As we headed south from Regina on Highway 6 on an early Monday morning in August, we were looking forward to an adventure of traveling through four US states and seeing many wonderful sites. The highlight would be the Black Hills in South
Dakota which hold many enjoyable activities for a family. Unfortunately we
only spent 2 days there but we filled it full of memorable events.
We visited Mount Rushmore National Memorial twice. Tuesday morning was
beautiful as we made our way up the mountain. It was cool to see it
from a distance and then close up. I duplicated a photo that we took of
the kids on the Grand Terrace when we were here 10 years ago. We took
the Presidential Walk going right below the faces. It was a warm day and
there were lots of visitors. We also enjoyed the Avenue of Flags in front of the Grand Terrace where the flags of all the states are flying.
2013 |
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2003 |
Mount Rushmore |
Mount Rushmore at night |
The Avenue of Flags |
I'm sure if we were Americans, we would have been more moved in a patriotic
sense, but it was still a great sight to see. We appreciated the
amazing feat of design and engineering it took to accomplish it.
We also went back to see Mt. Rushmore on Wednesday evening.
That was great to see as well. The stark contrast between the black
sky and the illuminated heads was incredible. Interestingly enough, by
looking at a photo sideways, we realized that the four heads together
also made a face. The head of Washington is the nose, Jefferson is
between the nose and the lip. Roosevelt is the top lip. The space between
Roosevelt and Lincoln is the mouth. Lincoln is the chin and the rough
mountain is the beard. It was kind of cool.
Keystone is
the centre of the touristy stuff and we had lunch there and ice cream.
We stopped at a couple of shops. We really enjoyed looking through
rocks at the rock shops. There are some great colours and types of
rocks. Matt bought an arrowhead. Sarah and I bought some rocks. I
found 2 heart shaped rocks which I am always on the lookout for.
A highlight on Wednesday morning was
going through the Jewel Cave National Monument. The cave is very large
- over 167 miles of discovered pathways, but it is only considered 5%
mapped. Our tour was 1 hr. 20 min, and covered about 1/2 mile of the
cave, including 723 stairs. The cave temperature is 49°F (9°C) year round. It was incredible. Lots of different kinds of rock and
formations, from nailhead spar crystals to draperies (looked like jellyfish)...some
stalactites and stalagmites. There was also soda straws and cave bacon.
Incredible. This was definitely one of the highlights of our time in
the Black Hills.



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Cave Bacon |
Draperies |
We also discovered two great museums after
we got here, that were well worth our time. The Museum of Geology is housed on the campus of the South Dakota School of
Mines and Technology. It is a great museum with lots of dinosaur bones,
fossils and displays. It also had lots of rocks, minerals and gems
that were most fascinating. Sarah in particular loved this museum and
we all enjoyed it.
Matt was quite enthusiastic and thrilled to find out
that the South Dakota Air and Space Museum near the Ellsworth Air Force Base was only a few kilometres down the road.
Sarah wasn't feeling well, so she and I stayed behind while Matt &
Kelly went. They had a fabulous time seeing different interesting
aircraft including Matt's favourite, the B-29 Superfortress.
They also really liked the B-1B Bomber, which is based out of Ellsworth. There was a Cold War display of a missile control room and they were assured that there were no nukes on the premises, but they weren't sure they should believe them.
B-52D "Stratofortress" |
B-1B Bomber |
Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" |
They also really liked the B-1B Bomber, which is based out of Ellsworth. There was a Cold War display of a missile control room and they were assured that there were no nukes on the premises, but they weren't sure they should believe them.
The Black Hills are a fabulous vacation spot and we realized quite quickly that 2 days wasn't enough to see it all. We are not drawn particularly to some of the touristy stuff; we prefer to see natural side of the attractions. We enjoyed the Needles highway and the Custer State Park Drive. The Needles highway is amazing with it's rock outcroppings and incredible views.
Edie and her new friend |
Another
highlight of the Black Hills area is the Chapel in the Hills. This is
an exact replica of a 12th century church in Norway. It
is a beautiful architecturally built building on very peaceful grounds
in Rapid City. We enjoyed seeing the church inside and out and as well
the small museum on the same grounds.
Chapel in the Hills |
Thursday morning we
left Rapid City and made our way west. We made a planned stop at
Devils Tower National Monument. (Kelly has wanted to see it ever since he saw the movie,
Close Encounters of the Third Kind). This is an amazing rock
outcropping in north eastern Wyoming. We had a picnic lunch there and then took the
2 km walk around the base of the tower. There was always interesting
views of the tower to take photos of, interspersed with great views of
the valley surrounding it. We saw a dozen or so climbers at various
points on the rock. It was very fascinating. It was interesting to see
how the rock is made up of vertical columns, sort of like a cupcake
paper. The top is apparently rounded and grassy, with certain small
animals that live up there.
After Devils Tower, we continued west to Buffalo, WY. As we descended from the range land to this oasis town, we discovered a jewel in the form of the Hampton Inn, Buffalo. We enjoyed our stay, swim and sleep in a wonderful suite. But the sparkle in the jewel was definitely the terrace and grassy area out back, with a stream nearby. It was beautiful. The grass was like walking on carpet; the surrounding plants and the terrace itself made a perfect picture. We ate supper on the terrace and then the next morning Kelly & I ate breakfast and drank our coffee out there as well. We saw some wild turkeys but none of the other wildlife that sometimes show up there. We found it hard to leave Buffalo, Wyoming. It was a beautiful retreat spot and had imbedded itself into our hearts.
Ten Sleep Canyon, WY |
Powder River Pass, WY, elevation 9666 ft. |
Chapel in the Woods |
Crazy Woman Cafe, Ten Sleep, WY |
As we descended into Ten Sleep, WY, we decided to stop for lunch. Noticing the Crazy Woman Cafe, we decided to eat there after Kelly made sure he took a photo of his crazy woman (me) in front of the sign. Lunch was delicious and then we went to the Dirty Sally ice cream shop for dessert. We had been told it was the best huckleberry ice-cream in the state, and it was the best we had. This place was apparently named after a character from the TV show Gunsmoke.
talking about crazy... Kelly goes a little crazy when he thinks I have taken too many photos! |
It actually said 101 degrees first...but by the time we took the photo it had 'cooled' down. |
We finished off our vacation with a couple of days in Billings. We shopped, swam, ate delicious food at Famous Dave's, Cafe Rio and our favorite, Pizza Ranch! It was good to go on vacation and always good to come home.
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Port of Regway, SK |