Mount Rushmore

After spending the morning catching up on email and organizing the RV, we headed seven miles up the road from the Palmer Gulch KOA campground to the Mount Rushmore National Monument. Our first impression from the day before was of mild disappointment -- the faces didn't seem as big in real life as they did in pictures. But after spending the afternoon touring the museum, walking the presidential trail that traverses the mountain, and learning some of the history of the monument and the men immortalized there, we walked away impressed. The entire facility is modern, but blends well into the landscape. They offer excellent short movies about the wildlife and the construction of the monument. It is also a great opportunity to learn about major events in our nation's history, told through the stories of the four presidents.

Monument trekking made us hungry, so we drove a couple miles down the hill to the little western town of Keystone. I experienced my first Indian taco (made with fry bread), while Teressa and the kids had pizza. We did a little shopping after lunch, and I now have most of my Christmas shopping done for the year! ;-)

In the afternoon we returned to the KOA and took advantage of the swimming pool and water slide. Apparently this is the second largest KOA in the country, offering two pools, a water slide, miniature golf, horseback riding, trampolines, a fishing pond, a restaurant, a pub, a movie theater, and live nightly entertainment. This week the entertainment is a family band from Minnesota that gets to stay free in return for playing nightly. I will be surprised if Brian and Laura don't talk their way onto the stage -- they were chatting up a couple of girls in the band last night after the show.

Keeping with the Rushmore theme, we attended the evening program at the monument also. It was a very patriotic program highlighting the adversity faced by all four of the presidents throughout their lives, as well as the challenges the men faced who constructed the monument. They also did a nice job recognizing all the veterans in the audience. With spotlights piercing the night air, the presidents' faces materialized from the darkness. It was an inspiring performance. Brian drove up and back, and had us safely back to the trailer by 9.