Mount Rushmore and South Dakota…

While our stay in Wyoming was briefer than our original plan we did enjoy our visit. We left Lingle Wyoming and headed northeast toward the Black Hills of South Dakota. Sharon has never been to South Dakota but I lived in Rapid City SD in 1974 when I was stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base so I am looking forward to seeing the Black Hills again.

We only drove about 80 miles the day we pulled into Hart Ranch Resort to take advantage of a trial stay special. What a nice park this is and unlike most “resort” parks (at least most of those that call themselves resorts) this park is actually a resort complete with a pool, pickleball, disc golf, tennis, fitness room and many more amenities. We will only be there three nights as per the trial stay since normal rates for this time of year are approaching $80/night… YIKES!

As most of you know the biggest attraction in this area is Mount Rushmore so it became our fist stop. It was about a thirty minute drive into the Black Hills and we pulled into the “pay” parking lot, $5 for those over 62, otherwise $10 to park. Entrance to museum and to see Mount Rushmore is free. When Sharon first saw the presidential heads I heard her mutter “WOW” as the scope and scale of this endeavor is only apparent upon one’s first view of its massiveness.

And some argue that Mount Rushmore was defaced by the Danish immigrant sculpturer and that it should have never been created. But what Gutzon Borglum did to Mount Rushmore was an absolutely amazing transformation from a grandiose dream to reality. It really is a super cool art masterpiece despite the fact that the natural surroundings of Mount Rushmore were forever changed.

We went into the museum to see the history behind Gutzon Borglum’s dream and took in a short historical film. Surprising is the fact that no people died while carving Mount Rushmore. Not a single person died during the dynamite blasting and carving process. However, later on some of the workers died of a lung condition (silicosis ) most likely caused by the dust that the they inhaled during the sculpting of the granite.

After our viewing of Mount Rushmore, we drove around the Black Hills so I could reminisce. The Black Hills were my playground when I lived here. I spent countless hours hiking, camping, hunting and fishing in these hills so it was great to be back…

NOTE: We are now in Rapid City South Dakota but will leave today to head to Wall SD for a couple of days…