Grandstay Residential Suites Rapid City

... Mountain. It sounded interesting so I set off in that direction. When I got there, however, much to my dismay, there was no horse in sight. And certainly not a crazy one. In the way that Mount Rushmore did exactly what it says on the tin, this place did nothing of the sort. But then I started reading. And watching. And it became abundantly clear that it was more impressive than it's barber shop ...

... the man agreed and asked Fred where we<br>were from &#8211; first time someone has asked since we've been here! (Apart from the JW girl). Fred told him and then asked him where they were from, he said Canada. I told him that he was the first person to ask us that, American's just don't ask us where we're from &#8211; he laughed and said, &#8220;They don't much ask me either!&#8221; which I thought was very funny.<br><br>Drove back to Custer, SD where we are staying in a ...

... other species which grow in this area. We then walk up the steep asphalt trail to the first vista point. Take a few pictures including one of a tree where a porcupine has gnawed off bark. They like the flavor of the bark the Ranger told us. Also stopped to smell the Ponderosa pine which smelled like vanilla or caramel. The Tower is really big and very impressive. Walk around the Visitor Center and return to "haRVey" where Trixie is waiting for us.<br><br>We ...

... to put in our side mirrors to fit through several tunnels. Custer State Park is worth a visit just for the scenic beauty even if you don't see any animals. Jonathan wanted to climb around on the granite rocks, but it was getting late. We were all getting hungry, so we headed back to dinner and then base camp. <br> <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br >

... year old son, looking for the perfect piece of rock to create his sculpture - the rock must stand the test of time (not erode quickly), and also must be at the right setting for the sun to show off the faces. Although, when he found Mt Rushmore it was isolated, he knew, that they would eventually build roads for the people that would want to visit - and they did - they built the roads and the towns, and people visit ...

... Luckily, Phil was unharmed. The horse rolled onto it's side and somehow only laid on Phil's foot. The guide in the back, a much better horseman than Fred, came galloping up to where Phil stood, and I sat, still on my horse, a little shaken up. He told Phil to "Kick the **** out of him, hard" if he does it again. "It won't hurt him". Okay? Sure. I'll get right on that. The rest of the ride went extremely well. It rained for a while in the beginning of the ride ...

... was then that I realised I had never seen anything like this in my life. As with all natural wonders of this magnitude, Devil's Tower isn't just a lump of rock which people like to conquer, it is also a sacred site to Native Indians who have ascribed it their own names, e.g. Bear Lodge. One story for the monolith, from the Kiowa Native Indians: ''Eight children were there at play, seven sisters and their brother. Suddenly the boy was struck dumb; he trembled ...

... What is a jackalope you say...well, it is the rarest of western mammals...a cross between a jack rabbit and an antelope. Fictitious you say...see the pictures for yourself...and don't dare say that to anyone in Douglas. Stumbling into Douglas last night we weren't aware it was the Jackalope City, but that was a jewel of a find for Ann. You see, the jackalope has special meaning for Ann since her beloved Opa and Uncle Glen used to take her jackalope hunting expeditions out ...

... Mountain National Park which includes 140 miles of mapped caves and is likely to end up being the largest cave system in the world once they have finished mapping everything. Caves "breath" based on barometric pressure and by measuring the air inflow/outflow you can calculate the overall size of the system. Two brothers found a hole with air blowing out in 1901 and after dynamiting the entrance saw the spectacular sights of crystal formations. They thought they could ...

... out into the Black Hills. Here I did fill up with gas $1.26/galloon as opposed to $1.37/galloon in Kadoka.<br> After checking out downtown Rapid City I went out into the country again and stopped for the night off 16 near Keystone. The Badlands is one of the areas I would like to get back to and see more of sometime.<br> Picture #4 now available from my redbubble portfolio http://www.redbubble.com/people/greenva nartusa