Sturgis and Mount Rushmore with Zeb

 I love road trips!  We entered South Dakota

Entering South Dakota

through Newcastle, Wyoming.   Hills, trees and meadows were everywhere.

Entering Black Hills, SD

It was beautiful.  But, soon it started to rain and then small hail.  Here I am sitting in hail.

Hail in Black Hills–cold

Mom, we have to talk about where you put me.  We arrived in the evening, staying in Spearfish.  Yep, that is how it got its name.  People used to spear fish in the river.

In the morning we went to Sturgis.  You know, the motorcycle place.  We were there last week, in early September, so the motorcycle rally was over.  But, still some bikers there as the weather was beautiful.

Zeb at Motorcycle Museum in Sturgis, SD

The motorcycle museum is really cool.  And, I Zeb, the duck, sat on some motorcycles outside.

Zeb on motorcycle

Some day I may ride.

WOW! Another motorcycle

Then there was this crazy store, Hot Leathers Trading Post.  Lots of hot leather stuff.  Makes my heart race.

Hot Leathers

Next we went to Mount Rushmore.

Zeb at Mount Rushmore

This is a National Monument, not a National Park.  Four giant heads carved in the mountain.  This is a monument to four U.S. Presidents:  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.  Admission is free but parking, which is necessary is $11 for a car.  Being rather small myself, I found some facts fascinating.  Washington’s nose is 21 feet long.  The other noses are only (?) 20 feet long.  The eyes are 11 feet wide.

These guys are HUGE

Some say that we ducks have wide mouths, but these presidents have mouths 18 feet wide.  The carving, started in 1927 and ended in 1941, needed 400 workers, used dynamite as the primary tool and cost $989,992.32.  That is an exact figure—great accounting.  This monument means democracy.

Mount Rushmore honors our democracy

As we left Mount Rushmore, we saw a huge piece of heavy machinery on the road in front of us.  They were shooting seed out a pipe at the top of the vehicle.

Seeding the shoulder of the road

We believe it was grass seed or some seed to plant vegetation along the shoulder of the road.  Mom had never seen one before and, of course, neither had I.  Was interesting to see.

To see Mount Rushmore, drive on I-90 to Rapid City, SD.  Then exit and drive 23 miles southwest of the city, through Keystone.  There are many signs and the roads were clearly marked.  While you are in the area, consider seeing Crazy Horse monument, also carved in a mountain, visit Custer State Park and prepared to be amazed by the landscape of the Badlands National Park.  The Black Hills are beautiful

Black Hills stream

and this is a wonderful setting for a monument to democracy in our country.  I hope all of you go to see it.  We thought it was great!  Next time I will tell you about our day in Deadwood.  Look for me on Wednesday.