Deadwood | Mt. Rushmore | Custer State Park
Wall, South Dakota: Another big
driving day. I am so sorry to say, the only time we have driven the Honda
was through Yellowstone - the poor car has been dragged along the rest of
the way! We slept in this morning until 8 a.m. I took Snickers for a long
walk and then we headed out on Interstate 90 again. We decided, since we
were in the area, to drive through Sturgis - home of Bike Week - the largest
motorcycle rally in the world. Sturgis seems like a sleepy little town, but
for 10 days in August each year, so many bikers flock here that the
population of South Dakota (700,000) is doubled!
Then we decided to drive up to
Deadwood - famed
Black Hills mining and gambling town - the town where Wild Bill Hickok was
shot in the back. Along the roadside, we saw a flock of wild turkeys!
Deadwood now has over 80 "gaming parlors", most of them being a few slot
machines with a bar. Deadwood offers cheap and ample RV parking. The entire
town is designated a National Historic District and over 85-million dollars
has been spent in the past few years in restoration. The Gold Dust Hotel is
sponsoring an archeological dig of the "China Town" area and fascinating
'discovered objects' are on display - coins, opium pipes, porcelain shards.
We walked down the main street, enjoying the old-time signs, brick streets
and historical plaques.
We had lunch (breakfast, actually for us) at the
Franklin Hotel,
in the 1903 Dining Room. The hotel opened in 1903 and still has a
hand-operated Otis elevator. Presidents and Royalty, Film Stars and
Politicians have all stayed at The Franklin. A group of local (little old)
ladies arrived as we were leaving. They were "Ladies who Lunch" and after
lunch, were moving to three tables set-up in the dining room to play Bridge
all afternoon. They were most interested in having my husband join them! DT
put a quarter in a slot machine as we were walking out the door and left
with ten bucks!
Downtown Deadwood, South Dakota
The 1903 Dining Room at the Franklin Hotel
After lunch, we headed out to view one of America's most
sacred landmarks - Mount Rushmore.
On the way to Mount
Rushmore, you pass through Rapid City, South Dakota - and then head up
into the Black Hills. You also have the opportunity to see: Mystery Caves,
Mystery Forest ("Feel the Force"), Mystery Area, Reptile World, Bear Country
USA, amusement parks, Black Hills Gold factory stores, fast food or country
cookin', Parade of Presidents ("From George Washington to George W"),
President Rushmore Slide, Everything Prehistoric, Beautiful Rushmore Cave
("Open rain or shine") (?), Glass blowers, "hoss" rides, gold mines,
historical centers, Indian tacos, trading posts, wax museums, Holy Terror
Mini Golf and helicopter tours. Then, after all this tacky junk, you see Mt.
Rushmore and its dignified, elegant presence.
Mt. Rushmore
Mount Rushmore
I
am so happy we came here! I just loved Mount Rushmore. Okay, so I am a known
Thomas Jefferson nut - but still... Mount Rushmore is awesome, even if those
other three guys are up there too. It is interesting (to me) that the artist
chose to depict Jefferson as a young man, aged 33, the age he wrote the
Declaration of Independence - to show him full of hope and vision. On our
way back to the RV, we saw a mother and calf mountain goat walking across
the road! Adorable!
We
had talked to two couples at Mount Rushmore about the
Crazy Horse Memorial.
One said to not miss it, the other said forget it. We went, and should have
listened to the second opinion. The owners have great plans, but after
touring through the ($9 each) facility, neither of us believes the statue
will be finished any time "soon". DT thought the museum was interesting
though. The artist has plans to blast a statue of
Crazy Horse on his horse on the side of a mountain. In the past 40
years, artist Korczak Ziolkowski finished the face. He has now passed away
and his family plans to continue his work. Will my Great-Great-Grandchildren
see it completed? Will they see hundreds of statues blasted out of the Black
Hills?
Crazy Horse
Our next stop was just to drive through
Custer State Park - obviously taking the long way - back to I-90. We
stopped at a turnout to let Snickers have a break. Across the meadow we
could see ten or so Bison lying in the sun. So I walked the opposite way,
down a path over a bridge. Snickers and I ran into two deer and a dozen
turkeys! Snickers never did see the deer (boring, he sees deer at home every
day) and was only slightly interested in the turkeys. Thank goodness I
wasn't walking Bailey (Mary's black lab) - or I would be missing an arm! On
the drive back to I-90 we must have seen 100 wild turkeys!
Wild turkey
We followed I-90 50 miles or so to Wall, South Dakota where
we are camped for the evening. If you know anything about Wall, South
Dakota, you will know what we are doing tomorrow.
RV Park:
Sleepy Hollow RV Park in Wall, South Dakota (one block from Wall, Drug)