Days 6-7: Glimpse of the Road: Keystone, SD/Mt. Rushmore

We ran a few errands when we woke up in the morning, then drove from Rapid City to Spokane Creek Cabins & Campground in Keystone, SD, and I helped Brannon work on the way. 

Camping in Keystone, SD

When we got to the campground, Brannon worked while Ember and I hung outside for a bit, then I caught up on some dishes, camper cleaning, and did some laundry up the road.

The campground was nice - simple but clean. The weather was once again perfect - 70's during the day, and even a bit chilly in the 50's-60's at night. The air was a little crisp, almost like Colorado. We spent most of the time without the AC on in the camper, and we started the trip worried that we were going to get too hot (although I'm sure that will be the case when we hit the desert in the later part of the summer). We have been SO blessed with the weather so far this trip! Absolutely perfect for hiking, sleeping, etc... 

The sunset that night was breathtaking. The sky looked like it was on fire, but still had a beautiful mix of purples, pinks and blues. I haven't seen a sunset that beautiful since Maui. 

The next morning, Ember and I took a short hike up the hill nearby while Brannon worked. 

Keystone, SD

Then we packed up and headed up to the town of Keystone, where we grabbed a coffee from a local coffee shop and walked around a bit. Keystone reminded us a lot of a little mountain town in Colorado, like Estes Park or Winter Park - a row of cute little shops, mostly souvenir-ish, but fun to walk around all the same. We bought a corn dog and fries to split at a small outdoor restaurant and sat on their balcony, enjoying the once again perfect weather.

(Click on the images below to expand.)

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Next stop was Mt. Rushmore. We really didn't have high expectations of this place either - faces carved in stone? How long can you really look at that in amazement? We almost didn't go, but decided to anyway and are definitely glad we went. We read about the sculptors and the time frame and context surrounding the creation of the sculpture, and it was really neat. It took 14 years to complete (although they weren't sculpting the entire 14 years - they took breaks to raise more funding, etc.), and stopped the project when they finally ran out of money and WW2 was on the horizon. 

Oh, and a little tip for those who go in the future, the memorial itself is free to get into, but parking costs $11! (ridiculous) So thankfully, a lady who worked at the train tour station in Keystone told us about a small free parking lot about 1/4 mile past the main entrance. So we parked Harvey there and gladly walked the 1/4 mile up the road to avoid the $11 parking fee.

Getting ready to hike the Presidential Trail (Ember fell asleep in the carrier before we even started).

Black Hills National Forest

The view of the beautiful Black Hills National Forest on our hike back to our camper from Mt. Rushmore.

If you click on the image, you can see the profile of Washington's face on the right towards the top. (And you can see Harvey parked below. :) )

Crazy Horse Memorial

We had heard of another sculpture called Crazy Horse that was nearby, and has apparently been under construction for several years. Part of the face is the only part that is done, but it's supposed to eventually be a Native American riding a horse. We decided to go since we were so close, but then found out that it also costs $11 to even get into the place. No, thank you. It will be pretty neat when it's finished, but we took a distant profile picture of it and moved on. 

Crazy Horse memorial - tiny distant profile of the face. Can you find it?? Hint: Look for the nose profile just to the right of the middle at the top.

Note: This is not my photo, but the model sculpture on the left is what the finished model is supposed to look like. I believe it is 1/34th the size of the actual sculpture in the rock.

Custer, SD

We kept seeing ads for a winery called "Naked Winery" in the town of Custer, which was just down the road from where we were. Intrigued, we made the decision to test it out. (No, this was not a strip bar/winery - it's called "naked" because they don't add any sugars back into their wines.)

The town of Custer, SD

After we left Custer, we just started driving. It's been nice - we haven't really kept a tight schedule of having to be certain places at certain times. We haven't made any reservations on this trip until the day of - because that's when we decide where we're going to stay that night (we've actually only stayed at two different campgrounds - the other nights were at Walmart's or friends' homes). We had a rough itinerary, but are just going to each place when we feel ready - when we feel we've absorbed what the last place has to offer. 

The rolling Black Hills of South Dakota.

There's a Walmart in Sheridan, WY that allows overnighters, so we headed there to sleep (because once again, the weather is perfect - no need for electricity). 

South Dakota, you've surprised and delighted us with your scenic views, your perfect weather, and your kitschy roadside attractions. We will speak of you with joy.