SD National Park Mt. Rushmore National Park

http://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm

One place that was a must on our list as we traveled across to Minnesota, was Mt. Rushmore. None of us had ever been and it was something we knew we would regret, if we didn't do it. Especially since we were in the neighborhood.

Along the highway, we got to see a few Big Horn Sheep wandering around to start with. They were actually stopping traffic (both by standing in the road and also so people could take pictures). Watch your speed in the area, just in case. We came around a corner and there they were!

As it was the off-season (we were there the end of October), the crowds were very light. Parking was no problem (we did not have Dottie with us yet). We did learn they did not accept the National Park Pass (I understand an independent group runs their parking lot, and they collect the money, so...).

As we walked up we were awed by the scale of it all. The gorgeous weather helped, although it was quite chilly (didn't keep the lad from asking for ice cream on the way out though!). They had all of the state flags flying, and we were able to find Oregon pretty quickly.

We walked right up to the viewing area and were able to get lots of pictures before we noticed a guide calling people over. We joined a group and listened to the history and the tales of the building of one of our countries greatest treasures (I also learned the folks in South Dakota figured out early on, how to get people to come and how to sell just about anything to us outsiders...there are roughly 157 'Wall Drug' signs between the Minnesota Boarder and Wall Drug, so it must be good, right?!). The tour guide was fantastic and even though we hadn't considered doing a tour to begin with, we were glad to have done it.

There is also a very nice visitor center with lots of information and artifacts from the construction. It is all very interesting.

I would definitely recommend checking this out if you haven't had the chance.