6/24/2008-7/05/2008 - Mt. Rushmore Area

After leaving the Badlands we traveled to Rapid City, SD where we checked in to Hart Ranch RV Resort for a week and a half.  To all my TT friends, this is a RPI Resort.  It was the nicest, well kept resort we have been in so far with a beautiful clubhouse.  Well worth the visit.   We visited Mt. Rushmore for a day.  It is a wonder to behold.  We also went back on July 3 for the fireworks, but I am so mad at myself because I forgot my camera.  It was truly an awesome sight to see the fireworks go off behind the presidents heads.  We arrived there at 1:30 pm and had to walk 2 1/2 miles to get there because it was already so crowded.  We visited Custer State Park and drove on the Needles Highway and also the Wildlife Loop.  The Needles Highway has a rock formation that looks like the eye of a needle.  On the Wildlife Loop we ran into a buffalo traffic jam.  There were also several beautiful lakes in the park.  Western SD has beautiful rugged rock spires. I never thought it would be so pretty there.   We rode on a mountain bike trail that was pretty rough with several streams and large rocks.   I think we pushed our bikes almost as much as we rode them, but it was fun and challenging.  It was shared with horses, so we had to avoid lots of poop too. We also rode several miles on a Rails to Trails bike path with great scenery on both sides.   We drove up to Devil's Tower in WY while we were there.  Devil's Tower has a really neat Indian Legend, but it is something you can see in a couple of hours.  Western SD is definitely a place to visit.  P.S.  To all my Red Hat friends, I went out to eat with a group of Red Hats from the park, but they weren't near as much fun as we are!!