This morning I woke up early hoping to catch a beautiful sunrise in the Badlands National Park where we were staying. I did get one picture, but then some morning clouds came in to obscure the sunrise. However, I did have an enjoyable morning sitting on the front porch reading with Lindsey.
We really enjoyed staying in one of the new cottages at the Cedar Pass Lodge. We would highly recommend them. They have their own private bathrooms, a mini-fridge and a flat screen tv. The girls enjoyed catching a little tv since we are without a wireless signal.
After we had breakfast we headed out for a couple of hikes to explore the Badlands. The second one was more strenuous and included a climb up a wooden log ladder. Lindsey enjoyed the opportunity to climb on some rocks and we greatly enjoyed seeing the formations and the view from the top.
The heat mid-day caused us to head in to the visitor’s center to cool off and see a movie about the Badlands before we left the park. We took the scenic way out of the park which brought us close to some bison and prairie dogs.
From the Badlands we traveled to our next destination, the State Game Lodge in Custer State Park in South Dakota. We quickly checked in and then headed over to Mount Rushmore. Although the 20 mile drive from the Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore took close to an hour, it was the most beautiful drive of our trip so far. Traveling through the Black Hills on a two lane winding road was a little stressful, but fantastic. It included three one lane tunnels through rock, one of which frames Mount Rushmore as you come through it. We arrived in time to walk the grounds, see the monument and have dinner before the evening light show. The “light show” was nothing more than illuminating the monument, but they showed a well-done film and did an amazing job of recognizing all of the military veterans in the audience. The ranger asked all veterans to come down to the stage and then after singing the national anthem each one was asked to give their name, branch of service and the battle or war they had served in. It was a very moving event and an enjoyable evening.
Hammond Adventures 