Rushmore and Custer

 Way back in July, I left you in Rapid City, South Dakota.  Another place that pleasantly surprised me.  We drove in very late to a historic hotel in the middle of town.  What a cute, quaint downtown.  The hotel was the Alex Johnson and it was old, classic, historic and therefore also had small, old rooms with lots of charm.  We managed 2 nights there.  We "stored" our bikes with the desk and hoped they would still be there upon checkout and they were.  The other highlight, while I'm apparently doing a hotel review, was the rooftop restaurant and bar.  I had told TJ that one place we would not be going on this Covid trip was to any bar.  I was lured by sunset and the fact that it was a rooftop bar...outdoors.  We claimed our table in the corner of the patio and stayed for a drink and the sunset and it was lovely.  If you ever find yourself in Rapid City, SD, stay at the Alex Johnson.

Goodnight Rapid City

Rapid City is the launching grounds for what was an iconic American West day.  We began with Mount Rushmore....something I have always wanted to see.  It was as awesome as I expected!  What a marvel.  We counted our blessings as we drove right into the parking lot and walked a short distance right up to the main entrance stopping at the state flags of Louisiana, Wisconsin and Texas for our family members.  It is bigger and brighter than I even dreamed it would be.  So impressive!  We were able to sit and just look for a while and then we followed a path around the base which gave us views of each face from its best angle.  I am sure my photos do not do it justice but never the less, I took about a hundred.  What a huge endeavor!

"I see it!"  Getting closer!

Up close and personal with Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln.

And from the other side.

A little background information for those who are interested, like me.

We came, we saw, and we continued on to Custer State Park.  Back and forth, up and down through one of the most lovely state parks I've seen.  Custer was steep, full of switchbacks, one lane tunnels and a few bison.  Custer State Park was like the icing on the cake.  It was beautiful and full of adventure!  I knew nothing of it before our trip but we visited at the recommendation of our daughter, Rachel who said it was one of her favorites.  I must agree!

Driving through one of the natural bridges this was the view!

Wildlife traffic jam

Yes, that is my inspection sticker on my windshield looking at that beast!

The wonders of Custer State Park

I love this park!

Drive through, Custer State Park style

Waiting in line for the drive through

It even has a water feature!

Back in Rapid City, we had dinner with President Reagan, none of us wore a mask 
but we are pretty sure we didn't infect each other.

One other cool feature in Rapid City is they have a statue for each president in their own unique poses, just like the one above, all through the downtown area.  It is definitely a presidential hot spot!  We sure have seen a lot of presidents on this trip so far!  Love 'em or hate 'em, there have only been 45 of them in over 230 years.  It seems a perfect year to visit some of them and put history in perspective in this election year.