Day 5: On to Mt. Rushmore
We were up with the senior citizen reunion tour this morning. Around 7a, we were up and at ’em, ready to roll. I was up early enough to get the puppies out to potty, but then suddenly spaced on our room number. Sure enough, knocked on the wrong door and was greeted by a 75 y.o. man in a towel. Def not the huz. :-/ Oops.
Have y’all ever noticed that coffee cups in hotels are SO small? Ugh. Unashamed, I grabbed two cups, filled them with coffee, and stacked them on top of each other on the way out the door. Don’t they know a lady needs her caffeine? The nerve.
But, despite the tiny snags, we were on our way, ready to make the last real sightseeing goal: Mt. Rushmore. I’ve never been and surely would never try to fly to South Dakota, unless someone’s wedding or a work function was there. So, I figured, now would be the time to check out how/why/what/when people blew up the side of a mountain, so they could chisel into it the likenesses of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. The map dictated that we hit this memorial at the end of the travel day. The path to the monument was incredible.
Before we got there, we had the pleasure of rolling through Big Horn and Black Hills National Forest. Tanner Boyer, we missed you today, buddy. You’re right, it is beautiful here. Big Horn held a little chapel called St. Christopher’s Chapel of Big Horn. I wasn’t raised Catholic, but I think St. Christopher is the Saint of Travelers? I’ll take that as some good juju for our trip. The Black Hills were gorgeous, but somehow more commercial than I expected…maybe some small strips were built up for one reason or another? I dunno, but it was still cool. I told Cory that the national forests have yet to get old. I don’t expect to ever take them for granted.
As expected, upon arrival to Mt. Rushmore, we were tired, but pumped to get out and stretch our legs a little.
One of my favorite Teddy quotes was on a banner in the Sculptor’s Studio. I’m gonna call that MOAR good trip juju for the day. This is often my mantra (#goals):
I didn’t notice this until the way out, but on the way IN, all the US state flags were prominently hung. Ok, ok, ok, duh, I noticed the flags, but on the way out, I saw that the granite columns supporting the flags indicated when each became a part of the United States. UGH! I can’t believe I missed this…such great info for future trivia games. The only one I caught was Georgia. Did you know it’s the 4th state to enter the Union? Wow. (some argue it’s Connecticut, but I’ll go with what’s etched in stone).
We’re staying in Rapid City, SD tonight, pressing on to Omaha, Nebraska, tomorrow. Get ready, we’re turning on the afterburners. Lots of ground to cover and only 4 more days to do it. Maybe I need to add the Top Gun soundtrack to our playlist tomorrow.
OH! Beer notes (mostly for Wes and Greg): If you run into the following beers, try them out.
- Trailhead Two-Hearted IPA (WY)
- Ferson Gallivant IPA (SD)
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On the Radio: Today was heavy on the podcast, but we did hear some awesome 90s country at the start of the day. If you’re in Wyoming, turn that dial to KCWB- The Cowboy. Karaoke gold.
- “Be My Baby Tonight” by John Michael Montgomery
- “My Front Porch Looking In” by Lonestar
- “Days Go By” by Keith Urban
We listened to Freakonomics and another episode of Cocaine & Rhinestones. Both were excellent.
- Freakonomics: (linked) We listened to (2) episodes that were drastically different, but both incredibly fascinating: “Why NOT to open a restaurant” and “The $1.5 trillion question: How to Fix Student-Loan Debt.” LOVED both. Worth the listen.
- Cocaine & Rhinestones: (linked) Again, listened to (2) episodes, but have to warn you about both. First, “The Murder Ballad of Spade Cooley” was outrageously interesting, but it turned my stomach. The graphic description of how he murdered his wife was….too much for me at 9a. My empathetic heart couldn’t take it. The second one, “Bobbie Gentry: Exit Stage Left” was a lot more family-friendly, but was really long. That story went an hour and a half. It was difficult to listen to that same voice for almost three hours today, as great as the stories are. My recommendation: listen to ONE per day. That will leave you wanting more, not overwhelmed.
Thanks to all of you people following us along. We definitely appreciate the encouragement.
Thanks, Nancy Strahl, for letting us know that Kelli was a trooper on the trip. Sadie and Henry are hanging in there. I gave them a pep talk this morning.
Forgot to read yesterday’s account? Check out our experience at Yellowstone.
