Mt Rushmore

Recently, on a quest to go East from West, I crossed through a plains state that doesn't get as much credit as it probably should. of course, when ever anybody thinks of South Dakota, they likely think of giant faces carved in rock, which is what I thought, and it is a well known landmark out in the middle of, well, nowhere.


But I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is more to do in the Black Hills then just stare at the images of four men carved on the side of a mountain (which, by the way, are pretty amazing when you think about it). However, i do recommend going to the Black Hills in a month other then February. On the plus side, you are missing the crowds, but on the downside, well, most things are closed because of lack of business.

There are little villages nestled in the Black hills like Hill City and Keystone that are perfect quaint tourist traps. They are modeled after a little gold rush town in the late 1800s, and then there are the roads one can travel that take you through the rock formations of the black hills and one road I wanted to tour which looked like it was a giant knot, but alas, some roads are closed in the winter time due to the necessities to upkeep them. But the roads with the tunnels and views are worth the travel, if you like that sort of thing.

But if you are going on a scenic tour of the country, it would be worth the trip to travel through South Dakota to see the Black Hills and all of the things to see with it, including Crazy horse Memorial.

I think if I am able to go back through there in the future, I'm going to make a point to stop by Wind Cave and jewel Cave.