South Dakota Roadtrip

Last Friday the kids didn't have school, so we decided to take advantage of the good weather and get away for the weekend. Rock Springs is about 7 hours from Mount Rushmore, which I've always wanted to visit, so off we went. We left Thursday afternoon after work and school and stayed in Casper that night. After another morning of driving, we arrived. And it was even more impressive than I imagined.

The kids and Nacho were just pumped to be out of the van, so we let them run around awhile before heading in.

Before we left, my dad gave us a heads up on a History Channel show about the secrets of Mt. Rushmore, where we learned that the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, (who was from Idaho!) was also a horrible white supremacist. So naturally Garreth couldn't resist posing respectfully by his statue:

I love Declan's "Bored Abe Lincoln" impersonation.

It was a perfect time to go - no crowds, cooler weather, and the Black Hills are beautiful in autumn.

After leaving, we headed to the nearby Crazy Horse monument, which, even though it's still unfinished, was somehow more impressive than Rushmore. The federal government funded the construction of Mt. Rushmore, which was built on land long considered Lakota Indian. Lots of Native Americans were upset by the monument, so they commissioned a sculptor to build a monument to one of their heroes, Chief Crazy Horse. It's entirely paid for by donations and entrance fees to the monument and it's HUGE, much bigger than Rushmore.

We checked out the visitor's center.

The monument. You can see in paint where his horse's ear and eye will be. Through the binoculars, we could see people up there working on it.

Here's what it will look like when it's finished, which I hope happens in my lifetime. I'd love to go back and see it completed. Seriously awesome place.