We finally left Cody headed to the Mt. Rushmore area.
Before arriving we stopped at Devils Tower which was proclaimed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 as the first National Monument. It was quite impressive.
We hiked around the monument, watched several rock climbers and checked out the prairie dogs near the entrance.
After passing Sturgis and Rapid City, SD, we found our campground outside of Hill City in the heart of the Black Hills. During the last leg of this trip we began having overheating problems with the RV as we climbed hills but made it and had no obvious problem right then.
The first excursion we took was up the Needles Highway which was very picturesque, curvy, mostly single lane with 3 very small (8' X 12') tunnels.
One of the most entertaining things we witnessed was the German couple in a rental RV who were determined to drive through the first (and smallest) of the tunnels. They did, and made it, scraping the top and sides along the way.
We expected them to get stuck but when they would hit, he just accelerated and barreled on through. By the way, there were 2 more of these tunnels on the road, with no alternate route. We passed them at a pullover area so we don't know the outcome.
Other things we saw while in this area were Crazy Horse Memorial Monument, Custer State Park, Sylvan Lake and mountain goats.
We made 2 trips to Mt. Rushmore, one in the day and another for the night lighting.
With a look of amazement on her face, Sophie exclaimed while looking between the rows of state flags to the monument,
"I never thought I would be here".
It was a very awe inspiring sight.
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