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.