Now our final stop of the day we really enjoyed and would recommend everyone who comes thru this part of the country to stop and visit....Crazy Horse Memorial...On a personal note to Barb & Mac and Rick & Sue, yes, it certainly was worth the money. Thank you...
Okay, here we go....
These photos were taken as we drove into the park area....$10/person was the entry fee..
After we parked and entered the Welcome Center, we were ushered into a movie theater where we saw a 20 minute or so screening of the history and future plans for the the memorial and Native American History and teaching Medical Center/College..
Then it was off to the Museum &
Cultural Center where we saw many artifacts, the making of the Memorial in stages, and Indian Arts and Crafts. Of course, alot of interesting sculptures.
And now on to all things pertaining to the Monument itself.
We even got into the picture, too....lol
Here's a couple of shots on our way back to the campground.
When we went under this bridge, we looked could have sweared it was made of bent, planked wood.
And that, my readers, is the end of our touring adventure for today....Hope you enjoyed it...Stay tuned, we haven't left South Dakota, yet....lol
Now, on to our 2nd stop....Mt. Rushmore....well, we didn't really stop, just drove by, but got some great pictures.
And on the way to our next stop for part 3....
Now onto our 3rd and last visit of the day...
Tour Day Tuesday will be in 3 parts, mainly because we went to 3 locations and that I took alot of photos...63 in total...lol....So we'll start at the beginning....
We left the campground about 8am and headed for our 1st stop. Keystone, SD. Keystone was a gold mining town in the late 1800s. For those who are familiar with the "Little House" series by Laura Ingells Wilder and the TV show "Little House on the Prairie" will find the fact that "little Carrie" and her husband settled here where he worked for a mining company. Current pop. (without the tourists) is 327. Included in the following photos are the usual gift shops, eateries & saloons, cute stuff, and interesting things on the drive there.
On the road to Keystone, SD
Downtown Keystone
We found Dahl's Chainsaw Art Studio very interesting and would have sent one home, but when they are at a starting price of $3000, well, we just took pictures instead....lol
This is for our camping and RVing friends & family....
And here's for those who are into Motor Cycles...
We really enjoyed the place and put it on our list for returning to see and experience more in the future.
Now, onto the next leg of our adventure today.....
Last evening we got a thunder storm here in Rapid City. After the first "Boomers" went thru, I went out and got some great photos of the complete rainbow...and a partial 2nd rainbow....not clear in the photos, but it was there...
Then in the other direction, I got a nice shot of the sunset.
Then the another storm came thru and they and the wind blew all night long.. I got up this morning about 4am...(still on Eastern Time, I guess...lol) turned on the coffee and the TV....No TV!! So I just played on the computer and took Spinner for a walk in the pre-dawn light. Didn't want to wake Dock/Ernie up just to fix the satellite dish that blew over ; waited until he did....
We had planned to go check out the campground at the AFB, mainly, because the price at the current campground was pricy for what they offered....Full hookups, yes, but nothing else...no bathouse and no laundry....And also to do some shopping at the PX and Commissary....We were early for the shopping and went to the campground first. Nice place and a reasonable price...$20/night with NO TAX!!! And a bathouse and laundry....Yipee!!! Well, we chatted with the Camp Host, John, and his wife, Maria, really nice folks...exchanging "war stories" about camp hosting....and told them we'd call or stop by later to let them know.....we drove to find the shopping plaza and talked about how nice the CG is and the price....and decided then and there to go back, give them a check for a 10 day stay, and went back to the other CG to collect Spinner and the 5er....It took us about an hour and a half and we were back...got our site, set up, and now we're "home" for the next 10 days....We both had to agree that we felt better staying here than the other place....
Our 5er on our site Ellsworth AFB, SD....
It's still hot in this part of the world, but we did take a few minutes to sit out and enjoy a adult beverage before going back into the A/C....lol
Tomorrow we go pick up our mail, pay for our 1 night stay there, and do the paper work to become South Dakota Residents....We have a friend also in the area from my women RV forum( Hi, Karen!) and wished we could get together, but looks like between this stuff with the Drivers Lic, registering the truck and 5er, getting the insurances changed to SD and get a little sight-seeing in before Aug. 1st....it's not going to happen this time. But we are going thru Texas, so ya' may see us yet....lol...
Okay, that's it for today....
Arrived here at Americas Mailbox CG in Rapid City, SD today about 11am...It's still hot, but only in the 90sF, so the A/C is keeping us cool enough....We're all settled in for our 10 day stay. Not going to do much more today cause we need our sleep cycle to catch up with the 2 hour time change.
We really enjoyed our drive in thru the Badlands and I tried to take some photos that I hope you all will enjoy.
I found the "Little House on the Prairie" LOL.....
And here are some of our 5er parked at a scenic viewing pull off while I took some of the above photos..
And here's our Campground.
Right next door is the Camp Host and he has an Open Range 5er, too...
Tomorrow we plan to go out to the Air Force Base to check out the PX, Commissary, and drive by the campground there.... We're just taking it one day at a time...
