Monument Day

June 21 – No hurry at all to get moving today.  Kerry called about some things with mom and I made some related calls, then made ham and cheese omelets for breakfast.  We didn’t leave until 10 but really were in no rush.  We decided to start with Mt. Rushmore.

In the tunnel

We headed to Custer State Park and instead of going in we took the side road which is full of hairpin turns and 3 tunnels.  We knew what to expect and again, it was a beautiful ride.  The only wildlife today was a couple of turkeys and an antelope.  The tunnels are all single lane and two of them frame Mt. Rushmore.  The first one we could see it but there were people behind us and shooting through the window wasn't good.

From the pull out

  The second time we could see Rushmore and I took the photo while in the tunnel and it turned out excellent.  Further along the route was a pull off where you could see Rushmore from a distance.  That was nice also.

From the site

Once we arrived there was a bit of a traffic jam getting through the parking booths but the lots had plenty of space.  We managed to park under cover, nice!  I think it was less crowded than 10 years ago as it was easier to take photos without other people in them.  Since we’d been here before we didn’t do all the walks or the sculptor’s shop.  We had just missed a native dance program and since last time we went to the nighttime lighting, we didn’t plan to return for that either.  Mostly we just wanted to see if anything had changed and visit the shops and get any new Park Passport stamps.  I got 2 new ones!!!

It was nearing lunchtime so we drove on to Hill City, saw the hotel we stayed in years ago and chose to eat in the same place we did last time.  Alpine Inn, a Bavarian place, was very good last time and got good ratings on Yelp.  Bill had a loaded Club Sandwich and I stayed with the main fare, Brat with red cabbage and cheese spaetzle.  It was delicious but of course, I dripped some red cabbage on my lime green top!  (It came out in the wash).

From the Visitor Center

Next in the driving loop for today was Crazy Horse Monument, which we had not visited before.  It’s not nearly as well organized at Rushmore, and more expensive, but you do get a lot for your money and you can get a return pass good for 2 days at no extra cost.  Parking was highly disorganized, but we managed.  The movie was very

From the bus ride

informative but a bit outdated.  This project was started in 1948 and when Sculptor Korczak died in 1982 his wife Ruth took over the leadership and their 10 children worked on the sculpture.  Two of the 10 children chose other life paths.  Ruth died in 2014 and 2 of her children have died so the remaining 6 run the show.  It’s a non-profit organization and has received no federal or state money.  That’s one reason it has taken so long.  All of the entry fees go directly to the work

Close up

on the monument and the bus tour tickets and sale of concessions pays the other expenses.  It’s a beautiful and well thought out facility.  We realized when we got home that we missed 2 buildings on the end.  We did see the completed “mini” replica.  It

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was well worth our time to visit but we don’t feel it will be completed in our children’s lifetime.

Continuing our loop drive we drove to Custer and its downtown has a definite Western appeal.  There were a lot of people milling about but we were actually looking for a grocery store.   We found a Dakotamart store and it certainly had all of the essentials and some gourmet items also.  Prices, however, were pretty steep for a lot of things.  We didn’t need much but I mainly wanted some chicken for dinner since I think I left my bag of chicken breasts in the freezer at home.  Produce was off the charts!  I got what I needed and we completed the loop by cutting through Custer State Park.  That 7 day pass came in handy.

I made chicken, corn on the cob and a bag of broccoli and other veggies salad.  It hit the spot!  I took a few cookies out of the freezer and we had a couple for dessert and I made a peach jello pie for tomorrow.  Then it was time to get on the blog and download my photos.