Holiday Inn Rapid City-Rushmore Plaza, Sd

... the most unique scenic byways we have travelled on.

Because of the recent storms, which dropped quite a bit of snow at the higher elevations, we were not able to complete the Norbeck Byway - it's a loop road. We were able to do short portions of either end of it. Because this byway skirts Custer State Park we decided to take ...

... news in all this is that we were able to pickup the local PBS station on our antennea so we were able to watch the entire Ken Burns series on the National Parks. It was fascinating and and we hope you got to watch it as well. If not I'm sure it will be on again and again!!

The forecast for the upcoming week is for a couple ...

... the difference in the pictures since this friend was actually a part of the round up.

We've also included a link to the state park and this annual event. It is definately something everyone should plan on attending at least once - it is truly a unique experience.

http://www.sdgfp.inf o/Parks/Regions/Custer/round.htm

... to richer gold fields. A popular tourist attraction today is the 1880 train which is American’s last steam train featuring an old Baldwin steam locomotive and 19th century coaches. Today the city flourishes with tourism and logging. Some say it is the Santa Fe of the Black Hills.) They have a very old train there that you all would have enjoyed seeing and riding on. Papa and I walk around the town and look into some of the shops. Then we take a drive ...

... and huge! The twin movie theaters show the 'Dynamite and Dreams' film every 20 minutes. There's a large museum of donated artifacts from a multitude of American Indian Tribes, including things used by historical people like Pocahontas and various Indian Chiefs, a full-size tipi (teepee), several Indian artists making, displaying and selling their crafts, and lots more. Then ...

... got a good look and then the clouds drifted in again. We spent the remainder of our time viewing the film of the creation of the monument and visiting the exhibits. The monument is very impressive, but we were simply blown away by the size and vision of the Crazy Horse Memorial which we visited next. It seems only right that in these hills, sacred to the Lakota, there should be a monument to Native American leaders. The dedication of Korczak Ziolkowski, his wife Ruth and his children ...

... Mt Rushmore. Initially - and I guess I am still wondering - if this is one of those "ours will be better and far superior", but for whatever reason, it is going to be quite spectacular. There is also an interpretive centre with a lot of information about Crazy Horse and as well, many Indian artifacts. A separate section has Indians peddling their wares - mostly jewellery and quite beautiful stuff it is. Expensive, but beautiful. Between the two monuments ...

... us and we got the kids processed and into bed before turning the lights out and arranging the connecting doors so that the kids could be monitored. Elaine and I went into 'downtown Keystone' to take some pictures and do some shopping. We found quite a few 'junk shops' where all manner of stuff is purveyed to tourists like us. In one of these shops we found a cute little wooden box that was made for the tooth fairy to leave money in exchange for the tooth you put ...

... shoveling experience earlier that morning helped incite him to a snowball fight. Pretty soon, my family joined in. Why is it that the guy with the camera always gets in trouble? Afterwards, we drove around the memorial to the back of the sculpture near Horsethief Lake. The highway was desserted, and seizing our opportunity, we grabbed my roommate and held him aloft for a great photo op.