The Presidents in Stone...

It has been a bit since my last entry...

We left Minnesota and headed for the west.  What is west of Minnesota?  Why the Dakotas of course.  In the South Dakota is Mount Rushmore, which Heather and I have never seen before was our destination. 

We followed the route through field after field of huge sun flowers.  It was a great drive and very picturesque.  We arrived at our destination of Horse Thief Campground just at dusk.  The weather was cool, clear and just perfect to sit and "watch the trees grow."

Speaking of trees.  This area of South Dakota has the same issue we have had for the past several years in Arizona with the bark beetle.  I gets under the bark of the Pinion Pine, rings it and the tree dies in just a season.  It is standing with nothing but brown needles completely dead.  I am told it is from the lack of moisture, so not enough sap to fight off the beetle.  All the brown in these pictures is standing dead.  It was very sad to see the forest so devastated.

We were camped about 12 miles from Mt Rushmore Memorial and 9 miles from Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota.  It was a treat to see both.  The are magnificent stone carvings that have taken years to complete. I would highly recommend them both.

We took a great 60 mile all day ride around the area.  It was almost as much fun as the the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. It was twisty city and nothing but fun. Here is a map of the route.  It was all day for all the stops and all the places to see.  There were places where you could see your rear tire as you went around the corner.   You must avoid the buffalo too.



We have since left in route for home.  Can you believe it? We have some business to attend to in Phoenix so we headed for the dreaded 114, never ending heat advisory, thunder storm warnings, etc.  Pray for our short visit to the valley and our returning to the great adventure of Life XL...

Steve and Heather

Where we have visited so far...

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