Our trip to Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills

This October Brian and I traveled to the Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore. This had been on my list of places to see for a long time. We drove through three loops in the Black Hills . They all were spectacular scenery. The square view of Mt Rushmore is through a single car tunnel . The lake is Sylvan Lake. It was featured in the second National Treasure movie. We hiked all the way around it. The rock formation is called Needles. They are spectacular!

The Badlands

The Badlands are beautiful in a very different way. Very rugged. We hiked a one mile trail into them to a ladder that was to lead us to a unique view. No so.

Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, N.Dak.

We were able to squeeze one more site into our weekend. This is a working archaeological dig where they have found over 50 skeletal remains of wooly mammoths. They are still finding them. Volunteers and interns come every summer and dig. They leave the bones where they are when they unearth them as they are not fossilized and are fragile. This was a sinkhole that filled woth water from a spring and they believe when the animals came to drink they fell in and were unable to get out so drowned. It's an amazing place.