We were crazy enough to see all of this in one day. We even hoped we could explore Wind Cave on the same day but had to put it off.
This area of the country could fill a week long vacation, easily, but that's not the point of our trip! We want to see as much as possible, because who knows when (and if) we will ever back.
Well, we did most of it, and we took our time, too. It was well worth it.
Devil's Tower is a fascinating landmark. We didn't do any hiking here, but we were able to sleep right in its vicinity the previous night and snap great pictures.
Deadwood is an interesting town with an old-timey theme. We were even startled by a fake shootout while walking around. Overall, this vacation spot seemed mostly for gamblers and smokers. Not really our scene, but cool nonetheless!
Crazy Horse was an interesting place. It is nowhere close to complete, but it's a very ambitious project. The entire thing is funded by donations. However, how they get these donations rubbed us the wrong way. It's all public funded through admission prices. But, there are no signs advertising the price of admission, so when you drive to the entrance, you have little choice but to pay! The total was much more than any other park we've been to. Then, they charged an extra $4 a person to take a bus to the monument itself. It's interesting, because they seem to be making little progress with the amount of time and money they've had. The government actually offered to pay for it, but they refused. They seem to have a very right-wing, anti-government, "we can do it ourselves" attitude. Well, not in our lifetime, I guess. Also, they took any chance they could to put down their historic neighbor, Mount Rushmore, for whatever reason. Anyway, all that being said, it was cool to look at.
At least Mount Rushmore was complete! Within 14 years circa WWII, but that's none of my business.
Of this whole day, the highlight had to be Custer State Park. This was a wonderful drive with abundant wildlife. We came here as the sun set - the perfect time!
We ended our day setting up camp at Wind Cave - charging up for another national park expedition!
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| Devil's Tower KOA camping cabin |
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| Porch swing |
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| Into the actual park! |
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| Devil's Tower |
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| Prairie dog |
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| Hey, little guy |
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| Peace out |
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| Deadwood |
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| Historic hotel |
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| Scary man shot fake, loud gun |
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| Crazy Horse Memorial |
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| Zoomed |
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| Selfie. This thing is hugeee |
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| What it will supposedly look like someday |
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| Next stop, Mount Rushmore! |
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| Historic heads of the country |
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| Ice cream = Thomas Jefferson |
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| Bison burger and Roman Catholic H.S. style fries |
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| TJ Ice Cream |
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| Washington and Jefferson impressions |
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| Profile pic |
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| Custer State Park needles |
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| Tunnel - tight squeeze! |
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| Great views |
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| Climbing |
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| Another tunnel |
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| Pano |
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| White-tailed deer on the Wildlife Loop |
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| Bison traffic jam! One of the coolest experiences |
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| So many |
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| Greg's happy |
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| Don't mind me! |
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| Amy's happy |
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| Momma and baby |
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| Finally squeezing through after about 40 minutes! |
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| Amazing sunset as we were on our way |
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| Trying to capture it as best as possible |
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| Taken with a timer |
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| Unbelievable colors |
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| Selfie, of course |
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| Finally to our destination - Nothing like the journey! |
Deadwood....smoking and gambling...yes!
ReplyDeleteCrazy Horse will never be finished as long as those "donations" keep coming.
I miss those HS fries, Dougherty had them, too.
Completely unacceptable tunnels (like an MRI machine)
Plenty of Bison. No strays shwed up for 4th of July here in Chesapeake.
The most beautiful sunset I have ever or never seen.