Mount Rushmore and other Mount Rushmore National Memorial, SD Things to Do Tips

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln gaze over the countryside from the top of Mount Rushmore. The first sculpture, George Washington, was revealed on July 4, 1934. The Jefferson sculpture was unveiled in 1936, 1937 brought forth Lincoln, and finally in 1939 the Roosevelt sculpture was viewed by the public. Gutzon Borglum was the designer and main sculptor, but when he died in 1941 his son Lincoln was left to complete his masterpiece.

Washington, the Father of Our Country, was the general who led the war for independence and became our first president. Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, became our third president, and orchestrated the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of our nation. Lincoln saved the Union and abolished slavery for America. Roosevelt established the national park system and built the Panama Canal years after he fought in the Battle of San Juan Hill, Cuba.

The $8.00 parking fee is good for one year.

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Website: http://www.nps.gov/moru/

Rocky Mountain goats are not native to the area; they were presented as a gift from Canada in 1924. What better gift than a goat?

We saw this goat scrambling down the mountainside right along the road. He was high up on the hillside when we stopped, but he came down right next to the car. I think once he got started he couldn't stop...

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Website: http://www.blackhillsbadlands.com/go.asp?ID=343

Six feet tall and weighing as much as a ton, 1,600 buffalo roam Custer State Park and another 450 make their home in the Badlands. 60 million of these beasts used to roam the plains, but their number were cut to just about 800 by the late 1800s.

Bison are seen all over the park and show no fear of humans...probably why they were nearly eliminated. Use caution...they could charge, and that would ruin your day. I didn't want them denting my little truck, so I kept my distance.

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Also known as pronghorn, antelope can run as fast as 50 mph and blend in well with the terrain. Most of the antelope we saw during our visit where in the open plains along the interstate, but we did see one or two up close in the park. They are a little more shy than bison and will certainly keep their distance. If you stumble upon one up close, expect him to be gone in a flash!

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Custer State Park is comprised of 71,000 acres jsut south of the Black Hills. Custer SP is known for its 1,500 buffalo, hiking trails, fishing, scenic drives, and unsoiled wilderness. This is South Dakota's largest state park.

From May through October, entrance is $5 per person while it costs just $2.50 per person the rest of the year. Annual licenses are available for $23 per vehicle.

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Website: http://www.sdgfp.info/Parks/Regions/Custer/

The Black Hills cover an area 125 miles long and 65 miles wide, and extend from western South Dakota into eastern Wyoming. This area is called the Black Hills because the thick pine forest appears almost black from a distance. This area is a unique forest oasis on its own in the Great Plains.

The Black Hills area includes Rapid City, Ellsworth Air Force Base, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Custer State Park, Bear Butte State Park, Devils Tower National Monument, and the Crazy Horse Memorial.

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Website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills/

Most of the prairie dogs we saw were outside of the park along some of the secondary roads in the area. They live in large towns consisting of numerous families. Families are typically one male with up to four females (nice!), and each female can have up to four pups per year.

According to Wikipedia, "Its genus, Cynomys, derives from the Greek for 'mouse dog.'" It's funny the Greeks had a word for mouse dog since there probably aren't too many mouse dogs in Greece and only a few ancient Greeks ever visited the US.

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Located 7 miles east of Rapid City, SD, Ellsworth AFB is home of the 28th Bomb Wing and its 24 supersonic B-1B bombers. Though the base has been here since 1942, the latest Congressional Base Realignment and Closure Committee decided to close the base and consolidate all of the nation's B-1 bombers at Dyess AFB, TX. This decision will cost Ellsworth about 7,000 jobs over the next few years.

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Phone: (605) 385-5056
Website: http://www.ellsworth.af.mil/