SUSAN: Woke up late at 6 am in north Rapids City (Summerset). We had breakfast at the hotel which was mediocre at best. Eggs tasted fake and salty.As we were loading the car, we passed a closet whose sign did little to inspire confidence.
We decided we needed something better to eat so we went in search for a bakery on our way out of Rapids City and found “The Sour.” It was in a quaint part of town with fun statues of various US Presidents. We later learned that Rapids City started erecting statues of all the presidents and are now calling themselves the City of Presidents. And the bakery was amazing! Wonderful doughnuts, cookies, crescents and loaves of sourdough bread. It was a really fun looking place where hip, young people hang out. So glad we found it.
JAMES: It’s an easy 25 minute drive to Mount Rushmore. We arrived right at 9 am when the visitor’s center opened. We got a bunch of shots of the monument and then caught the short movie about the construction. We then visited the book store and museum. We didn’t intend to stay long but the museum was so interesting and informative, that we ended up going through it. Maybe the most interesting to me was the background of the sculptor and director of construction Gutzon Borglum. He was a renowned sculptor when he got the position and his meticulous leadership and exacting guidance made it all possible. There were multiple challenges and funding shortfalls along with the death of Borglum. All of the workers unanimously voted to have his son Lincoln take over construction. It was and still remains a technological and artistic masterpiece.
To create Mount Rushmore, they used small models of the heads and used an ancient Greek measuring tool called a "pointer". By building the plaster models at a precise ratio where 1 inch equaled 1 foot, workers could measure angles and distances from the model and multiply them by 12 to carve the rock.
We left the monument just as it started getting really busy. We decided to stop at Wind Cave National Park. It was a short drive and on our way south. We stopped at the visitor center for Susan’s Passport stamp and then had our picnic lunch. We had planned on taking a hike and settled on a 4-1/2 mile walk on the Lookout Point path. It would be challenging but the weather was cool and overcast, perfect conditions for a walk.
The trail was beautiful. We climbed up from the valley floor following the paths cut by the local bison herd. There were tons of beautiful chunks of quartz everywhere. We hiked up to some spacious meadows on top of the hill. There were almost no trees on top.
After we crossed a prairie dog village we then encountered our first bison of the day. We stopped, he stopped. We stared at each other for a long moment and then went our separate ways.
SUSAN: Wind Cave National Park is a rolling expanse of prairie grasslands, where bison, elk, and other wildlife roam. It is framed by forested hillsides. Beneath this prairie lies Wind Cave, one of the longest and most complex cave systems in the world. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to visit the cave itself—every tour was already booked.
Instead, we hiked the Lookout Point Trail, which turned into a 5-mile trek—longer than I’d expected, but I made it. The hike was beautiful and not overly strenuous, though I was alarmed when we encountered a herd of bison. They were literally on both sides of the trail. We walked slowly, and gradually most of the bison drifted off to our right. A few remained on the left, but they were farther away. I kept walking while Jim stopped to take photos.
JAMES: We continued to ascend. We came out into another wide meadow and this time there was a large herd of bison. The bison were spread out across the trail. As we approached, it was clear that someone was going to have to move so that we could pass.
When we got closer, the mother bison slowly moved their babies off to the side. A couple of big bison close to the trail sidled off to one side. One of the other bison started leaping and bucking and showing off. We passed with no problem. It was amazing to be so close. We continued on. Eventually we started descending into a pine forest. We went down and down and down until we bottomed out in a pretty glen with a stream running through it. We had turned the corner of our loop and were starting back to our car. We followed the creek for a couple of miles. Cool rock formations and places in the stream bed where the bison came to drink and wallow. By the time we got back to the car, we were beat, having walked almost five miles. It had been a great day!
We started our final stretch to Alliance. It wasn’t bad. Lots of wide open boring spaces. So many abandoned farmsteads. There has been a prolonged drought all over the west and in this area, it is particularly stark.
SUSAN: We checked into our Holiday Inn Express in Alliance, NE. There were not alot of choices for dinner but we landed on going to Ken and Dale's Restaurant.
JAMES: An okay dinner and then I dropped Susan off back at the hotel and headed out to Carhenge, a few miles from town. Carhenge sits all by itself in a large field. The sun was just about to set so I had some golden light to walk around and take pics. It was fun.
We plan on going there first thing in the morning too so that we get the great morning light and Susan can see it before we begin our drive to Ft. Collins. Our only stop tomorrow will be at Chimney Rock. I had first heard of Chimney Rock back when I had lived in Columbus, Nebraska way back in 1982. I had made a couple of trips to the Sandhills while I lived there and a couple of trips since but Chimney Rock and Carhenge were so far west, I had never made it there. Tomorrow I check that one off the list.