Hill City and Mount Rushmore
We waked up the kids to a treat--meeting a huge Great Dane in the campsite next to us. His name was Deacon, and he was not on a leash. His great love for his family kept him from wandering much. He loved to be with his little girl, whose head came up about as high as his own. Eric went over to try to meet him, and he gave a ferocious bark. Then he hung his head when his owners fussed at him. The owners also had a full-size black lab which could walk under the Great Dane's belly without touching him! Sorry we didn't get Deacon's picture.
Looking over the lengthy list of possible things to do in the area, we opted to drive into Hill City for a look at the Black Hills Natural History Museum. We were not disappointed--what Dinosaur National Monument had lacked in T-rexes, this museum made up for with zest. More than 75% of excavated T-rexes have come through this very place, the Black Hills Institute of Geology. Their biggest one is Stan, and we also learned about Sue who was the subject of a lengthy legal battle over ownership rights. The museum itself reminded me of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, only on a much smaller scale and without the massive crowds (and no Hope Diamond of course). The gift shop was a very good one, and we did some Christmas shopping. While I shopped with John & Ward playing under foot, Eric & the others went to a coffee shop a couple of blocks away & drank expensive smoothies and used the internet connection to do a bit of blogging/e-mail checking. One of the workers there took Ward and John into the room where they roast their coffee beans and let them watch and ask a multitude of questions.
I read a local paper at the coffee shop while the last of the computer work was being finished. Stories of interest included a local body shop man who was explaining that 40-50% of his business comes from cars colliding with deer. He explained that he personally hits a deer about every other year while his wife hits two or three a year! In other news, there was a story about a mountain lion that had attacked a dog in a campground. The wildlife management people had been able to track it and bring it down and believed it to have been hit by a car a few months back disabling it from normal hunting capabilities. One of the wildlife management people quoted was named Fleury (variant spelling of my maiden name).
We returned to the camper, and Eric & the kids changed into swim suits to go over to check out Sylvan Lake. I (Margaret) stayed behind to shower and get a start on dinner. We drove to Rushmore for the evening show about 8:30. There was a full house at the amphitheatre. It was a patriotic show/ranger talk and concluded with the lighting of the Rushmore monument. During part of the show they had all veterans and active duty armed forces people come forward to be recognized and receive a standing ovation. Over 70 people came forward. Afterward as people were leaving, representatives of a group of 150 Catholic middle school girls went forward and did a couple of songs and a candle light prayer service. After taking our quota of photos, it was back to the campsite (Watch out for deer, Eric!), finish off the wood & marshmallows in a final quick campfire (this time mom was awake), and to bed.
- Previous: Thermopolis to Custer
- Next: Black Hills to Tea (that's Tea, SD)