Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota
July 7, 2024
With two very excited kids, we headed into the small town near Mt. Rushmore. We knocked around the shops for a while before heading up the mountain. Upon arrival, my first thought was that Mt. Rushmore was smaller than I had expected. Don’t get me wrong, it was still massive!
I was fascinated by the amount of man power, time and artistry that it took to carve the faces into the rocks. We explored the visitor’s center and learned more about why each president was chosen and how the entire project unfolded. Being able to see the smaller versions was really neat. We hiked around the trails to get a closer look before grabbing some ice cream and heading out to try and beat the storm that was coming in fast.
Crazy Horse, South Dakota
July 7, 2024
We couldn’t visit Mt. Rushmore and not visit Crazy Horse. Crazy Horse is an amazing monument about 30 minutes away that has been in the works for about 30 years. The local tribes refuse to take money from the government to complete their project so it has been ongoing for years. We explored the museums and learned a lot about the history of the area. I thought about my dad a lot because he would have loved exploring this memorial and learning about the story of Crazy Horse. We listened to the story of Crazy Horse told by a local musician who played songs and sang for us as well.
Devils Tower, Wyoming
July 7, 2024
But wait, our day wasn’t over yet! We drove 2 hours to Devils Tower National Monument and explored this absolutely amazing site. It looks really neat from far away, but once you get up close it looks like paint has been dripped down from the top. It was such a majestic thing to see. I couldn’t stop staring at it and trying to figure out the logistics of how it came to be. As we were leaving we had another encounter with a field full of prairie dogs who were not bothered at all by the cars zooming down the road.
The day was jam packed with adventure, but it was so worth the exhaustion to see all these amazing things. We had one more 2 hour drive for the night before we all crashed hard. The sunset through Wyoming was breathtakingly beautiful and lasted for what felt like hours. It was the perfect end to a long day.
Wandering, Wondering and Wacky 
Leave a comment