Day Fourteen

The Girls and the Presidents

1880 Train Ride from Hill City to Keystone, SD

Black Hills Gold/Silver Rings

1880 Train Station, Hill City, SD

Mount Rushmore, SD

I officially have a "case of the red ass"

Day Fourteen ~ We started the day today with an unexpected stop at the historic 1880 train ride in Hill City, South Dakota.  It was a 2 hour round trip ride that took us to Keystone, South Dakota and back.  We sat in an open air car and enjoyed the conductor's funny comentary and popcorn.  He told us all about the mining that was done in the area years ago and showed us some homemade mines and houses from the 1800's.  We also saw several deer along the way.  It was a very relaxing trip.  Then we headed off to Mount Rushmore.  We paid our $11 entrance fee, which is good for one year admittance into the memorial, then parked and set out walking to the mountain.  It was amazing to think of the people who sculpted it in the late 1930's & early 1940's.  It is huge and looks so precise.  It said that the sculptors got so good that they could make very precise features by using dynamite alone.  Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt & Lincoln are the presidents that are displayed.  We took an extra hike under the mountain to see the Lakota Indian tee-pee display and see different vantage points of the mountain.  Then we left and went to some local wineries! Wineries make me HaPpY!  We stocked up on about a case and a half of some new wine.  Our favorite of the day was rhubarb wine with a funny name then we took the girls to buy black hills gold rings.  They were so excited picking out their perfect ring.  Now we are in Alliance, Nebraska and I am watching the girls and Mike swim while I blog.  I am officially really missing my Wacky Jack and ready for my own BED! Night all. xoxoxo