Day 27

States: South Dakota

Sites seen: Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Wall Drug, Missiles, Badlands National Park

When I preview this, all of the pictures are there and loaded. But I don’t make any promises because of the lack of service and WiFi out here…

Mount Rushmore

Our first stop today was Mount Rushmore. This monument took 14 years to complete, 400 workers, and came in just under a million dollars at the time.

They have a viewing area as you come into the park but then you can walk the President’s trail (only part of it because the rest is closed) and get a little closer to the monument. This trail also allows you some up close views of a couple of the presidents.

We also saw these goats just hanging out. Apparently, they often climb up onto the presidents’ faces.

Crazy Horse Memorial

This place was very cool and I’m so glad that Angie recommended it to us!!

Korczac grew up as an orphan in Boston, apprenticed under a sculptor as a teenager, and eventually came out to work on Mt. Rushmore. As that project drew to a close he was approached by some Indian Chiefs who wanted to build a memorial to their people so that “white men would know that red men have heroes too.” He and his family have spent their lives working towards the completion of the monument all while creating education centers and resources for the native people.

The artist is pictured above. Below is the original generator he used to get started. He says he would start it and then climb up the 700+ steps and often get part way up and hear it go “kaput kaput kaput” and he would have to go back down and get it started again. He says that on some days he would do this 9 times a day.

You can tour the artist studio as well as a replica of their dining room and see a bunch of the antiques and things they had.

And there are lots of models around showing you what it will look like when it’s finished. There is no estimated completion date and they are completely funded by donations and visitor contributions.

This gate shows all of the plants and animals native to the Black Hills Area and there is also a sculpture by the artist of two fighting stallions.

And this is a picture of the machine that his son drove off the cliff when the brakes failed. The son bailed about 70ft down and landed on the only soft pile of rocks on the mountain. He says that once his father saw he was alive, he told him “you got it in there, now you get it out.”

Wall Drug

Wall, SD population 818

This was our third stop of the day. We were told we had to stop here. Long story short, a guy and his wife saved their business by putting signs up all over the place saying free ice water. So people on their way to and from Mt. Rushmore saw the signs and stopped in for the free ice water but of course stayed and bought all the things.

My mom says that back in the day when they came here, this place was a hole in the wall. This is not the case now. Now it’s a tourist trap! But one that we enjoyed very much!

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Did you know, that right here in South Dakota, there were thousands of nuclear missiles ready to go? We didn’t either. They were kept operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for around 30 years during the Cold War.

The Badlands

This place is cool! We weren’t sure we wanted to make the drive over but it is totally worth it. The formations here make it seem like you’re in another planet.

And it seems rattlesnakes are a thing here…

We went for a hike on the Notch Trail which was a 1.5 mile out and back hike up to the top of “the notch” which provided a spectacular view.

We had to climb up this ladder.

But the view at the top was totally worth it!

We had a lovely time chatting and walking with a couple from Pennsylvania throughout this hike. They’re also teachers and have been traveling since the end of June and like us, are on their return trip home. The best part of this trip has been meeting lots of different people along the way!

My children and Josh hiked to the top of this structure…

We’re staying in the Badlands this evening to see the sunset, hear a ranger y’all, and try and see the Milky Way. I won’t be able to blog afterwards (because no internet…) but if there’s anything cool to add about tonight I’ll put it in tomorrow’s blog.

Talk to you soon-

Deanna