A Jewel, Two Memorials and Wildlife

This morning Thomas was busy with his conference and I decided to work on editing pictures and logging in letterbox finds. I also took some time to organize our things and get things ready for this afternoon. I also got in a little reading in while waiting for Thomas to come back to the room.

Around 11:30am he was back and done with the conference for the day. We got out things together and met some friends (Anthony & Dina) in the lobby to go exploring for the afternoon. We stopped for something to eat and after a good lunch we were on the road again. Our first location was to be Jewel Cave National Monument. The drive there was uneventful until about a mile before the entrance. We had to stop and wait about ten minutes for a group of mountain goats to cross the road. Once they had moved on we were able to continue to the monument. Unfortunately, there was a two hour wait for a tour of the caves and we didn't have the time to wait. So I got my cancellation stamps, looked around the Visitor Center, got some postcards and a patch and then we were on to other things.

We then made our way to Crazy Horse Memorial. Once at the Welcome Center we decided to take a bus ride that takes you closer to the monument and you get a little bit of information about the work they are doing. I honestly thought we would be getting much closer than we did and I have to say it isn't worth the $4 to take that ride. Anyway, we returned to the Welcome Center and walked around the museum, sculptor's studio and education center. After about an hour we were ready to go. I know the monument is going to be huge when it is complete but I wasn't that impressed with the whole concept and the amount of work done in all the years they have been working on it.

After leaving Crazy Horse we decided to try Wildlife Loop Road again. We started the loop from SD87. As we drove we hoped we would see more wildlife today than we did yesterday. But first we stopped at the parking area for the French Creek Trail. We looked for two letterboxes here. Rushmore Mascots: George & Tom by Hart x6. We only found one of the boxes - there had been a controlled burn and lots of trees cut down. So we were unable to make sense of the clues but stumbled upon one of the boxes. After stamping in and replacing the box we continued our drive. This was our second drive on the loop and we disappointed once again. We did not see one buffalo on this road and barely saw any other wildlife. Everything I had read made it sound like there was wildlife everywhere. Oh, well - maybe on another trip. We finished the loop and now headed to our final destination of the day.

We took Iron Mountain Road up to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Driving this road was loads better than the wildlife loop. It was prettier, and we saw more wildlife - turkeys, buffalo, deer and antelope. I also enjoyed going through the tunnels and pigtails. I especially loved when you go through the tunnels and see Mount Rushmore framed before you. We arrived at the memorial around 7:45pm. It wasn't very busy and we got through the pay station and into the parking garage quickly. Then we went to the Visitor Center and I got my cancellation stamps. Once that was done we walked around a bit and I took quite a few pictures. Then we made our way to the amphitheater for the lighting ceremony. A trip to Mount Rushmore has been on my bucket list for a long time and I wasn't disappointed. Seeing the memorial in person was amazing and I felt wonderful being there. And the evening program was incredible. With everything going on in our country it renewed my sense of partriotism and when we left after the program I felt like the trip here was so satisfying.

We got back to the hotel around 10:30pm and Thomas and I were both exhausted. It was a long day, but a great day. Not sure what we are doing tomorrow but I will worry about that in the morning.