Trip to Mt Rushmore

September 1 – We had a bit of a lazy morning and finally got showered and ready to drive about 20 miles to Mt. Rushmore.  This is one of those places we won’t see again so we had to make the trek.  I was surprised at how few people there were but I guess kids are back in school or close to it by now.

We took a photo of a couple so later I asked a couple to take one of us.  The whole idea of creating this monument is awesome.  You can sit and just think of all the good these men did for our country.  They now have plaques for each state in the order that they became a state and they fly the flags of each state along the same walkway.  There wasn’t a special program going on today so we didn’t go down to the outside auditorium.  We did check the gift shop but even Bill has a limit to what he will pay for a t-shirt.  He got his stickers and that was it.  It was too early for lunch so we bypassed the huge café.  It was time to head back down the mountain.  In the parking lot we picked, we were the first people there and when we left there was one car parked right beside us, so you know it was a slow day!

Down the mountain is the town of Keystone that has shops and eateries lining the road so we parked and checked out a lot of the shops.  Bill still didn’t find a Mr. Rushmore shirt that he liked and was willing to pay the price for.  I was more interested in a Trump t-shirt but didn’t get one.

We headed on back into Rapid City and had a great lunch at the Colonial House which has been in the same family for generations.  I had one of the best salads with salmon ever!!  Bill always gets a burger but said it was really good.  He was very interested in the dessert case but I said no and we left!

We drove out to the Chapel In The Hills that was recommended to us.  It was fabulous.  Actually if was designed to match the famous Borgund Stav Kirke of Laerdal, Norway, that was built in the 1100’s.  We have been to that chapel when we went to Europe once year for a Civitan International Convention.  When I first saw this one I thought it looked a lot like the one we visited in Norway.  It’s a beautiful place and welcoming to anyone.

There were also 3 deer roaming around on the grounds at the bottom of the hill.

So, from there we made a couple of stops at Walmart, etc.   We did a test run of the roads we will take in the morning to get back out to the interstate.  I don’t want to drive in the city again and not be able to maneuver the road construction.  We found a route that will have far less traffic and is nice road.

I made chicken pasta salad yesterday and that was our dinner tonight.  I really could eat the whole bowl but left enough for lunch tomorrow!  The days on the road are dropping and I will be so glad to get home.