{"id":1741,"date":"2016-01-22T15:48:20","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T15:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/?p=1741"},"modified":"2016-01-22T15:48:20","modified_gmt":"2016-01-22T15:48:20","slug":"mount-rushmore-a-must-see-location","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/2016\/01\/22\/mount-rushmore-a-must-see-location\/","title":{"rendered":"Mount Rushmore – A Must See Location"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone has seen pictures of Mount Rushmore, whether on the internet or in a movie like North by Northwest<\/em> (a truly great movie if you ask us). But like many sites, especially things on a grand scale, there is no substitution to seeing it in person. We went to Mount Rushmore back in July of 2000, which seemed an appropriately patriotic time to go and see such a national treasure.\u00a0 This was truly one of those great family trips that is full of wonderful memories for us.\u00a0 Obviously Mount Rushmore was the centerpiece of our trip, but there were a lot of other great adventures to be had during our trip.<\/p>\n

\"Mount<\/a>
Mount Rushmore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"George<\/a>
George Washington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Herd<\/a>
Herd of Buffalo at Custer State Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We drove up from Colorado and\u00a0through Wyoming and Montana before making our way to the Black Hills.\u00a0 Along the way, we stopped at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument<\/a>.\u00a0 We’re sure that most people are aware, but this is the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which is also known as “Custer’s Last Stand”, that occurred in June of 1876.\u00a0 Standing on the grassy hills, staring out at the open land, it is hard to imagine how the men of the 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by George Armstrong Custer must have felt when they were surrounded by the warriors of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapahoe nations.\u00a0 The battlefield is located about a five hour drive west of Mount Rushmore and, if you are at all interested in historical locations, it is well worth the drive.\u00a0 It certainly conjures up visions of the true old west, not necessarily the glamorized Hollywood version of the old west, but the harsh and bloody west that was filled with as much violence as there was heroism.\u00a0 Over 270 members of the 7th Cavalry lost their lives in the battle, including George Custer and two of his brothers.<\/p>\n

\"Memorial<\/a>
Memorial Tombstones at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Memorial<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Representation<\/a>
Representation of a Soldier’s Tent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Actual<\/a>
Actual Headstones where George Custer is Buried<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyone who has travelled with multiple children in the car, in our case three of them, knows that a long drive can be a trying experience.\u00a0 Especially back in the dark ages of 2000, before all of the handheld and mobile devices that exist today to occupy their time.\u00a0 As we left our home and made our way onto the highway, we turned to kids in the backseat and said to them with a grave and serious tone, “This is going to be survival of the fittest.\u00a0 We’re not going to play referee, so you’ll have to resolve any disputes amongst yourselves.\u00a0 If that means that there is only one child left when we reach South Dakota, then so be it.”\u00a0 Of course we were kidding (kind of).\u00a0 However, it turned out that despite just a couple of issues, such as the oldest child jabbing the middle child with a pencil in the leg, they were fairly well behaved and we all survived mostly unscathed.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A Photo Opportunity with the Actors at the Blue Bell Chuck Wagon Dinner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"George<\/a>
George Washing with Thomas Jefferson Looking Over His Shoulder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking Up at Mount Rushmore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We continued east to Mount Rushmore National Memorial<\/a>, arriving\u00a0as the sun was going down.\u00a0 The following day, we spent our time hiking around Mount Rushmore and viewing the enormous figures of the founding fathers\u00a0carved into the side of the mountain.\u00a0 It is definitely worth taking the time to hike around the trails and see the views of the sculpture carved into the side of the mountain from different angles.\u00a0 Seeing the profiles of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln from various perspectives allows you to fully appreciate the detail in the work of art.\u00a0 Also be sure to go and see the Crazy Horse Memorial<\/a>.\u00a0 Although not completed, it is still an impressive site and will hopefully, one day, be the fitting tribute to all Native Americans as it was intended to be.\u00a0 If it is completed, it might become the world’s largest sculpture.<\/p>\n

\"Main<\/a>
Main Entrance to Mount Rushmore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Abraham<\/a>
Abraham Lincoln<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Crazy<\/a>
Crazy Horse Statue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That evening we decided to go out for a nice dinner at a local restaurant.\u00a0 On each vacation, we would always try and go out for one special dinner where the kids could order whatever they wanted from the menu, no restrictions.\u00a0 It is a nice change of pace from the fast food that provided the majority of our meals when travelling back in those days (we’ve learned a lot since then \ud83d\ude42 ).\u00a0 This was to become our first lesson in “paying it forward”.\u00a0 When the meal was finished and we asked the waitress for the check, she informed us that our entire tab had already been paid.\u00a0 Wanting to thank whoever the generous person was, we asked where they were sitting so that we could appropriately express our gratitude.\u00a0 She informed us that they had already left the restaurant.\u00a0 We now endeavor to hold up that tradition, randomly choosing someone to pick up their tab and always ensuring that they don’t know that it was from us.\u00a0\u00a0It isn’t about seeing their appreciation, it is just about the feeling\u00a0one gets by doing\u00a0something good for someone else.<\/p>\n

\"What<\/a>
What Crazy Horse Will Look Like If Completed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mount<\/a>
Mount Rushmore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was still a lot more to do and see while we were in South Dakota.\u00a0\u00a0While investigating things to do in the area, we came across information about\u00a0several caves that\u00a0are operated by the National Park Service.\u00a0 One of the, Wind Cave National Park<\/a>, offered a candlelight tour<\/a> that is extremely limited in the number of guests that can participate and\u00a0takes you to parts of the cave that other tourists can’t see.\u00a0 So, we had booked tickets for that tour in advance of going to South Dakota, which we’re extremely\u00a0glad that we did.\u00a0\u00a0We had some time to kill before our tour, so\u00a0before going to the cave for a little spelunking, we went to Cosmos Mystery Area<\/a>.\u00a0 It is actually a pretty interesting site where things seem to defy the normal rules of gravity.\u00a0 We’re sure it is all just an optical\u00a0illusion, but it was fun just the same.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From there, it was off to the cave (sorry no pictures to show you of this), where we were given a handheld lantern with a candle.\u00a0 We lit our candles and our ranger led us into the depths of the cave.\u00a0 Wind Cave is one of the longest and most complex caves in the world and has a unique geological formation on its walls called boxwork.\u00a0 The highlight of the tour was when, at the deepest part of the cave on the tour, the ranger had us all blow out our candles and sit in absolute darkness as light can’t reach that part of the cave.\u00a0 Needless to say, it was quite an amazing day.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/a>
Inside the Crooked House at Cosmos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Doorway<\/a>
Doorway of the Crooked House<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Checking<\/a>
Checking out the Strange Balance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, we needed something to top that experience and we were able to do that the next day.\u00a0 We drove an hour south of Mount Rushmore to Hot Springs, which is home to the Mammoth Site<\/a>.\u00a0 The Mammoth Site\u00a0has the largest concentration of mammoth remains, both wooly and Columbian,\u00a0in the world.\u00a0 It is an active paleontological dig site where you can actually get your hands dirty and help dig up some of the bones.\u00a0 Seeing something that old being discovered first hand as they excavate the earth and expose the remains is something that you won’t soon forget.\u00a0 For us, of course, it was about seeing the kids get excited to play paleontologists for a day and understand a little more about the history of our world.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/a>
Inside the Dig Site<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Digging<\/a>
Digging Up Some Bones<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Examining<\/a>
Examining a Mammoth Skull<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We weren’t done with our trip yet, though.\u00a0 On the next day, we were off to Custer State Park<\/a> during the day to do some hiking and we had booked a Hayride Chuck Wagon Cookout at Blue Bell<\/a> in the park.\u00a0 If you want an up-close experience with herds of buffalo, this is the best place to do it, maybe even better than at Yellowstone.\u00a0 In addition to the buffalos, there were also wild herds of donkeys, who were very friendly, perhaps too friendly.\u00a0 There are also plenty of trails to get out and enjoy the great outdoors and we took a pleasant hike to a beautiful lake.\u00a0 The chuck wagon dinner was a ton of fun and they even got the kids, all of them, including the 15 year old, up and dancing to the chicken dance.\u00a0 It was truly the perfect ending to\u00a0a very memorable trip.<\/p>\n

\"Actor<\/a>
Actor from the Hayride<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Our<\/a>
Our Friendly Donkey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A Buffalo at Custer State Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Beautiful<\/a>
Beautiful Hike to a Lake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you haven’t been to South Dakota or to Mount Rushmore, you should definitely make it a location to get to some day.\u00a0 The mountains are beautiful, Mount Rushmore is amazing, and there are a lot of fun things to do in the area.\u00a0 We even found time to go to Wall Drug<\/a>, which is supposed to be the world’s biggest drug store.\u00a0 It was a little hokey, but sometimes you have to look at life’s oddities as well.\u00a0 Most importantly for us, it was a time of family bonding and sharing great experiences.\u00a0 This was also one of the last trips where the entire family was able to go together due to kids getting older, making it an even more precious memory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone has seen pictures of Mount Rushmore, whether on the internet or in a movie like North by Northwest (a truly great movie if you ask us). But like many sites, especially things on a grand scale, there is no substitution to seeing it in person. We went to Mount Rushmore back in July of … <\/p>\n

Continue reading Mount Rushmore – A Must See Location<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89944846,"featured_media":1796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14040],"tags":[61341,207282,38537377,8184162,853612,421426,3849918,29490927,445179,1770790,436,348054,200,925212],"class_list":["post-1741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-south-dakota","tag-buffalo","tag-cave","tag-cosmos-mystery-area","tag-crazy-horse-memorial","tag-custer","tag-family-travel","tag-little-big-horn","tag-mammoth-site","tag-mount-rushmore","tag-national-monument","tag-photography","tag-state-park","tag-travel","tag-wind-cave"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/scan0141.jpg?fit=2032%2C1136&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6pbM5-s5","jetpack-related-posts":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89944846"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1741"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1817,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions\/1817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}