Today, we headed out early toward Hot Springs, SD to see the Big Mammoth Site. This is a location that they have discovered of thirty mammoth skeletons that fell into a sink hole and could not get out. This kind of thing has always interested me, so it was the side trip that was my idea. Jon and Megan opted out of this trip, because of a mix up with their hotel room and they ended up staying in a separate hotel in the park. But it was even later when they got in bed. They met us later in the day at the Crazy Horse Monument.
On the way to Hot Springs, we drove through Wind Cave National Park. Here, we encountered our very first buffalo herd as well as prairie dogs. It was very cool to be able to see these animals close up. The kids, of course, were very excited.
As we got into Hot Springs, we ended up in a line of cars, and basically parked on the highway. I could see in front of us, that their was some type of small town parade going on. Great! We found out that apparently, this little town host the Miss South Dakota pageant every year and this was their parade in honor of the occasion. That's fine and all, but it was screwing around with my vacation! After the beauty queens got out of the road, we were allowed to proceed. The only small problem was, that the town's signs and the lady in our GPS box didn't really seem to know where this mammoth site was. But, we did finally find it...on the other side of town. The site is very interesting and it was very cool to see all these bones. The story of how they got trapped made you think what other kinds of prehistoric animals lived here back then and what the land really looked like then. The thing is, I can't really recommend this side trip either. Only if you are a really big fan of prehistoric history and animals, then this is a must see. Other wise, the time it takes to get here might be more than what you want to spend on your vacation. As we left, we encountered our first rain of the trip.
Next, we headed to the Crazy Horse Memorial. After a few attempts to call Jon and Megan, we were finally successful in letting them know that we were on our way to the memorial. One thing, the phone service in the Black Hills area, is horrible. It is hit and miss, and if you move your leg or arm the wrong way, the call is lost...seriously. The memorial is not anywhere near finished. They do not take government funds. It is fully funded by donations and entrance fees to the memorial. Even in it's partially completed state, it is still very impressive. When completed, it will be the world's largest sculpture. Now, granted, at the rate they are going, it will not be completed in my lifetime. But, maybe Abby and Ian's lifetime. The story of Crazy Horse was not one that I was familiar with, and I want even try to tell it here. But it does leave you with a new found respect for the Native Americans. We ate lunch at the Laughing Waters restaurant there at the memorial. I can't remember what I ate, but it was very good. The view of the memorial was astounding. While we were leaving, Abby and Ian each purchased an "authentic" Indian flute. What were we thinking? Before we even arrived at Mt Rushmore, we were threatening to take them away. Not only are the loud musical instruments being played very badly, they are also weapons.
We, then went over to Mount Rushmore where we spent the rest of the day. This is a place I have always wanted to see in person, and it did not disappoint. You have all seen the monument before, but in person it is very cool. We walked over to the base of the monument and got to basically look up the president's noses. Later, that evening it rained, but we were able to escape in the gift shop and the restaurant. The food there was very good and gave us time to rest and wait out the rain. At the end of the day, they have a patriotic service and light up the faces on the mountain. It was very moving, but Megan and I kept waiting for Tinker Bell to suddenly fly off of George Washington's head and sprinkle pitzy dust on the crowd. It was kind of in the Disney World mode right before the nightly fireworks.
Later, Jon and Megan came by our cabin to say goodbye and take a few pictures. We headed westward the next day, and they headed home to Minnesota. It was so very cool to have them join us for a few days on this trip. Made the South Dakota leg even more special.
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