Scenes from Palmer Gulch

Although I admit that I chose it out of the tons of campgrounds available in the Rushmore area strictly based on it's name, the Palmer Gulch Resort/Mt. Rushmore KOA was a fabulous resort/campground. Upon checking in, we were given wristbands which were our "tickets" to resort activities such as the jumping pillow, miniature golf, water slide, multiple pools, etc. Although we were busy while we stayed there, we did find a few minutes here and there to take advantage of some of the activities.

The jumping pillow was a big hit with Matt. He jumped high, he did knee drops, he did seat drops, he bounced, he sat, he just flat out had a great time. Here he gets some good air.

You can tell by that smile what a great time he's having.

On our last morning, we made time for Matt to spend some time at the water slide. Since it was in the morning, the lines weren't bad and he got to make several runs down the slide. He enjoyed each and every one of them.
On his last run down the slide, he saw something floating in the water near the edge of the splash pool. Naturally, he had to fish it out.

It turned out to be a wee frog. It really was quite adorable. Since we had no idea of what kind of frog it was and since we had several days still in the RV ahead of us, he took it to the pond and set it free. Hopefully, it's still hoping around.

For a few more action shots on the jumping pillow and water slide, you can check out the album at http://picasaweb.google.com/debdistante/PalmerGulch.

Reptile Gardens

Our second stop to celebrate Matt's birthday on July 24th was the famous Reptile Gardens, also in Rapid City. Back in 1937, when Mt. Rushmore was being carved, Earl Brockelsby had a prime spot for watching. He set up a telescope and charged people to take a look. One day he found a rattlesnake and put it in a box and charged people to look at it, too. This was the start of what is today a highly renowned reptile facility. There are several snake specimans that they have the only ones of outside of the country where they are found, such as Australia. Naturally, this was right up Matt's alley!

We had no sooner arrived and were on our way to the Bird Show, past the gator enclosure, when Matt was given the opportunity to observe and feel a young alligator. We all got to touch it and Rob chatted with the handler on the various ways to tell alligators and crocodiles (they have both) apart. Once Matt finished with the young alligator, we continued on to the bird show. It was great and we got to see a falcon, a turkey vulture, a bald eagle, and an owl.

Following the bird show, we headed over to take in the snake show. This turned out to be a good move as the heavens opened up and it poured down rain. The handler, named Matthew, showed several kinds of snakes, including some highly venomous varieties. Afterwards, Rob got a chance to ask him about a snake he'd encountered on the road while running. He managed to take a picture of it with his iPhone and Matthew identified it as a smooth green snake. While that sounds like a description (and a very apt one at that as it was a *very* green snake), that's actually what it's called. Matt and Rob both posed for pictures in this giant boa photo spot.

There are three giant tortoises at the Reptile Gardens, all of which are over 100 years old. They are not "caged" and roam freely through their enclosure, which people are allowed to walk through. Matt had the opportunity to feel how leathery the neck is and get up close. The other two were occupied in amorous activities while we were there, which was quite an experience. The male is *very* loud in such pursuits. And in this particular instance, the female seemed to be trying to get away from him.

We definitely wanted to take in the gator show while we were there. Matthew, the handler from the snake show we went to, also did this show. It included, in part, how they wrestled the gators if necessary to get their mouths closed. This was amazing to see.

Matt also got the opportunity to handle a snake. This one was out for precisely that purpose. Following this, we went into the dome to check out the rest of the snakes and other reptiles on display. It really was amazing. Being me, I took lots more pictures, including the amorous tortoises, which you can find in the Reptile Gardens album here: http://picasaweb.google.com/debdistante/ReptileGardens.

Bear Country, USA

We spent Matt's birthday, July 24, looking at various wildlife and reptiles. Our first stop of the day was Bear Country, USA, a drive-thru wildlife park located in Rapid City, SD. This fabulous park has all manner of wildlife, allowed to roam free while you drive through. There are elk, reindeer, big horn sheep, Rocky Mountain goats, Dall sheep, cougars, wolves, black bears, to name some of those I can think of off of the top of my head. Then they have a "Babyland" area, with smaller wildlife, such as porcupines and otters, as well as bear cubs, lambs, etc.

Most of the reindeer were lying down, giving us a view of nothing but spectacular antlers. This one, however, had decided to go in for a drink.

There were a ton of black bears, just roaming free. In spite of the warning on our ticket about keeping your windows up all the time, I kept rolling mine down to take pictures. This distressed Matt to no end. I think he was convinced an animal was going to leap in through the open window and devour me. Luckily, this did not happen, although we had a bear come up from behind and walk right next to me while I was taking a picture in another direction. Oops!

In the Babyland area, they had more than a dozen bear cubs. While they were all cute, this extremely tiny one was just so freaking adorable I could hardly stand it. I swear, he made you want to just scoop him up and cuddle him.

We got to Babyland at lunchtime for the otters. After feeding them several fish, Matt convinced me that I needed to glove up and feed them as well. Which explains the rubber glove and the raw fish in my hand.


Matt was compelled to pose with the bear while Rob was compelled to imitate it's pose.

For lots more pictures, including elk, cougar, dancing cubs, noshing otters, etc., you can take a look at the album at http://picasaweb.google.com/debdistante/BearCountryUSA.

Wall Drug

A trip to South Dakota just isn't complete without a stop at the famous Wall Drug Store. We made a special trip, driving about an hour and a half, so that we could experience it for ourselves. I think Matt was most impressed with all of the things in the back yard, especially the life-sized t-rex. You can check out more pictures from Wall at http://picasaweb.google.com/debdistante/WallDrug.

Wall is famous for it's jackalopes, a cross between a jack rabbit and an antelope. We were thrilled to get the opportunity to mount up and ride one while we were there. Matt wasn't sure I could handle such an animal on my own so he graciously agreed to ride with me.


Rob even mounted up and went for a ride.

That pioneer doesn't look to worried, in spite of the look on that Indian's face. I might be a little more worried if I were him...

This is the only way I'll end up with a new papoose...

"Um, exactly what is that behind me???"

All in all, it was an interesting experience. I scored some nice jewelry, including some Christmas presents, but still struck out on my moccasins. It appears that there is a possibility that the company no longer makes the ones that I want any more. Which sucks.

Oops!

It has been brought to my attention (waves at Babs) that I have neglected to post here that we have, indeed, arrived home. Yes, I know I still have posts to make for several of our adventures. I've been hard at work on my sabbatical project since we returned home (the excitement of new books, you know!) and haven't taken the time to update. I shall try to remedy that!

We're home, Rob has gotten most of the bug carcasses off of the RV, I still have much cleaning to do, and need to have him figure out a way for me to get cable out here in the RV. While there are a surprising number of channels available without cable, my NBC connection out here sucks. Which makes it hard to work and watch the Olympics at the same time!

Scenes from the Tour

Because I am not in the mood to shift these pictures around, they are in no order whatsoever. They were all taken on our Mt. Rushmore area tour, however. And there are tons more up at Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/debdistante/MtRushmoreTour.


Big horn sheep, eating gravel at the side of the road. These are all females. Evidently they usually don't see the males until it's rutting season.

This is called Eye of the Needle. The road to get here takes you through very narrow tunnels. There *might* have been six inches on either side of the bus going through. We never would have made it in the RV. The skill of our bus driver in going through should be greatly admired. In fact, there were several people out on the other side of the tunnel, by the Eye, who watched us go through the tunnel. When we made it out the other side, they applauded and cheered.

While at Fort Hayes in the morning, waiting for our departure time, Matt was recruited to make a tin plate. He cut out the circle of tin, assisted in the shaping and embossing of it, and holds off the finished product here. Naturally, we had to buy the finished product...

Matt felt compelled to take a picture of me on the bus. Oy.

The tour bus made a rest stop at Sylvan Lake. When I came out of the bathroom, this sight awaited me. I thought they should both buy those coonskin caps because they looked so cute in them but I couldn't convince them.

We had stopped to observe buffalo and they decided to cross the road right in front of us. This buffalo and the tail end of the one you see at the right were both in pursuit of a female in heat who had just crossed the road ahead of them. The one on the right was literally galloping after her. I have to say, these guys were very impressive up close.

This old-time wooden coffin was on display outside one of the gift shops at Fort Hayes. Sadly, they had none for purchase inside. Rob and Matt both tried it on for size.

Matt had to check out the jail cell. Unfortunately, there was no key available for us to actually keep him locked in there. :) As I said before, this was a fabulous tour and worth every penny. If you're ever in the area, I'd encourage you to take it. We got to Fort Hayes around 7:30 am, had breakfast, left at 8:40 for our tour, returned to Fort Hayes around 5:30, enjoyed dinner and the show, and everything finally finished around 8:15 or so. The time between 8:40 and 5:30 was spent being driven about 100 miles total, all around, with a fabulous driver who kept us informed on everything we were seeing and provided tons of info about the area.

Current location

Since I'm now over a week behind in posting, due to really bad or no internet connections, here's a quick update on our current location.

We're in Monument Valley, UT at the moment and will be heading down to Sedona, AZ tomorrow. We spent the past 3 - 4 days in New Mexico, checking out Bandelier National Monument and Aztec Ruins National Monument. Plus, we took a day off yesterday to just chill.

After Sedona, we're heading to Williams, AZ to take the train to the Grand Canyon. We have reservations for the train on Wednesday and will spend Tuesday and Wednesday night in Williams. Then we'll be making our way home, probably by way of Vegas. Our final stop will be the Calico Ghost Town, about an hour and a half from home.

Views of Mount Rushmore

Since we stayed in the Mt. Rushmore area for almost a week, we got several glimpses of it going back and forth to different things, as well as making two visits to the memorial itself. The first was for the lighting ceremony in the evening and the next was as part of our 9-hour tour of the area.


Anytime we mentioned that we were going to Mt. Rushmore, we were told that we had to make sure we went at night to see the lighting ceremony. The campground we were staying at (Palmer Gulch Lodge and Mt. Rushmore KOA, guess why I picked it??) offered a shuttle service to the memorial for the lighting ceremony each night so we took the opportunity. They do a wonderfully moving program and then the lights gradually come up and light the faces. It was great.

The next day, Mt. Rushmore was the first of our tour stops on our 9-hour tour. This starts with an all you can eat "cowboy" breakfast, includes stops at Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, drives through Custer State Park and on the Iron Mountain Rd., and finishes up with a chuckwagon supper and musical show. We thought it was fabulous. And it gave us time to see Mt. Rushmore during the day. Rob and Matt pose here while we wait for our tour photo to be taken.


Matt's impression of Mount Rushmore? "It looks just like the pictures!"

My friend Lisa and I collect piggy banks from our travels. Wherever one of us goes, we find tacky ceramic piggy banks and send them to the other. There has been a decided dearth of pigs on this trip. I can't seem to find them almost anywhere. Here, Rob offers a suggestion for a possible replacement for the pigs. I'm sure the finger placement was strictly a matter of chance. Really.

For his birthday, Matt wanted to have his face added to Mt. Rushmore. He had to settle for this.

There's Gold in Them Thar Hills!!

For our first adventure in the Mt. Rushmore area, we headed to Keystone to investigate the Big Thunder Gold Mine and see if we could find our own gold there.

Matt shows off his hardhat as we prepare to enter the mine with Ross, our tour guide.

Here's a shot of Rob and Matt inside the mine. The entire mine was dug out by two German immigrants. They spent 35 years on it and pulled out about 8 - 10 ounces of gold all together. Gold was approximately $20 per ounce at the time, yielding them the princely sum of approximately $200 for all of their labor. Except that they only received half of that. They were financed by another mine, in exchange for half of the gold that they pulled out. So for 35 years of work, each of them made about $50.

After the tour, we decided to try our hands at panning for gold ourselves. We received a pan, complete with rocks and sand, which they guaranteed we'd find gold in. We also received a wee bottle in which to place our gold after we'd successfully separated it from the sand and gravel. You fill this wee bottle with water and then, once you have a gold flake or nugget, you pick it up with a dry finger and it drops like a rock into the water. Matt found lots of "gold", although some of it was the kind that is meant for fools. He also liked to pick up the mica that shone like gold as well.

After a successful afternoon's panning, Matt shows off his wee bottle of gold and enjoys an ice cream cone. Rob hit just about all the troughs in his panning and has the most pure bottle. I ended up with more gold than he did but I have at least one chunk in mine that I'm pretty sure is fools gold. But it was great fun and I'm sure that if I added it all up, my gold would be worth at least $1.

Wind Cave National Park

On our way to the Rushmore area, we took the scenic drive through Wind Cave National Park. We opted against doing one of the cave tours due to time constraints but we wanted to see if we could spot any of the wildlife that roams the park. The signs that said "Wildlife at large" just cracked us up.

This was our only glimpse of the buffalo that roam the park. They were *very* far away and looked more like black spots against the hillside than anything else.

The prairie dogs, on the other hand, were everywhere. And they were most adorable. Vehicle traffic didn't phase them at all but if you stepped outside the car, they went scampering.

We also saw several pronghorn antelope. This guy had some nice "prongs".

There were also lots of little ones, like this mama and her babies. My being out of the car to take pictures didn't bother them but it set off the prairie dogs like you wouldn't believe. They protested loudly and vociferously the entire time I was out. Then once I got back in, they quieted right down.

Evidently, Matt got a little creative with the camera when I was checking us in to our next campground. I'd turn the other way in a hurry if you encounter this psychotic driver...

More pictures are available at http://picasaweb.google.com/debdistante/WindCaveNationalPark

The Mammoth Site

We had a slight change of plans when we left Estes Park, since we couldn't find a place to stay in Cheyenne, WY due to Frontier Days going on. We therefore decided to just push straight on to South Dakota. We arrived on Saturday the 19th and spent the next 6 days in South Dakota so there will be lots of pictures and posts to come. We decided that since we were in Hot Springs and The Mammoth Site was in Hot Springs, we'd go ahead and do that on Sunday, July 20th before heading towards Mt. Rushmore. Originally, I'd had it on our itinerary on our way out of South Dakota.

This giant Columbian mammoth skeleton greeted us as we entered the Mammoth Site. This place is phenomenol. The site is currently being excavated and the dig is enclosed in the building. So far, 57 mammoth skeletons, both wooly and Columbian, have been excavated here. It's believed that a sinkhole formed when a cave collapsed. An artesian spring then filled itin with warm water and grass grew along the edges even in winter. Mammoths and other mammals would go in to the warm water to eat and drink and then couldn't get back out because the edges were too slick. Eventually, the artesian well was diverted to feed something else and the bones in the sinkhole became covered with silt and sediment. They are *not*, however, petrified and so are very fragile.

Matt demonstrates how strong he is by holding up a mammoth femur. Or so he'd like you to think. This is actually a light-weight cast. The actual femur is much, much heavier.

This skeleton is entirely intact except for the head. It was originally named "Marie Antoinette" but they had to rename it Murray after it was determiend to be male. From this angle you can see his leg and feet bones, ribs, and vertebrae.

Prehistoric man, which evidence shows hunted mammoth, used to construct houses out of mammoth bones and skin. Matt checked out the recreation at the site, made from using fossil casts.

Oh, oh! Looks like Matt pushed Rob too far and is about to get pay back! As you might expect, I took *lots* of pictures, which are up at http://picasaweb.google.com/debdistante/TheMammothSite. Enjoy!

Alberta Falls

The hike to Alberta Falls was great. Both uphill and down, it wound through a variety of terrain and provided some beautiful vistas.


As seen from the trail to Alberta Falls.

Matt likes to climb boulders. He also likes to have his picture taken. So we now have lots of pictures of Matt on boulders. :)

He climbed up from the trail to get closer to the top of the falls. Then he made me join him up there. Actually, it wasn't bad and the view was great. I just kept worrying that he was going to back up a few too many steps and fall into the falls.

Who knew that Rob was going to be tall enough to totally obliterate the falls in the background? But they're there, trust me.

A shot of the falls themselves. It was a nice spot to relax for a few minutes before heading back. There are many more pictures from our hiking adventures around Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, and Alberta Falls here: http://picasaweb.google.com/debdistante/AroundBearLakeRockyMountainNationalPark.