Day 09 - Bad Lands, Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore

Today we spend the whole day in the Black Hills area, first going on an optional trip to the Bad Lands.  Earlier others went to Bear Country and we begin by going to pick them up.  When we arrived, we see some elk.

We also saw several black bears in the drive through pen.

We stop at the first overlook in the Bad Lands National Park and view the topography of the area.

We take several pictures at the overlook.

We stop again and this time we get to hike through the grounds along the Door Trail.  The trail begins on a boardwalk, and then descends into the rugged terrain.

The landscape is indescribable.  As you walk along the trail through the undulating landscape that is ancient fossil beds, looking like the set of a science-fiction movie.

As we travel along the park, we see the erosion of the hills that gives the Bad Lands their names.

The terrain is very interesting here.  On one side of the road we have the rugged hills and on the other side of the road there is flat grasslands and in this case a pronghorn antelope.

We drive by a prairie dog city and stop to take some pictures.  Carmen says they are cute.

Someone spots a mountain goat, up on the hill, near the road and Ching slows the bus down.

Then we see another just below the coach on the other side of the road.

And another below the coach.

We see another and fortunately, we are at a pull-off and are able to pull the bus into so we get off to get a closer and better view of another mountain goat.

While watching one mountain goat, another came up the hill and started to feed just a little way from us.

Continuing we see more of the Bad Lands.

Along the road, the vistas are fantastic.

It is difficult to get a picture that truly portrays the landscape, especially from inside the window tinted coach.

After leaving the Bad Lands, we stop in Hall at Hall Drug.  We have seen road signs for miles and miles to stop at Hall Drug and so we do.  After having lunch, we browse the store and the Hall Drug attractions before heading back to the coach.

After returning to the hotel, we pick up those that did not go on the Bad Lands trip and head to the Crazy Horse memorial.

I am able to take a picture with the scaled statue depicting the finished product and the mountain under construction in the background.  This way you can see just how far along the project is.  Just a note, the project started in 1948, so in 2012, it has been under construction for 64 years.

While we were there some Indian children were demonstrating several dances, one of them by this young lady.

We left and then drove to Mt. Rushmore. 

For those of you who have not been to Mt. Rushmore, every State and Territory flag is on display along the walk way to the viewing platform and amphitheater.

Tomorrow we head to Denver.  Now it is time to put the doggies to bed, Bob and Carmen.