I got up early and organized the laundry. At least I could get something done instead of starting my day off angry! When I finished and was packing it all away the best thing happened - I found my flip flops! I'm from Florida and I spend just about every day of the year in flip flops. I'd spent the last 5 days in tennis shoes or hiking boots and I was running out of socks. I may have done a little dance.
We have had a pet roach with us on this trip. He has found his way into food, sleeping bags, on pillows, and in the RV. He had actually been missing for a few days when he showed up in Ryan's cereal! We all kinda missed him and were glad to have him back.
Breakfast ended with a full out impromptu game of ball tag with camp balls. The balls were flying and even if you weren't part of the game you were ducking every few seconds to avoid being hit!
After we both filled up with gas we stopped a couple miles down the road at the county jail where Sundance Kid was held. It was just supposed to be a quick photo stop, but we ducked into a museum to learn a little more about the history of the area and ended up spending about an hour learning about all kinds of things! We learned more about buffalo jumps, arrowheads, crime sprees, the westward expansion, one room schoolhouses and much much more.
Brayden gave away his cowboy & indian playset to his cousins but as soon as he saw a similar set today he had to have it. He missed playing with those guys and Ryan decided to spend some of her money on a set too. We were about to have a big war at the next campsite!
The museum guy gave us some advice about our next stops so we made a plan and got on the road. Dave wasn't working today so he definitely wanted to see Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore so we made them our priority. We found the South Dakota sign and tried our best to look like the presidents. then we arrived at Crazy Horse shortly after later ready to explore.
None of us knew much about the mountain carving but we were both excited to see it. We started at the museum with a movie and were blown away at the history of the project as well as the ongoing plans. We had no idea just how large it was. We had no idea it was a privately-funded project. We had no idea it was still underway. We had no idea the scale and intensity of the project. To say we are impressed is a huge understatement.
Then we walked into the collection of Native American historical documents and artifacts and we were amazed again. I could have spent three times the amount of time I did in there but I knew the kids would be pulling on me. I did read the original letter Chief Standing Bear wrote the sculptor asking if he would be interested in working on the his idea. The colloection of photographs, clothing, jewelry, weapons, and documents was overwhelming.
We made our way outside for a better view of the sculpture and a look at the 1/34th version of the project. This was when I realized this project will not be completed in my lifetime for sure. They are just starting the index finger pointing to Crazy Horse's land. There is so much more!!
Grammie decided we should make a pact to come back in 20 years to see what progress has been made. I'm pretty sure we won't be driving that time!
Next we toured the location of the family's original house. The sculptor, his wife, and their 10 kids lived right in the spot where we were standing with a beautiful view of the mountain. It was a very interesting glimpse into their life and a look at more of the art he created.
After one more peek at the mountain we all headed back to our vehicles and got on the road to Mt. Rushmore. This was the one spot Brayden mentioned wanting to go when we first started talking about this year's trip so I knew we had to make it happen. The kids immediately grabbed junior ranger books and started working.
The view of the mountain was wonderful and we stayed awhile on the terrace appreciating the time and effort put into it. We headed down to the museum exhibits and movie next. This project had quite a bit more backing from donors and the government so it was able to be finished in 14 years. We learned a lot about the plans, the workers, and the project while we were there. The kids even tried their best to draw the mountain for one of the activities in their books. Laney even ran over to hug a tree for one of her activities too!
We found out on the way out that Grammie would not be able to drive the two fun roads out of the park toward out campground - Iron Mountain Road and Needles Highway so while she drove around to our campsite, we headed down the Iron Mountain Road. The views were spectacular and the fun of driving it for me was even greater! In only 17 miles the road has 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, 3 one-lane tunnels and 3 pigtails, turns which loop over their own road, allowing the road to climb rapidly.
We made it into our campground just as Grammie was setting up at her spot. While I got veggie burgers started, the kids and Dave set up the tents and helped Grammie finish setting up so we could eat before dark. The macaroni ended up pretty cold, but the rest of the dinner was delicious. It may have had something to do with the fact that we were all quite hungry.
Dave and Laney decided to retire for the night so the rest of us stayed up and enjoyed a fire for awhile. Thinking back it had been about 4 weeks since we'd been able to make a fire with all the fire bans due to all the extreme dry conditions. When it was time to add a new log and Ryan was falling asleep in my lap we drowned the fire and go to bed. More driving on crazy roads tomorrow!
I forgot about the Indian guy thingie
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