On the way home: Martin's Cove

Coming back to Utah we stopped at Martins Cove for the grandsons. I slept in the car while everyone else went to the visitors center,as I was going to be driving the last half of the trip.

They had a youth group getting ready to leave on a trek and the missionaries were busy so the kids mostly wandered around. It is not as laid back as it was when we were there before. They want you to do a guided tour rather than wandering at your own pace. We didn't have a lot of time to wait for the next tour as we still had a long drive ahead of us. All in all our trip to South Dakota was really enjoyable and was fun to spend some of it with the grandkids.  

The Black Hills of Dakota Pt. 4

The DeLeeuws joined up with us for the rest of the trip.  

 What is camping without smores?

 ....and hot chocolate for breakfast.

Joesph cooking pancakes and sausage.

 We actually went to Mt. Rushmore 3 times while we were there but I thought I'd put these pictures all together. This is entryway to the monument. There were so many people that I felt like I was at the entrance to Disneyland.

 They have the flags from all the states in this walkway. Joseph is standing under the Utah State flag.

 Mt. Rushmore itself.

 looking back at the visitor center and amphitheater from the trail.

They have a trail that goes in front of the base of Mt. Rushmore and gives you different views of the monument. This walkway is in Nat'l treasure 2.

 When you leave the park heading west you come around a bend and get this profile of George Washington.

 We went back for the evening program.  There was a beautiful sunset while we were waiting for it to get dark. The program is a patriotic program which was nice to see that there is some patriotism in our country still. They emphasize the values and liberties that each of the presidents represented. 

At the end of the program the monument is lit up. Quite an impressive sight.

 All current and past military personal are invited to come down to the stage where they have some of them help lower the flag and then they give each one the opportunity to introduce themselves and tell what branch of the military they are a part of. There was quite a reverent feeling among the audience as they honored those who have and currently serve our country.

This was such a beautiful sight as we walked back to the parking garage.  The picture just doesn't do justice.  I talked with a scout troop that was there from Iowa as we walked out. I thought what a great opportunity for these young men to be here.

The Black Hills of South Dakota pt. 3

  This is Crazy horse monument. We just stopped along side the road to take this picture.

 In Hill City there is a train station that runs a steam engine from there over to Keystone. Of course we couldn't miss this opportunity.

 This engine was restored in Ely, Nevada where we were earlier this summer. So that was fun to learn

 as we had just toured the machine shop that would of done the restoration work.

It was an hour ride over to Keystone. As we went through the countryside and by many backyards they told the history of the area and all the mining that once took place. We spent a couple of hours wandering around Keystone before the return trip.  It is a sad little town that is completely dependent on the tourists.  They offer a walking tour of the original part of town which of course was the mining district. They have a little museum in their original schoolhouse that we went through.  A fun fact that we learned was that Carrie Ingalls (of Little House on the Prairie) married and settled in Keystone. They had a corner in there gift shop with memorabilia that belonged to her, including the little shepherdess figurine that is mentioned all through the books. So this was a highlight for me as I have always loved those books.

We passed hundreds of motorcycles that were there for the rally in Stergeon, SD.  They said they were expecting 500,000 motorcyclists for the event.

On our way back to Hill City the train didn't have enough steam and couldn't make it up one of the hills and came to a complete stop.  We sat there for awhile while they got the steam built back up.  

The Black Hills of South Dakota pt. 2

Custer State Park

We spent an afternoon touring Custer State Park. Half of which is a wildlife drive with a lot of grassland. 

 They claim that these are wild burros, which are very friendly.  All we saw were three, which was disappointing. I had a whole bag of carrots and only got to feed this one.

 A herd of buffalo on the hillside. One of the rangers said they manage the herd leaving only 900 on the range each year then and selling off the others in the fall.

 We stopped for lunch at a little picnic area next to a stream.

 

 The north part of the park are the rocky hills. This area was developed by the CCC camps. There are six tunnels through the area. The road is very narrow and I doubt they have made any changes since they were built. There is a sign that says to honk before beginning to go through each tunnel to let others on the other side you are coming through.  They are only wide enough for one vehicle at a time.

 A scenic view with Mt. Rushmore in the background.

 Looking out over the black hills.

 Another long distance view of Mt. Rushmore.

 This is what is referred to as the pig tail bridges as they spiral down.

 I was taking the pictures as Joseph drove it so we didn't quite get the effect.

 A mother deer and her fawn.

 This drive is through what is called the needles. Really beautiful rock formations shooting straight up.

 One of many hairpins along the way.

These are just magnificent.

This was really a nice drive.  We spent 7 hours in Custer State park and only went 86 miles. There was so much to stop and see along the way.

The Black Hills of Dakota pt. 1

A few weeks ago Jessica let me know they wanted to come out to Utah to visit instead of us traveling back to Missouri to visit their family.  She invited us to meet them at Mt. Rushmore for a quick family vacation.  Joseph and I went a few days earlier so that we could spend more time in the area. It turned out to be a really enjoyable experience. 
We got up early Saturday morning to begin our trek across Wyoming.  I learned that no matter where you go in Wyoming there is still a lot of nothing.  We passed lots of oil rigs, flat grassland and not much more.  We went through what was labeled as a scenic byway thinking it would be a lovely drive.  It was more of the same but very few cars and no cell phone coverage.  When we got to the eastern side of Wyoming, next to the Black Hills the scenery was quite nice.  They were doing road construction as we headed into South Dakota and we drove on a dirt road for quite awhile. We wanted to stay in Custer State park but when we got there the campgrounds were full so we back tracked and found a nice quiet campground called Comanche Park just 5 miles west of the town of Custer.
We began our adventure at Jewel Cave National Monument. We took the historic lantern tour that begins at the original entrance. Everyone uses a kerosene lamp for light. ( the Kids actually use LED lanterns so they don't accidently burn themselves.)

Jewel cave is the third largest known cave in the world. This is a map of what has been explored. From testing the air coming in and out of the cave they estimate that they have only mapped about 5% of the actual cave.  Our tour was only a half mile long, so we saw very little of the cave.

 Waiting with our lantern.

 There were fossils of shells in the rock.

 Our flash didn't work for some reason, but this is everyone going down the ladder type staircase.

They were steep and narrow passage ways.

 Another view of the tunnel we went down. In some areas we had to duck crawl.

 This part of the cave didn't have the "jewels" that the cave is known for.

Waiting to go up the stairs at the end of the tour. It was an enjoyable experience and we were with a fun group of people from different parts of the country, including Michigan and Illinois.

When Bill and Jessica joined up with us, Joseph went with them on the main tour that had the more interesting cave features.  I chose to watch Lizzie dog instead.