July 11, 1985 North Platte, NE to Rapid City, SD
Next we drove up to Mt. Rushmore. Again, we were disappointed in the commercialism. We're glad we saw it but it would have been neater if they'd have done it with the class of Yellowstone. It was my idea to see the Needles. The drive started out beautiful but we got bummed when a guy on the side of the road made us pay $4.00. They get you coming and going! We got up on a really pretty road -- lots of lush undergrowth, lots of trees and hills. The two-lane road divided and we'd be on a narrow one-way drive. Unfortunately we were on one of those segments when the car in front of us decided to call it quits. Stuck on a narrow mountain road with nowhere to go! It turned into a 20 minute delay and then we were able to move on. Since we'd already paid our $4.00 dues, we decided to tour Center Lake. It was sorta/kinda pretty but like all of SD, there was a catch. To rinse off after swimming, you had to pay $0.25!

It took forever to get to the Needles but they were really neat. One tunnel, just large enough for one car, was particularly neat. Sylvan Lake was next but it was a joke. Isty-bitsy and not that beautiful. We got a tip for a faster route back that saved at least 2 hours on the road! At supper at Perkins and it was great! got back to Motel 6 to learn that there was a big fire in Dark Canyon near the Needles. Someone left a Coleman lantern too close to a gas can. Great...       [continue reading...]