This was supposed to be our second day on the Mickelson Trail, but after all the excitement yesterday, we decided one day on the trail was enough! We woke up at the Casino/Hotel, and first on the list was a big breakfast--we both missed dinner last night, and would have starved if not for the kind night clerk at the hotel who let us have toast and peanut butter from the breakfast supply! So we had breakfast at the Deadwood Gulch café then headed to Rapid City to pick up Bill's bike at the Search and Rescue barn.
Then we drove to Keystone to see Mt. Rushmore. It's a pretty incredible sight! We watched a short film about the making of the monument, walked around a while, then went back to Keystone for lunch.
Next we went to Custer State Park, one of the largest state parks in the United States. We drove on the Wildlife loop and Needles Highway. I'm not usually nervous when Bill drives, but I was white-knuckled on these narrow roads with switchbacks and steep drop-offs.
There were several tunnels within Custer Park and on Needles Highway. The truck fit through the tunnels with not much room to spare.
We drove past the Crazy Horse Memorial, under construction since 1948. In the photo below you can see the side profile of his face with his arm pointing straight out. This monument is being carved with no federal or state money--just individual donations, according to the sculptor's wishes.
On the way back to Angustura we saw more buffalo and prairie dogs, and a few deer.
We were very glad to get back to our little cabin on the Angustura Reservoir. We paid for three nights here, but did not make it back last night. We really like this quiet place.
This is the view from our porch.
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