Badlands - Mt. Rushmore - Falmouth

June 15 - 20, 2008

Rapid City, South Dakota

What an eventful day we've had this Father's Day. Thank goodness we traveled through to Mountain Standard Time and that gave us an additional hour to spend sightseeing. During the first hour on the road if it weren't for the advertising billboards, there would have been nothing to see other than green grass and sometimes distant grazing cows or horses. Then we hit the Badlands. Upon entering the Park there was a helicopter tour and because there was room to park the Beave, we decided to give it a try. I have to say I was a bit nervous, especially when they took the doors off the helicopter. I sat in the middle and held on to Ken for dear life. He was somewhat hanging over the edge and since he has no large life insurance policy, he's worth more to me alive as he's the only one who can drive the RV. We had a great ride and once our stomachs left our throats, Ken got some beautiful pictures.

After we landed and I could feel my arm again (Ken must have some black and blue marks 'cause I was holding on so tight), we began our trek through the Badlands. This is the first time we have ventured into actual sightseeing in the rig. The views were fabulous and I'm sure being higher up we had a better vantage point than most cars.

The Badlands National Park consists of 244,000 acres of eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires amongst the largest protected mixed grass prairie in the US. The Badlands are cut from deep alluvial and volcanic ash deposits that have been sculptured and carved into fantastic forms by the continuous action of wind and water falling in infrequent but torrential downpours. Photographs taken just 50 years ago show different formations than those seen today; this is the result of unusually rapid erosion. Measurements by geologists confirm that the area known as the Wall's surface is wearing away at an almost unbelievably fast pace; in some places, an inch or more is removed from the surface each year. Does that mean in the future the Badlands will be known as the Not-So-Badlands?

At the end of the Badlands Loop we visited Wall Drug Store...partly because it had been advertised on billboards for the previous 100 miles. It turned out to be a tourist mecca...plenty of souvenirs to be had.

Same day...another park. We arrived at our campground, hooked up and then left to visit Mt. Rushmore National Memorial.

The mountain itself was originally named after Charles E. Rushmore, a New York lawyer investigating mining claims in the Black Hills in 1885. Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor, chose this mountain due to its height (5700' above sea level), the soft grainy consistency of the granite, and the fact that it catches the sun for the greatest part of the day. The presidents were selected on the basis of what each symbolized. George Washington represents the struggle for independence; Thomas Jefferson the idea of government by the people; Abraham Lincoln for his ideas on equality and the permanent union of the states; and, Theodore Roosevelt for the 20th century role of the United States in world affairs. The granite faces of four American presidents' is scaled to men who would stand 465 feet tall! The carving began in 1927 and took 14 years to complete; 6 1/2 years of actual carving and the remainder in securing funds. The entire project cost $900,000.

The next day Ken and I parted ways for a few days: I flew back to Cape Cod to meet our new granddaughter, Adelyn (Addie) Mae, born June 13, 2008.

I had the chance to see all my grandkids this trip. What a thrill. Here I'm holding Zander (almost 6 months) and Addie (3 days), Cassidy (11) holding Ella (3), Jake (7) holding Brody (11 months) and Ryan (2).









It was hard to believe it took me two weeks to reach the Black Hills of South Dakota and then only seven hours to return home. The flights were event-less, but I still hate airplanes and airports. Glad we're traveling by motorhome!!

Ken stayed behind with Barney, Susan and Bob:

Bob and I visited the Air and Space Museum. There were numerous refurbished Air Force aircraft on display including a B1 bomber, a B59 bomber, and an F101 "Voodoo" fighter jet that my dad was flight chief for while at Otis AFB. We also had the opportunity to tour a Minuteman rocket silo.

Susan, Bob and I drove the "Wildlife Loop", the "Iron Mountain Road", and "Needles Highway" in Custer State Park (71,000 acres) and parts of the Black Hills National Forest. The animals in the Park included buffalo, whitetail deer, mule deer, mountain goats, coyotes, big cats, pronghorns, burros, bighorn sheep, and elk. We managed to see most of them.

The terrain varied from expansive prairie to ponderosa pine covered hills, breathtaking vistas, and incredible rock formations including needle-like granite formations, one of which is called Needles Eye.

There were 7 tunnels carved though the rocks with barely enough room for one car to pass through. Three of the tunnels were carved in such a way as to have the figures on Mount Rushmore visible as you drove through the tunnel...very impressive.

On the first day we experienced beautiful sunny weather, then severe thunderstorms, then sunshine, then heavy rain, then sun, then hail, then sun, then fog. To top off the day, we had tornado warnings that evening! We had lunch in the Blue Bell Diner...buffalo burgers of course.

We also took a buffalo safari jeep ride. The highlight of this excursion was driving right through a herd of buffalo. We almost had to nudge them to get them out of our way. One very large bull came right up to me with its eyes no more than a few feet from mine. I would be lying if I didn't admit to being just a little nervous. Buffalo are not as non-aggressive as cows.

We also visited Bear Country, a drive through wildlife park. The animals in the park included elk, wolves, reindeer, buffalo, big horn sheep, rocky mountain goats, mountain lions, and of course bear. The mountain lions and grizzly bears were the only ones behind fences, all the rest were free to roam along side your car...windows and doors closed of course. While we were observing wolves on the left side of the car, Susan happened to look outside her window on the right side of the car and there was a large wolf just outside the door. She rolled up her window faster than anyone I have ever seen. There were dozens and dozens of black bear...some came right up to the car. They also had an area for the bear cubs and it was fun to watch them play.