Day 4 - Rushmore and a Little Sleep
Trip Start
Aug 28, 2011
1
7
38
Trip End
Oct 01, 2011
Where I stayed
Sheridan Lake Campground
What I did
Visited Mount Rushmore
Hill City, South Dakota
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Earlier today we all got the chance to sleep in – it felt great! Heather even got us all up at 3:17 AM for a potty break (misery loves company), but that made sleeping late a lot easier! After a slow, easy morning and breakfast at the campsite, we drove to Mount Rushmore at about noon. That is a really remarkable monument – I’ve seen it in books and on TV hundreds or thousands of times in my life, but still, seeing it in person just made my jaw drop. It’s really impressive. We checked out the Visitor’s Center, went on a guided walk with a Ranger, and just enjoyed our time there for a few hours.
Afterwards, Heather led us on a geocache hunt near Horsethief Lake, which in turn led us to a trout-filled stream, which in turn gave us all an excuse to hang out on the rocks and relax for an hour or two. All in all, it made for a great afternoon. It was nice to think that we were at least 10 degrees cooler than we would have been in the Badlands today.
After doing some grocery shopping in Hill City, we returned to the campground for an evening swim (with perch at our feet) and dinner at the campsite. We even got a little evening packing in, and will head off to Badlands National Park tomorrow.
