The next day it snowed and I took this next shot from a viewpoint that allowed a side view of George Washington.
Mt Rushmore is located in the Black Hills, an area a little more than 60 miles long and 40 miles wide. To the north is Deadwood, an old western town full of casinos and to the south is Hot Springs, the site of an active Woolly Mammoth dig. We spent 3 days in the town of Keystone, just 4 miles from Mt Rushmore and traveled the roads in the Black Hills every day, even in the snow.
One day when we were coming back from the Mammoth dig in Hot Springs we had to stop to let a herd of buffalo cross the road. This was in Wind Cave National park at the south end of the Black Hills. Vicki rolled down her window and took a few shots of the young bison grazing at the side of the road.
We went this time of year to avoid the crowds and in that respect we were successful. While there were quite a few folks at Mt Rushmore and the Mammoth site there was easy access to all the sites we visited and the crowds small.
We also saw our daughter and grand kids in Enid, Oklahoma, Vicki's cousins in Sioux Falls, her Uncle in Keystone, and spent a couple of days in Deadwood in the Casinos. All in all a fantastic road trip totaling just over 3900 miles in 14 days.
We're home now and a little tired, but we'd pack up and go again if we could.
What do you have planed for your summer travels?
RT
