Custer, SD - Mt Rushmore and Rapid City

On Wednesday we toured Mt. Rushmore. We were surprised by how many tour groups were there – all posing for group photos on the Grandview Terrace. Once, there were three groups posing at the same time. But the President’s Trail didn’t seem that crowded. We walked around which gave us some nice views of the monument. Plaques mentioned each of the different presidents at the prime viewing spot for that president. I think it’s a shame they never actually finished the monument the way Borglum had planned – with Washington’s jacket and Jefferson’s hand poised as if he was talking and Lincoln’s hand on his lapel. The scale model seemed to come to life with these additional features.
They say the granite is so strong here in the Black Hills that it will only erode 1 inch in every 10,000 years.
On our way to Mt. Rushmore, we saw these two mountain goats on the side of the road.

From Mt. Rushmore we headed up to Rapid City to check out the city and do some shopping. It looked like a neat little city and was very clean. We walked around Main Street and hit some of the stores on the highway coming in. Unfortunately we didn’t have more time to do some of the tourist attractions in the area. Maybe we’ll find time when we’re passing through again.