RV camping has its perks. The KOA had cable hookups and we were able to plug in for morning cartoons while the kids were rotated through the shower.
We drove through miles of green rolling hills up into the Black Hills mountains of South Dakota. We had wanted to go to Jewel Cave, but learned too late that a reservation needs to be made far in advance in order to get on the tour schedule. So we drove around the charming, hilly town of Keystone and got some ice cream.
We drove to Custer and spent a couple of hours learning about the Crazy Horse Memorial. It is an incredible, privately funded undertaking. Maybe that is why it will take them another 200 years to get it done.
We watched the video and toured the museum and exhibits. We even pitched a couple of bucks to take some of the blasted mountainside home with us.
It was getting late in the afternoon when we drove back up the highway into the Black Hills. A windy drive finally led to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
I just love her Cindy Lou Who hands...
The grounds around the monument are impressively set up for large events. The visitors' center and film are top notch. We were doing our best to get it all in when the sky opened up and it began to pour rain.
We were pretty soggy by the time we had trekked back to the RV. We got a glimpse of the memorial as we left the parking lot. It looked like Washington had been crying his eyes out. We mentioned this to the children and Grace muttered, "Obama's fault!" Ha!
We stayed that night at the Black Hills Trailside Resort just a short drive down the hill form the memorial. We checked in and made dinner. Cori's sister Arianne and her family caught up with us here. Cousins, yay!
I really wanted to see the memorial at night. Cori drove us all back up the hill later that night. It was still pretty cloudy. We set up the tripod and watched for about an hour as the mist blew over these historic faces. Ar, Will and their boys joined us. We did our family scripture study in the quiet dark there. I finally got a good shot. We changed the children into their pajamas and they all fell asleep in their beds on the drive back to the campground.
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