Mount Rushmore National Memorial

We started off early on our eight hour drive to the park. To entertain ourselves and help stay awake we played a game of count the antelope. When we stopped for lunch we were at 205... Wyoming apparently has an over abundance of antelope. We also saw three mule deer, and surprisingly two elk. 

We stopped for gas in a town called Mudstop... The gas station was decorated on the walls and ceilings with signatures of the patrons. 

We stopped for lunch in South Dakota and utilized a state roadside picnic area. The kids played football and the girls picked dandelions. 

We arrived at Mount Rushmore just as a severe thunderstorm rolled in. This storm produced a tornado and hail. We saw lightening, cloud rotation, and hail peppering the monument, but like a proper American monument it weathered the storm and shone with the sun after the storm passed. 

The kids met and received a signed copy of Don Clifford's book. Mr. Clifford is the last surviving craftsman who worked on monument. He was a driller and he workes on the chin on Rosevelt and Lincoln. The piece of stone on the table was one of the honeycomb sections that he finished and removed from Lincoln's chin. 

I am proud to report that the kiddos completed yet another Jr. Ranger program for Mount Rushmore brining their total to... I have lost count at this point, but extremely proud of what they have accomplished. 

We left the park and ate dinner in Custer, SD. Our spur of the moment overnight park was a Flintsone themed RV park. This place was touristy and pretty cool in a very cheesy way. I played mini golf with the kids and we played on the playground until dark. 

We leave in the morning for Jewel Caverns National Park, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, and Badlands National Park. 

We have a few more good days of exploring before we return to the real world.