Saturday morning came, and I got up extra early to fit in a workout at the gym. When I got home, Steve and I started talking about the trip and for fun I jumped onto a travel site to see what the cost would be to fly. Next thing I know, Madi and I are headed out to the airport to catch a flight to Gillette, WY.
Our road trip turned into a 2/3 Planes, Trains, Automobile trip! After picking up the rental car and heading off to see Devil's Tower, I turned to Madi and told her how glad I was not to be driving 9 hours across the Wyoming high plains. This was definitely a better way to go. We drove towards the Devil's Tower with much anticipation, as we turned to corner we almost couldn't believe it:
It was very impressive up close and a little other-worldly. I can understand why it fit so well in the movie "Close Encounters."
After buying some Rocky Road Devil's Tower fudge for the road, we headed off to Rapid City, stopping in the little towns such as Leads, Deadwood, and Sturgis along the way. We also pulled into a funny little flea market just outside of Rapid City. They had several tents of "stuff," including one tent full of animal by-products (fur, fangs, turtle heads, rattle snake fangs, etc--kind of creepy). Once we got settled into our hotel in historic downtown Rapid City, we went out to dinner and then headed up to see Mt. Rushmore, just as the clouds that had been gathering closed in even lower and unleashed a torrential rain storm. We were hoping to catch the night showing of Mt. Rushmore, but because of the weather, we turned back.
The next morning dawned bright and sunny. I went for a quick run, and then Madi and I attended a local ward and after we headed off towards Mt. Rushmore. This time we were able to see it clearly and we loved learning about how it was carved. It is quite the impressive story of patience and perseverance.
We went on to see the Crazy Horse Monument, which is even larger, but a looooong way from being complete. We spent the day in the Black Hills, and then came back to Mt. Rushmore for the evening program that they put on. I was glad we did. It was very moving and patriotic.
On Monday, we took our time getting ready and then we explored the down town area and the cute shops. There is an alleyway behind our hotel that is completely covered with colorful graffiti. I thought it was ingenious for the city to have something such as this where artists and taggers could hone their craft without destroying the property of others. It was actually very beautiful.
