We finally got to SD and got our "home" set up. We had a quick breakfast at the cafe at the campground, then our discovery of the Black Hills began. At the end of the first day, YS & I had a mountain to climb. If you look at the end of the arrow, there is an American Flag there. I climbed that mountain!
YS & I at the top of the mountain:
The "view" of Mt. Rushmore from the top:
& when we got back to our campsite...just ahead of a thunderstorm:
In the Black Hills, we saw animals:
Monuments:
(This is what it will one day look like:)
Parks:
Beautiful lakes:
Rocks that were tight squeezes:
Brave rock climbers:
(Here's a close up shot)
Rocks that looked like Darth Vader:
Buddha:
a dwarf:
& a snail:
Rocks that had roads cut through them:
Amazing views:
Famous resting places:
Wild Bill Hickock's grave:
Calamity Jane rests right beside him.
This is the grave of a famous madame...the first known madame to franchise her business:
(Side note: that was all there was in Deadwood...except for gambling.)
Incredible skies:
And one of the highlights of the trip, WINE!
We enjoyed it so much, we went 2 days in a row.
An added plus: there is a brewery right next door!
CH & YS took a ride down an Alpine Slide:
An interesting site in Custer:
I found something that reminded me of Berlin, except they have bears, and it's in, well, South Dakota!
We got a good laugh when we saw this shirt.
"The Dragon" is a stretch of road that is partly in the county where I live. It's a big motorcycle destination, but it's also very dangerous (318 curves in 11 miles). Numerous people die every year. "Iron Mountain Road" appeared to be a much safer, better paved road. It boasts 17 miles, 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, 3 pigtails, 3 tunnels, 4 presidents (you can see Mt. Rushmore as you go through them), and 2 splits.
We had an awesome time in the Black Hills. After 5 full days, it was time to pack up and head to Colorado for a few days.
