South Dakota

Going to see "the faces" (aka Mt Rushmore) has been something I've wanted to do, but never thought I'd be able to because...really...what's there to do in South Dakota besides see Mt. Rushmore and who would ever vacation to do so? When I found out that it was a 7 hr drive from Colorado Springs, it was a no-brainer. Within days, we had our hotel booked and trip planned. And I will admit that I stand corrected about South Dakota...somewhat. There is still not very much to do, but the faces and the Custer State Park were amazing! I thought Yellowstone and Grand Teton were beautiful, but South Dakota came a very close second.

Mt. Rushmore was so cool and I'm glad that I was able to see it. It is amazing that something like that could be carved out of stone and in such detail. We actually got to meet a guy that worked on it for 4 years! They had a nice little trail (not stroller friendly!) to walk up and you got to see a camp set up by Native Americans showing us how they lived. You also get pretty close to the faces and see the detail. Fun fact: Did you know that the sculptor originally had planned to carve out all the way to the presidents waists, including hands? He ended up dying and it stayed the way it was. He had sculptures of what he wanted them to look like. It was neat to see the difference.

This is what the sculpter origionally had planned. He wanted to do their busts and hands, but died before it was complete.

They used masks and had them suspended next to the rock so they could use it as a model.

Mt. Rushmore

Okay, so this area was packed with people looking at the faces and everybody was taking pictures for everyone else. We asked this guy to take a picture of us and this is what we get. Is he serious that he didn't get Mt. Rushmore in the background?

hayley and mommy

we think buggy's face should be put up there too!

hayley sitting on buffalo pelt

Custer State Park was equally amazing! Not as much wildlife as Yellowstone or Grand Teton, but plenty of wide open spaces! We did see some prairie dogs (nothing too special), lots of buffalo(very cool), and Burros (just about the coolest ever!). The Burros have been dubbed "begging burros" and we have pictures to prove why! They literally came up to our windows and begged for food. We gave them some of our grapes and veggie straws (which by the way are a definite Friday Favorite!) and they were hooked. They had their entire heads inside our car.