Yesterday, July 14th we left the campground and went into the Devils Tower National Park to get an up close view and to see the colony of prairie dogs that reside just below the tower.

The Prairie Dogs

We drove through Sundance, Wyoming.  It lies at the foot of Sundance Mountain named by the Sioux Indians.  It is believed that Harry Longabaugh, better known as "The Sundance Kid", assumed his nickname in Sundance during his 18-month sentence in the county jail for horse stealing.  The town was much - if you blinked it was gone.

and on to South Dakota!!

We entered the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Spearfish is in a valley in the northern part of South Dakota.  It name came from when the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians speared fish in the creek.  Spearfish creek is interesting in that it freezes from the bottom up and flows south to north.

Then on to Deadwood.  Deadwood only has 1 main street-all that space would allow on the floor of Deadwood Gulch.  In the late 1800s it was a haven for gunfighters and gamblers like Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.  Hickok was shot and killed here during a poker game in 1876 - guess he got caught cheating!!  Boot Hill (now Mount Moriah Cemetery) contains the graves of Calamity Jane, Potato Creek Johnny, and Wild Bill Hickok.

Boot Hill



The Black Hills National Forest - Pactola Lake

Hill City is where we are spending 2 nights.  Hill City's first settlers were miners who arrived in 1876 lured by the discovery of gold and copper.  Later came the ranchers and lumbermen.

We checked into the KOA and then immediately headed for Mt. Rushmore.  We saw some of the same rocks that Gutzon Borglum looked at before choosing Mount Rushmore to do his scupting.

Arrived at Mt. Rushmore - they actually had handicapped RV parking.  We stayed for 6 hours.

There had been a naturalization ceremony just finishing when we got there.  New citizens with their certificates and the American Flag.

Our first view

Later in the afternoon

The had a ranger talk, a movie, flag lowering and then the lighting of the monument around 9:30 PM.
When the idea of having the sculpture done, they talk of local heros - indian and white heroes, but Borglum wanted national heroes. 

George Washington (the Birth of our Nation)

Thomas Jefferson (the Growth of the Nation)

Abraham Lincoln (the Preservation of the Nation)

Theodore Roosevelt (the Development of the Nation)

There is a Presidental trail - unfortunately,  we only went half way because there were steps.  We passed the Heritage Village

How would Bernie's profile look on Mount Rushmore????

The Ampitheater

just after the Naturalization Ceremony

The Avenue of Flags

The Avenue of Flags at night with the moon

Good Night!!!