When I was younger, my mom would tell me all about the trips she took throughout America with her family when she was a kid. The national parks she'd visited. The varied, gorgeous landscapes that America has to offer that she'd seen. My dad, as well. Both have traveled a fair amount in the States. And while my heart and mind have always gone overseas, I have grieved that I've seen more of the world than I have of my own country.
So, this June, my beloved Colorado was burning up - or so it felt like. There were eleven or twelve different fires going on throughout the state, and one of the places that was in serious danger of being destroyed was South Fork, in the southwestern part of Colorado. Just a few miles outside of South Fork is the beloved Fun Valley family resort, where Jody's family has vacationed for many years.
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| The fire outside of South Fork, CO |
Obviously, with the town under forced evacuation and Fun Valley closed due to the danger, we could not plan a family vacation there. Instead, we prayed for rain in that area. (Update: Fun Valley is fine and unscathed by the fires. Praise God!)
Nonetheless, we couldn't go to Fun Valley, so what were we to do?
Well, Pam decided we needed to go to the Black Hills of South Dakota and see Mt. Rushmore.
I was thrilled! It was my chance to see another part of our great country - especially such a great tribute to America. Pam and Alan arrived on Friday, June 31st, and we hung out Friday and Saturday. Bright and early Sunday morning the four of us got in the car and headed out on our grand adventure.
[Dear friends Jeremy and Seleste stayed at our place, keeping an eye on Eu-mi and Penny - as they have done several times this year already. I missed the pups, but I am so grateful for the Sault's loving care. They have been such a blessing to us!]
Our roadtrip took us north through the wide open, rolling hills and plains of Wyoming and then east into the gorgeous Black Hills of South Dakota. I confess I had absolutely no idea how beautiful the country would be, and all I was able to think of was, No wonder the Indians fought so hard for this land. It is beautiful, beautiful country here. Lush and green AND rocky, it felt as if it was the perfect blend between the greenery of the East Coast and the rocky terrain of the West.
1. First Stop - Deadwood, SD
Our first stop was the town of Deadwood, SD, so named because the wood on the hills above the town does not grow. Strange, I know (seen in picture below).
Deadwood's claim to fame is a bit sad, actually. The land actually belonged to the Lakota, a Native American group, but the discovery of gold in the 1870s brought gold-hunters, gamblers and all sorts of memorable characters. One such memorable character was Wild Bill Hickok, who was murdered and then buried there. Calamity Jane is also buried there - right next to Wild Bill - in the Mt. Moriah Cemetery.
Having read so many Louis L'Amour westerns, it was thoroughly gratifying to visit Deadwood. Here are a few snapshots from the town.
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| A statue honoring Wild Bill |
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| The town of Deadwood - the view from our hotel |
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| The town of Deadwood - the view from our hotel |
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| Our hotel, Deadwood Dick's, is the building in the back |
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| The kitchen/living area of our hotel suite. Jody looking up directions. :) |
Our hotel had an old-school elevator! Complete with the two metal doors. It was pretty awesome. Jody had to get a picture of it. I think it was a new experience for all of us. Thankfully, it never had any problems, and we were transported up and down from the 3rd floor without any trouble. Woop woop!
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| The Franklin Hotel, where several famous individuals have stayed |
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| The main street of downtown Deadwood |
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| I just liked this sign. :) |
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| Beautiful building in Deadwood |
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| Is that a WIENIE DOG I see?!?! |
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| Catching lunch after a long day of driving |
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| :( |
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| The view of the street from the other direction |
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| Door handles. Ha! |
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| So happy! |
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| The men |
We visited Mt. Moriah Cemetery, a beautiful and peaceful spot of land where graves from the mid 1800s were found. We found Wild Bill and Calamity Jane's graves and spent significant time walking through and reading the very many different tombstones.
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| Wild Bill's grave |
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| Calamity Jane's grave right next to him |
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| Calamity Jane's grave |
We went into a museum near the cemetery and read through a bunch of information. It was so fascinating. One description caught Jody's eye... he
had to take a picture of it.
Did you read how these people died? And the last one... where he was from? Andrew died, hit with a bottle, was last from Englewood. Englewood, CO. But only God knows how George Houston from Central City died. Hilarious!
2. Sturgis, SD
Our next stop was a short one. The town of Sturgis is just 14 miles - 20 minutes - from Deadwood, so we thought we should just stop by and see what all the motorcycle rally hullabaloo is about.
Basically, nothing. :) It's just a small town that probably gets overrun by lots of motorcyclists every summer.
Nonetheless, we felt we needed to stop and take some token pictures.
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| The token shot of the Sturgis Harley-Davidson store |
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| Downtown Sturgis |
And that was about it. :) Hello, Sturgis. Goodbye, Sturgis. :)
3. Keystone, SD
Our trip continued. We left beautiful Deadwood and traveled an hour southeast to Keystone, a small town about 2 miles away from Mt. Rushmore.
Before we visited Mt. Rushmore, we had to do some tourist-y things. :) Like get our pictures taken in these awesome big chairs. And with Mr. Abe Lincoln.
Then, we had to walk down to downtown Keystone, visit some shops and check out the times for the 1880s train for the next day.
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| Haha. Oh, Jody... |
And then, it was time to see Mt. Rushmore. I got so many pictures that I don't want to overwhelm you all. Haha. So here are a few of the pictures we got from our trip to see Mt. Rushmore.
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| My first view of Mt. Rushmore - zoomed in from just outside of Keystone |
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| The man who headed up the Mt. Rushmore monument |
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| Colorado, represent! |
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| TEXAS! |
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| And not to forget beautiful Virginia! |
I confess I was not expecting Mt. Rushmore to be so amazing. But it really was. It was totally worth visiting. Even these pictures just do not do it justice. It was an incredible site to see. I loved going through the museum, reading all about it and the people who made it happen. I loved taking the walk around the area.
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| George Washington, carved 1st |
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| Thomas Jefferson |
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| Theodore Roosevelt |
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| Abraham Lincoln |
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| Pam & Alan in front of 'em |
One evening we stayed for the evening lighting ceremony. It was truly beautiful. Very worth it. We sang the national anthem together, and all of those who have served in the armed forces went down to the front of the amphitheater, giving their name and the branch in which they served.
The next day we decided to go on the 1880s train. There were a lot of people on the train, but it was nonetheless so fun to see more of the beautiful black Hills. The train went from Keystone to Hill City.
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| We even saw a mountain goat! |
4. The Badlands, SD
For some reason, I really wanted to see the Badlands. And we did! We saw a little of the over 240, 000 acres of very eroded buttes and spires and mixed prairie grasses. It was incredible. Scary. Beautiful. And very, very bad.
All I could think of was living in 1850. Riding my horse. Losing my horse. And my canteen.
It would have been very, very bad indeed.
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| We saw a bunch of bighorned sheep, too! |
The park was so vast there was no other way to really see how huge it was other than to drive through it. We stopped at various points throughout the park to see some new aspect, but the vast majority of it was spent from the car window. It truly was a remarkable site. The colors were fantastic.
You could tell, however, that the rock was actually quite fragile. It was not solid at all. Quite crumbly. As if - should it rain - it would all become one big pile of mud.
5. Wall Drug Store - Wall, SD
Every .5 mile on the highway we saw a sign for Wall Drug Store. We had to stop. It started as a small drug store but has since grown to be a big tourist stop. There were hordes of people, but it was nonetheless worth stopping at for lunch. We also had to get a few more tourist-y pictures.
Of course!
5. Custer State Park, SD
Our last stop was a drive through Custer State Park. It was incredibly beautiful, as well. It made me want to move to South Dakota immediately and pitch a tent. Anywhere. Truly, it was beautiful.
We drove over and under incredible bridges, through tunnels, around corners and up and down and around hills. It was windy and incredible. We didn't see any bison, but we did see deer and turkeys.
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| Me with my awesome in-laws. Love y'all! |
6. (Sort of) Crazy Horse, SD
While we didn't stop and go in to check out the memorial, we did stop and snap a few pictures from the road. If it is ever finished, I'd love to go in and see so much more about it.
The trip was fantastic. I loved every bit of it. So very thankful for the chance to have seen another part of our incredible country. So thankful to Pam and Alan, who made it all happen.
It was a perfect trip to take during the 4th of July week. It made me proud to be an American.
