Americinn - Rapid City, Sd

... He gave me some strong antibiotics so I hope to be back to full health in time for tea and crumpets on the front lawn.<br><br>With a new found respect for life coursing through my veins, I headed to Mount Rushmore to see four giant faces in a row. And I wasn't disappointed. There were four of them. They were giant. And strike me down if they weren't in a row. <br><br>Just down the road was Crazy ...

... other customers were getting. We should have been more assertive and complained...Still this is what we came for, both the good, bad and just plain quirky. Funny how no one seems remotely interested in asking where we're from &#8211; except the Jehovah's Witness I met yesterday!! Maybe we should start saying 'Kia Ora' or 'Gidday' more.... :0)<br><br>Drove straight to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, arriving just after 3 so it wasn't too sunny and very few tourists ...

We have been here in Rapid City for a week now and have had a series of unseasonably cold, wet and windy days. We've ventured out to the Buffalo roundup, a day trip to Deadwood/Sturgis and the local pumpkin festival. But, we have spent more time at home riding out the storms and the wind than we have away from the coach. <br><br>The ...

... by the Greek Renaissance State Capitol Building with its sandstone and Montana granite face and dome of Montana copper and "Montana 2009" in flowers on the lawn. Sorry, Susan, we didn't have enough time in Helena to take the Last Chance Tour Train.<br><br>Saturday we traveled to Livingston, MT about 50-60 miles north of Yellowstone and stayed in Osen's RV Park. We made a mini-tour of the historic district, not much to see, some restored ...

... Even the bus drivers spoke English and the women cleaning the bathrooms spoke English! When I went through border control the officer I talked to spoke fluent English and it's hard to explain, but that all felt so weird. I knew these people I was interacting with had been here all of their lives probably and grew up right in the heart of Chicago, but it just blew my mind that I didn't even have to try anymore to communicate. I didn't have to ...

... very spectacular thunder and lightning in the night. The next morning we had a lovely breakfast of homemade muffins, fruit and cereal(thanks again Renee) and then headed for Mt Rushmore. What an awesome sight, and even hard to believe the true enormity of it when you are there. Apparently the eyes of the presidents alone stand at about 10 feet tall which really puts the whole undertaking into ...

... It started hailing so hard that I couldn't see the front of the car. Luckily I spotted an exit off the freeway and got off the interstate, because I couldn't see the road. There was a line of cars stopped along the side of the road, so I stopped behind them and turned on my emergency lights. It was hailing so hard that we couldn't hear ourselves talk inside the car. And ...

... with shooting star! Back at Keystone, we had drinks at a local bar where we observed the locals and debated the merits of the bartender. As we get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses, we assign roles for the trip: Denice - suited for hazardous driving conditions which is any time darkness falls, as both V.V. and Pat have difficulty seeing at night. Pat - group ...

... Badlands next. We stopped at the visitor's center to stamp our National Parks Passports and watch a 20 minute film. When we got back in the car the clouds were gone and the sun was brilliant. But it was still very cold. There has been substantial rain in the area so the Badlands were a wonderful contrast of green and Badlands Gray with some blue water ponds in site. We stopped at Wall Drug for the obligatory buffalo burger. Still good and ...

I got an early start heading south on 83 then west on I-90. I made a short stop at the Murdo rest area and crossed into mountain time a little bit further down the road. When I reached Kadoka I stopped at the Petrified Gardens, looked around and had a Dr. Pepper. Years later during my trips to California I would often go rockhounding with my cousins husband whose favorite discovery was petrified wood. Doing a goggle search ...