When traveling we often find hidden themes or repeated things in what we see. Finding granite was one of these repeated things. Mt Rushmore is a very large piece of art chiseled into a granite mountain top. This was the first example of granite we found. Mt Rushmore is found south of Rapid City, SD in the Black Hills.

There had been quite a bit of rain on this travel day, and we were also chasing the sun and extending when our evenings started as we went. The consequence of this was that the girls were way past bedtime and exhausted. They did not enjoy this stop as much as we had hoped. We took the loop walk around to the base of the Presidents and saw some of the museum exhibits. The videos on how they did the carving was pretty interesting to the girls. This was a good opportunity to talk about each of the presidents and what they contributed to our country. The stop took about two hours and was a great way to stretch our legs.

Badlands National Park is located in South Dakota not far off of Interstate 90. At Badlands you will find the examples of the erosive forces of weather and wind on a plateau. The amazing rock formations and colors are accented by the weather and lighting. Grasslands and a herd of bison are also found in the park. We allowed enough time to drive through the park and to see the visitor center, but not for hiking. When we arrived it was between quick moving storms crossing the state. The visit to the visitor center was timed during one of the storms. Over all our visit to park lasted three hours.

a storm is coming!

Our expectations for the park were pretty simple. We needed another stop, vistas for the parents to enjoy, a picnic spot, and a new and unusual landscape to introduce to the girls. We were pleased to find that the girls enjoyed the park a lot. Unlike most parks that expect you to stick to the trail, this park doesn’t mind if you adventure off the path. Emily loved the idea of exploring. Because of the rain we weren’t able to drive into the portion of the park with the bison, but we saw two in the distance. This is a place that Emily wants to revisit.

lunch vista!