Friday morning came early for us, as we had made reservations with Ft. Hays Tours to go on their 9 hour tour of Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park and Crazy Horse. We arrived at 7:45 am and purchased our tickets. Breakfast was included in our tour package. I had pancakes and sausage along with orange juice. Russ had the biscuits and gravy with sausage and coffee. After breakfast we had a few minutes to wait for the bus so we toured the shops that Ft. Hays has set up. This is also the place where they have the set from "Dances with Wolves starring Kevin Costner.
We boarded the bus and left the parking lot at about 9 am heading for our first stop which would be Mt. Rushmore. We always enjoy going here and seeing the wonderful work that Gutzon Borglum did on the carving of the mountain with the four presidents.
We continued on Hwy 16A crossing pigtail bridges, going through tunnels that were just wide enough for the bus and doing switchbacks where you thought the people in the front of the bus were going to speak to the people in the back. It was a fun trip.
We then went into Custer State Park where we encountered the donkeys who await the bus for feeding. They know that there is always food for them and they also enjoy the petting. We then visited "The Game Lodge." This is where Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Dwight D. Eisenhower made their Summer White House during their term in office. We also had a delious buffet lunch.
http://picasaweb.google.com/pfradycate/CusterStatePark#5243036904995035154
Continuing on from Custer State Park we made our way to Sylvan Lake.
This is a beautiful and peaceful place as you can see from the pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/pfradycate/SylvanLake#5243041348214263330
It was then to Crazy Horse Mounment. Work has been going on here for 40 years and they are still not anywhere close to being finished. Here are pictures of what has been done and what is to be done.
http://picasaweb.google.com/pfradycate/CrazyHorse#5243043712952189058
It is now after 5 pm so we are headed back to Ft. Hays where we will have a "Chuckwagon Supper" and entertainment. A fun filled day.
Until the next time, Take Care.
No comments:
Post a Comment