Day four of the Western Adventure.

The thinker

The whole crew at Mt. Rushmore

Four presidents can you name them?
Crazy hourse monument
The Light show begins
The mountain comes alive

After a cold night we got up to head to Mt. Rushmore. We took the scenic route through the Needles State Park. It was a twisty mountain road with rock outcroppings that were amazing. During the drive Lisa spotted a mountain lion about 100 feet from the road. Shaun was the first to spot the monument when we were about twenty miles away. It looked small across the valley and on top of mountain. On route to Mt. Rushmore we went through several one-lane tunnels blasted in the mountain. The last two gave you views of Mt. Rushmore framed beautifully at the end of the tunnel.
Once we got the monument the magnitude of the sculpture was incredible. Photos do not do this wonder justice. The time and work to create this work is amazing. We took tons of photos and climbed up the mountain on the trail as far as you can. The kids did nicely on the whole day and will have a nice memory of one of our national treasures.
After Mt. Rushmore we went to The Crazyhorse Monument. I was not overly impressed from the parking lot. We went in and watched a movie about the dream of creating Crazyhourse. I was moved by the passion of all involved in the project. I realized that the work in progress is impressive in many ways and not being finished yet is just part of the story. When completed this monument will be truly a great feat. How this project has and will serve the American Indian is a very good thing. After dark we went back for a spectacular laser light show on the mountain. When the monument is lighted it almost comes alive and gives you a taste of things to come. The last images of the laser show have Crazyhorse in motion on the mountain in actual size. I was quite a sight to see.
For dinner we cheated on the camping cuisine. We went to the Chuck wagon buffet and Music show. After a good meal we enjoyed a country cowboy trio. We had a good time and got to enjoy a beautiful sunset before the laser show.
Back at the campsite Shaun and I talked to the folks at the next campsite. They are a Schoolteacher and character actor. They told us stories of South Dakota and what attractions to see. He is also an amateur prospector and Shaun was interested in all he had to say about rocks. See Mt Rushmore Crazyhorse for more photos.