It was quite a good night in Cheyenne. The trains ran all night, but it was a soothing background noise that didn’t bother me. I would have slept late had I not been woken by a gaggle of kids around 7:00. I’ve been waking up between 5:00 and 6:00 for months, so that was a good stretch!
I took full advantage of the modest breakfast offered as well as the surprisingly good in-room coffee before leaving at 9:30. I had nothing planned for the day but to get to Keystone by mid to late afternoon.
It wasn’t far past Cheyenne when the landscape turned to the olive green rolling hills I consider to be ‘home.’
Wow, looks like home!
If I didn’t have this labeled as Wyoming, I would think it’s southern SK.
The first part of the day was along I-25. If I had kept going north, I would have hit home. But instead, I turned east on route 18 to head to the Black Hills.
Snow on rooftops.
It’s a little hard to see in the picture, but you can see on the GPS screen the state lines separating WY, NE, and SD.
SD also looks like SK. 🙂
It got colder the closer I got to Mount Rushmore, with snow on the ground, but the sky was clearer.
Blue sky!
First mention of the Black Hills!
First mention of Mt. Rushmore!
Snow on the ground as I get closer to Keystone.
Tons of blue sky!
Approaching Mt. Rushmore.
Entering Mt. Rushmore area (I saw Washington carved in stone just a moment later!).
I actually saw Mount Rushmore as I drove past. I know of people who park illegally on the roadway to save on the parking fee and take a picture that way, but I’m going to do it properly.
Vicki was awaiting me when I got to her RV park. She pointed out that we could see Washington, Jefferson, and a bit of Lincoln from her spot! Too cool! We did the introductions and settling thing, enjoyed a bit of sun, and then she surprised me by making an amazing dinner, a much appreciated gesture! We’re both working tomorrow and Friday, but the weekend will be for adventuring.
(Sorry for two boring posts in a row, but you might as well get into it since I’ll be home soon! 🙂 )
Mount Rushmore is so impressive – we were there in summer of 2013. When we arrived first thought was “they are so small” having been use to the many close up views from the air we had seen so many times. But as we walked up to the viewing area we were so blown away at the detail in the carvings and just what an incredible feat it was to get that monument finished. A totally awesome experience – what a treasure.
So many people call Mt. Rushmore a tourist trap in a tourist trap area, but it’s just such an iconic slice of Americana. Who can forget Cary Grant on the monument in North By Northwest?! I can’t wait to get up closer to it.
You are correct that there are many so called tourist traps around Mt Rushmore but we did not take in any of them as that is just not our thing to do. But very happy we stopped and spent a couple hours there – felt it was worth our time – hope you enjoy a close up view.
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