Rushmore or Bust!

We made a few adjustments and everyone slept better! We were up early and got a good start to the day with breakfast at Powder House Lodge. Breakfast pizza was on the menu and it was tasty!

The table next to ours had a friendly couple who struck up a conversation. They were eager to tell us all about Boston and Providence where they are from. Apparently, they have really good gnocchi there!

We made it to Mt. Rushmore early when it was cool and not crowded. 

We walked along the path seeing the carvings at different angles. The kids had fun using parkour skills on the rocks! We learned about why those four presidents were chosen, mostly for their focus on expanding the country and serving when called upon. We also saw about the process to carve the mountain by creating a model where the scale was one inch to one foot. George Washington’s nose is twenty-one feet!

My kids love to climb! They looked for all places they could scramble up for a view. 

They found a hidden rock! We hid it again for someone else to find. 

Char was intrigued with the sculptor, Borglum.

After taking a tour through the gift shop and getting our pressed pennies, we left the park. We drove through Custer State Park, which was a beautiful scenic drive with stone bridges and views of Mt. Rushmore. We could see why so many bikers were riding through the curvy roads. Kids started feeling queasy from all the curves, so we went to Keystone to do some more souvenir shopping. 

We are a yummy pizza for lunch and found ice cream and fudge for dessert! Aaron and Charlie custom designed their souvenir shirts! I guarantee no one else is likely to have a neon orange shirt with a tiger that says Black Hills!

We took a break for an immersive ice cream cone and fudge treat!

After seeing the Keystone area, we drove over to Hill City to look around. 

We walked around the shops taking in the biker crowd there for Sturgis. Cool to see lots of bikes. 

As time grew closer to our train, we headed to the depot. Aaron and Charlie took time rest up while Sarah Graves and I toured the train museum. It was small and definitely eclectic but it entertained us for a bit. There was a caboose to tour, memorabilia for movies like North by Northwest that used the 1880 railroad in filming.

Finally, it was time to board the 1880 train! We were in the Red Fern car with open windows. On the ride to Keystone, the guide told us about the area; the mines for tin, tungsten, silver and gold that operated in the area; and the tree management. 

So many deer!

After a quick stop in Keystone to flip the seat back so that we rode facing forward each way, the train pulled out headed back to Hill City. 

On this ride, we were on the lookout for a wanted man they just found out about! He was robbing trains and stage coaches and a posse was out looking for him. As the train rolled on, we came up to a group of passengers from the stage coach and they were with Sam Bass! We watched the scuffle with women and children trying to protect a baby that turned out to be gold. Then, the posse was there and the shootout began! The train pulled to a stop as we watched the commotion and we cheered when they got Sam Bass!  

Charlie got a casing from the shootout. He had a bad headache, but was trying to enjoy it. 

While we were riding the train, a rainstorm came through and it turned quite cool!

After the train, we headed back to Mt. Rushmore for the evening program. We stopped into Carvers for ice cream. We can thank Thomas Jefferson for an early recipe for ice cream! Charlie was impressed that every cone was a double scoop! We needed it since ice cream was all that was open for dinner!

We sat in the amphitheater for the  program. There were quotes and commentary on the four presidents and what we can learn from them; a video showing Mt. Rushmore history; the lighting of the carvings; we sang the National Anthem, which was special in the dark with only Mt. Rushmore lit; and they called up all military past and present to retire the colors and thank them for their service. It was well done and very patriotic without turning political. I am really glad we saw it fresh in the morning and experienced the evening program too!