Girls gone wild!

Mt. Rushmore at night

The lighting of the Mt. Rushmore monument last night was a very special moment for everyone present.  The ceremony was especially well done with an illumination of the presidents while the audience sang along with the Star Spangled Banner.  Following that, all of the military veterans and active military members of the gathering were invited to the stage for the flag lowering ceremony.

Dog Casa threading
the needle.

Eye of the needle

Today we travelled into Custer State Park, which is sliced out of the Black Hills National Forest, and drove through some of the most beautiful countryside we've seen this trip.  Of course, many places are named after the infamous general, but it seems that he took his troops through most of these areas on their way to map out the territories for acquisition of land for the U.S. and fight the Indians for that land.  The park has huge rocky outcroppings (from which Mt. Rushmore was carved), ponderosa pines (many of which have been decimated by the pine beetle), and an abundance of wildlife.  The Needles Highway is named for the needle-like granite formations that seem to pierce the horizon.

Wild burro

Pronghorn

The 18 mile Wildlife Loop Road took us through open grasslands and an abundance of native and non-native wildlife.  We were able to get close to most of the critters to take pictures - it felt a little like Yellowstone, but without the crowds of 2-legged critters.

Bison herd

Mountain goat

Kathy at a local geocache

We managed to squeeze in a couple of geocaches on our way home before the skies opened up and poured.  Gotta love these midwest thunderstorms, especially when you're inside watching the first NFL game of the year!!!