Day 10: Mount Rushmore National Monument, SD

June 7, 2018

Today I drove the truck (with the trailer attached) for part of our trip from the Badlands to our next destination, The Black Hills.  I did okay on Route 44, a two-lane highway that runs parallel to Route 90.    The only scary part was when people were passing us, which didn’t happen all that often. As Scott warned me, don’t overreact and turn the steering wheel too quickly.  Don’t hug the center lane and stay closer to the shoulder line.  Don’t hit the brakes quickly…don’t do anything quickly…wait, that is my middle name!!

There was not one vacancy in Custer State Park.   Apparently, it gets booked way in advance.  So, we had to travel a bit farther outside of the Park and found a place called Crooked Creek Campground.  While the accommodations are great, it is pricier than a KOA and State Parks but we chose to stay anyway.  We hooked up at the site.  Scott handles outside duty, and I take care of the inside.

It was already mid-afternoon but we decided to drive over to Mount Rushmore today.  As you enter this National Landmark, all 50 state flags are proudly displayed.

When you look straight ahead, you see these four famous presidents with their pensive looks upon their face.   I think that Scott looks a tad like Washington!

It is absolutely mind-boggling how they were able to create this masterpiece. Here is another viewpoint that Scott captured.

We spent some time in the museum which proved to be educational and worthwhile.  The only disappointment was that the access to the sculpture’s house was closed to the public.

We ran into a couple who had been here four years ago and it was closed then for the start of the renovations. They never thought to call ahead to see if it had been completed. Lesson Learned:  If you plan to return to a place that you had previously visited and experienced closures, do NOT go back without calling ahead to see that the work has been completed.