot, went back up to pick out our magnet, and headed for our campsite before it got dark. The memorial has a nightly lighting ceremony that we couldn't stay for but we both agreed it is meant to be seen by the light of the day.
Mama and baby mountain goats at Mt. Rushmore.
Adam taking a dip at the Beaver Lake Campground swimming pool.
Looks interesting and fun. I guess the hilariously harrowing part of the trip is over.
ReplyDeleteWell, we'll see. We still have a week to go and we are off to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park tonight. Crossing our fingers.
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