As you can see, I have made it to Mount Rushmore and all I can say about it is--see it, take a picture, and then leave. It cost $8.00 to get in to photo it and although it is amazing what one man was able to accomplish, with all the modern technogear we have at a touch of a button, it is not something you will probably need to see twice.
This is as close as Luke can get to Mount Rushmore.
Left Mt. Rushmore and Rapid City, South Dakota to head out to Wyoming, but it was getting late and we needed a place to stay. We headed down Rt. 385 into Lead, South Dakota, pronounced Leed, according to the Indian guide I met in that town. I will tell you more about her later. Anyway, the guide said she was headed where we were going, which I felt curious because we didn't know where we were going. So, she hitched a ride and we then took Alt. Rt. 14 into Spearfish Canyon and found Spearfish Canyon Lodge, which is a beautiful place in the Black Hills of South Dakota. You have got to be understanding when traveling in South Dakota ‘cause they may call just about any pull-over or campground a resort. The pictures you see are from the hiking trails at Spearfish Lodge.
As the sun begins to set, Luke and Clarke wander the trails of Spearfish Canyon.
The next morning we struck out early and went into the small college town of Spearfish, which has a great coffee shop-The Common Grounds-and bought a bagel and take-out lunch for the road. We soon were in Wyoming, where the terrain began to really start to look "Western" and with exits off Rt. 90 called “Crazy Woman Creek” and “Dead Horse Creek” you begin to feel as though John Wayne was coming across the next mesa.
We had lunch and our guide said to prepare ourselves for the ascent up Big Horn Mountain--9,430 feet! Click here to follow me...
