2014XC: Day 6, June 17 – South Dakota (Mt. Rushmore)
Today was our planned day to visit Mt. Rushmore. We took the route that went through the Badlands so that we could enjoy that once more (and I could snap off another billion or so pictures)…
We made a small detour to take a second look at what looked like part of a little ghost town. The rest of the town was very small and run down too, though not as bad as the saloon in the picture below. We all thought the amount of skulls was crazy, but what I found really interesting was the writing, “INDIANS ALLOWED LAKOTA”, which made me think it was probably a real place at some point and not just a staged picture opportunity.
Our drive to Mt. Rushmore of course took longer than we expected, even though to date the drive has always been worth it. We also realized that it might be better from now on to just plan on bringing the camper if the trip is longer than a 1/2 an hour. It’s absolutely beautiful out here in any direction you travel, but it’s always a l-o-n-g ride no matter where you are going. I can now see why Steve always wanted to travel to the Northwest, with the landscape as beautiful as it is rugged – strong pines, deep-green lush grass, rocks and boulders that looked like they have been strategically placed to enhance the very landscape itself. The sun is cool but the air is dry. So we wound up through the mountainside road for our first view of Mt. Rushmore, and to me it was just as exciting as I thought it would be. We parked in a parking deck and it was pretty crowded. My first impression of the park was a little disappointing – I felt like I was at a theme park. However, once we reached the granite etched entrance with the backdrop of the faces behind it, it was humbling. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of love for country in entering the site. And, I am so surprised whenever visiting any national place of interest how much it’s clear that our nation was in fact founded on Christian principles. And the tossing around of the term, “separation of church and state” seems to have meant something completely contrasting to how it is used today. There were many plaques inscribed with the words of the leaders on the mountain and of the thoughts and desires of the sculptor, Gutzon Borglam. These men had amazing and unmatched vision, and something about them that made them stand apart. They seemed to be true leaders in every sense of the word. I read that when Washington was president, there was a movement to make him an emperor, yet he would have none of it. That would certainly not be the case today. All that aside, it was an honor to learn about the sculptor and all the ideals and vision and people involved in the final product of Mt. Rushmore. I do think that we are blessed as Americans to be able to visit a National Monument as this, be able to enjoy it as much, and learn of the history, all in a beautiful setting. The only thing that was disappointing was that all the trails were closed so you had to stay on the main path. We had packed lunch, and after all the climbing at Badlands yesterday we were all looking for a little more exploring. However, there were still a lot of steps and it was a good walk around the monument. Along the trail, you could visit a museum that held the 1/12 original scaled model of the men while listening to a park associate explain all the intricate details of how it came to be. Then we found a shaded spot on the edge of a parking lot to have lunch, so it was all good!
On our way back, we decided to head towards Jewel Cave since we weren’t far from it (at least it seemed so on the map, but again we were way off). There was some construction going on so we didn’t make it there in time unfortunately.
As we were heading home, we passed probably like the 500th “ghost town”. We were all kind of bummed about not getting into Jewel Cave, so we thought we’d check this one out. The “Four Mile” ghost town/souvenir was certainly unique. It had a bunch of cowboy paraphernalia out front that you could take pictures with…
Inside was a store, and the clerk offered a $5 tour of some “old prairie living” outside of the back of the store. It came with a “guided tour” in the form of an old cassette recorder with a cassette tape playing as a womans’ voice explained each of the designated exhibits. We were told to stop and start the tape as necessary. It sounded old and “wharbled”, and you’ll know what that sounds like if you’re old enough to have listened to music on cassette tapes! Steve was designated as the “cassette tour guide”, so he got to carry it around for our tour (he’s holding it in his hand in one of the pictures below)…
For the most part, the town itself was constructed by the owner, and period items and decor were added for authenticity.
However, the log home was said to be completely original, the one with the outhouse right next to it.
We stopped at to buy Christian a special rock at the “Rock Shop” along the road. He was really looking forward to buying some rocks at Jewel Cave. He wanted to spend some money he earned answering some questions from Steve and being the first to find some specific place or item as we traveled. At the store, he chose a “slice” of a marbleized blue and green rock, to add to his collection of the 50 different ones he’d already dug up or came across as we’ve been travelling. He kept telling us afterwards that the store had a “great sale on some nice rocks”, but he was happy that he was able to get the one he got as a sale. 🙂 We left there to end the day with dinner, a visit to “Pizza Mill”, recommended by the owners of the “Rock Shop”. Pricey but the pizza was really really good!
Next stop: Devil’s Tower, Wyoming