July12 - Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park, SD and Carhenge, NE

Back to Itinerary | Back to July 11 | Ahead to July 13

July 12 - South Dakota: Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park; Nebraska: Carhenge; On the road from NE into WY.

Mount Rushmore was one of my favorite highlights of the summer. I would recommend seeing Mount Rushmore as early in the day as you can lift yourself out of bed. The angle of the sun in the early morning hours is wonderful. I got up that morning long before dawn and got on the road as the light was just starting to come up over the horizon. I saw several deer and a wild turkey on the roads as I made the 20 minute drive from the motel to the Mount Rushmore site. I was really only one of about five or ten people I saw there (the night before when I had stopped there briefly the night before and besides the rain and the light coming from the wrong angle, there were also wall-to-wall people.) It was awesome!!

Based on the recommendation of the people I met who were looking at the goad (see below), I spent most of the morning driving through Custer State Park which happened to be an alternate route to get into Nebraska, which was my next goal for the day. This park is another one that I would highly recommend. The drive is beautiful, the wildlife wanders free ... it's just wonderful.

The last place I visited that day was Carhenge ... believe it or not. If you drive into Nebraska for about 2 hours from the South Dakota border, and about 20 minutes outside of the town of Alliance, you will see a field with a bunch of cars sticking out of the ground. They're all painted grey, and are arranged in a circle, supposedly with the same dimensions as Stonehenge (the one in England). It's a riot ... but I don't know that I'd say that it was worth the several hour drive out of my way in the scorching Nebraska-in-July heat.

Finally, at the very bottom of the page, you will see some interesting shots I got of a "cowboy"(is that what they call them?) driving a herd of horses near the Nebraska/Wyoming state line. That was a neat thing to catch sight of. :-)

The picture to the left is the entry way to the park area. If you look really close, you can see the very tip top of George's head just above (and a little to the left) of the "N" in "National".
The two pictures below show what you see as you come up the walkway toward the monument.

Below I chose only a few of my favorite pictures of the monument to share with you. I took a lot because it was one of my favorite stops of the summer! :-D The pictures I took were mostly taken while doing a hike that takes you closer to the monument than the main viewing area. The fourth of the four pictures below was taken through a crack in the rocks that I found where you could see the monuments.

While doing this hike to get a better view of the monuments, I came around a corner and saw a family of four looking over the hand railing at something. The teenaged daughter turned to me with a finger on her lips to shush me. Don't you know ... they were looking at a mountain goat that came very close. We stood there and watched the animal for quite a while before he meandered off. Cool!! :-)

The family with whom I watched the mountain goat recommended that I find Custer State Park and drive through it on my way out of South Dakota. They said that the wildlife roams the area without fences. Well, I think I was up a bit too early in the morning to see much roaming wildlife (although, the two pictures directly below show several donkeys that decided to get in the way of my nice, relaxing drive), but the drive through the park was certainly well worth it ... therefore, next you'll see some pictures from my drive through Custer State Park.

Finally, while driving through the park, I saw some bison within a fenced in area. I took ALL of these pictures through the fence, whether it looks like it or not. I'm no fool! :-)

The next several pictures were taken after I left Custer State Park. Go figure. It's after I've left the park that I see the wild bison. I must point out two things. First, in the picture below left, there is a bison in the far background, and about midway, there is a prarie dog sticking its head up out of its hole. Then, in the picture to the below right, there is a whole herd of bison ... who started growling something fierce as cars started pulling along side the road. Needless to say, I was the first onlooker to get right back in her car and drive off rather quickly. :-D

And, finally, the long-awaited pictures of CARHENGE in Alliance, Nebraska!! (And, since you've seen the pictures, you don't need to visit it yourself!) :-D

The sign reads "Carhenge & Car Art Reserve (sculptures) This attraction is preserved and enhanced by a local support group. Donations are appreciated. Carhenge replicates stonehenge as to dimensions and orientation. It was conceived by Jim Reinders who once lived on this farm. Constructed during a family reunion, it was dedicated on the summer solstice of 1987. As to 'why', the artist declines comment, saying, 'plane, loqui, deprehendi.'"

The last two shots, below, are of the cowboy (?) and the herd of horses. In the picture below left, you can barely see the cowboy on his horse, which had some white in it.

Back to Itinerary | Back to July 11 | Ahead to July 13

	The picture to the left is the entry way to the park area. If you look really close, you can see the very tip top of George's head just above (and a little to the left) of the "N" in "National". The two pictures below show what you see as you come up the walkway toward the monument.

Below I chose only a few of my favorite pictures of the monument to share with you. I took a lot because it was one of my favorite stops of the summer! :-D The pictures I took were mostly taken while doing a hike that takes you closer to the monument than the main viewing area. The fourth of the four pictures below was taken through a crack in the rocks that I found where you could see the monuments.


	While doing this hike to get a better view of the monuments, I came around a corner and saw a family of four looking over the hand railing at something. The teenaged daughter turned to me with a finger on her lips to shush me. Don't you know ... they were looking at a mountain goat that came very close. We stood there and watched the animal for quite a while before he meandered off. Cool!! :-)

The family with whom I watched the mountain goat recommended that I find Custer State Park and drive through it on my way out of South Dakota. They said that the wildlife roams the area without fences. Well, I think I was up a bit too early in the morning to see much roaming wildlife (although, the two pictures directly below show several donkeys that decided to get in the way of my nice, relaxing drive), but the drive through the park was certainly well worth it ... therefore, next you'll see some pictures from my drive through Custer State Park.

	Finally, while driving through the park, I saw some bison within a fenced in area. I took ALL of these pictures through the fence, whether it looks like it or not. I'm no fool! :-)


The next several pictures were taken after I left Custer State Park. Go figure. It's after I've left the park that I see the wild bison. I must point out two things. First, in the picture below left, there is a bison in the far background, and about midway, there is a prarie dog sticking its head up out of its hole. Then, in the picture to the below right, there is a whole herd of bison ... who started growling something fierce as cars started pulling along side the road. Needless to say, I was the first onlooker to get right back in her car and drive off rather quickly. :-D

And, finally, the long-awaited pictures of CARHENGE in Alliance, Nebraska!! (And, since you've seen the pictures, you don't need to visit it yourself!) :-D	The sign reads "Carhenge & Car Art Reserve (sculptures) This attraction is preserved and enhanced by a local support group. Donations are appreciated. Carhenge replicates stonehenge as to dimensions and orientation. It was conceived by Jim Reinders who once lived on this farm. Constructed during a family reunion, it was dedicated on the summer solstice of 1987. As to 'why', the artist declines comment, saying, 'plane, loqui, deprehendi.'"

	The last two shots, below, are of the cowboy (?) and the herd of horses. In the picture below left, you can barely see the cowboy on his horse, which had some white in it.