Sunday, August 7th

We woke up to our first full day in South Dakota to a beautiful day!  Wonderful cool weather and the sun was shining.  Curt cooked breakfast for us and we were on the road by 8:00am.  Their friends, Bubba and Rita from New Mexico, stayed at the same campgrounds and we all hung out together the whole time we were there.  Today on the agenda is Mt. Rushmore which is one place we really wanted to see.  It is magnificent and I'm so glad we finally got there!

Sunrise over the Fish and Fry Campground



Our little house and yard...

What a beautiful setting we got to stay in!



We couldn't see Crazy Horse for all the fog that had settled in on top of the mountain.  The sign will have to do for today.



Bubba and Rita behind us in their Slingshot.

Curt and Lisa in front, blazing the trail!

This morning we rode Custer State Park, the Wildlife Loop, Needles Hwy., Iron Mountain and on to Mt. Rushmore.  There were so many tunnels and switchbacks it made for a really fun ride!

 

The higher up we went, the thicker the fog.



One of the many tunnels

 



So many really cool rock formations.



I can't tell you how many of these signs we saw!

The fog started to burn off and allowed for some fabulous views! 



The Wildlife Loop



Encountering our first wildlife!

Now I know where the phrase "Stubborn as a mule" comes from.  They were quite the road hogs!

Here are some mules enjoying the shade...

The first buffalo we saw!

Rest stop...



More tunnels

 

Headed to Mt. Rushmore now.

 

 

Went through this tunnel...

...and popped out to see Mt. Rushmore!

 

Kenneth really liked these bridges.  There were a lot of them through the parks.

 

 

He made it!!  Marked off the bucket list...:)

Kenneth with the Louisiana flag.

Elaine with the Pennsylvania flag



I find it amazing that someone envisioned this and then was able to chisel it out to look this great!



This is the entrance that says Mount Rushmore National Park but you can't really see it. You can kind of see the tunnel of flags up the middle, too. 

After Mt. Rushmore, it was on to Keystone for lunch at Grizzly Creek!

 

 

 

 

I couldn't decide which local brew I wanted so I got a flight of them.  They were all very good so I'm glad I did this!

After lunch, we headed to Rapid City Harley Davidson to check out the vendors and see about getting some lights on the bike.  Kenneth wasn't happy with the few lights we had but there was someone who knew how to fix us up! 

About to get to work!

Curt and Lisa patiently waiting for us...fortunately there was a bar in the middle of the parking lot!

All done! We are certainly visible now...:)



Every evening after riding, we would head back to the campground, get cleaned up, eat leftovers if we didn't stop and eat somewhere along the way, start a campfire, watch the Rangers play or watch the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, drink, laugh and visit.  Storms usually blew in but it didn't matter.  We had our awning rolled out and were able to enjoy ourselves.