Mount Rushmore
We’ve spent the last couple of days in South Dakota after traveling from Minneapolis. We spent the night in the parking lot near Wall Drug. It was hot, and noisy. We didn’t have enough gas in the tank to run the generator and air conditioner, and once we finally got comfortable enough to sleep, the train came through. We were right next to the tracks and the noise was impressive. With only a couple hours sleep, and no coffee, it was a rough morning, but it was fun to check out Wall Drug. It was better than I expected with lots of cool souvenirs, and interesting displays.
From there, we headed west toward Rapid City, SD to get the spare tire replaced, and to go to Mount Rushmore. The guys at Dale’s Tire were great and really helped us out. We dropped off the spare, and then headed up to the monument. Here’s a nice picture of us with the presidents:
After taking a bunch of pictures and having a nice time together, we proceeded to find a campground in the state park there. We meandered around Custer State Park until coming across a nice campground and really enjoyed some bouldering and some nice quiet rest. Finally a full night of quiet, dark, extended rest! Bright and early in the morning, we fired up the rig and set out on the wildlife drive to see some deer, prairie dogs, donkeys and buffalo.
From there, I stopped back at the gas station to recover our gas cap (oops), and then to Dale’s Tire to pick up the spare while the rest of the family utilized the local laundromat.
So now we’re preparing lunch in a parking lot before pressing on towards Yellowstone National Park.
As a recap, here is a map of where we’ve been so far, and how much we still get to see and experience: