We left home by 0900 and were on our way for a long day's drive to Omaha. With a stop for lunch, gas fill-ups, rest stops and a stop to check a unknown car sound, we arrived just before 7 pm at the home of Steve and Randi Horn, friends from our time at Yokota, Japan. So nice to see them again. After introducing our kids to them, we were off for dinner. We enjoyed a delicious authentic mexican dinner. The chips and salsa were so good, as was all the food they served, and there was a lot of it! No excuse for being hungry after that meal. Randi and Steve gave us a little tour nearby in Omaha where we walked around a nice park with sculptures. Mary's piics turned out especially nice. We walked around a shopping/dining area later where we had some yummy homemade ice cream! Back at the Horn's, we had time to enjoy converstaion, and seeing their beautiful home. We were all tired, so it didn't talk long for us to fall asleep. 
Tuesday morning Jeff and Steve duct taped our mud flap, which was the reason for the new car sound, and we packed up after breakfast and headed for the Badlands of South Dakota. It was a longer drive that I expected. Once we got there, the Badlands were just amazing! Even with the many pictures we took there, there is a certain feeling you can't capture with a camera. I found a some similarities with the Grand Canyon. For a bunch of stone, rock and bad dirt, it sure was beautiful! Mary would make me nervous several times with some of her artistic photo poses. I was also on the lookout for the rattlesnakes, and thank God that I didn't see one, at least not yet. We were lucky enough to get lodging right in the Badlands Park another great experience! Having the Badlands scenerey right out your backyard of the cabin. Watching the sun come up in the early morning hours was spectacular, sorry, I didn't take the time to get the camera. I watched through the window, instead of going outside. (You can guess why). Mary did however get some nice sunset pictures the night before as we drove throught the badlands to Wall, SD for a BBQ dinner and sightseeing at the famous Wall Drug..it is much more than a drugstore. Mary took some great pictures, which I hope to post on our family photo album later next week. Be sure to check back here often. My pictures will get posted as wifi is available during our trip. 
Wednesday morning Jeff went on a trail tour with a Ranger. He got some nice pictures and learned about the rock formations. Meanwhile, the rest of the group walked over to the information center, looked at the exhibits and of course visited the gift stores. Jeff met up with there and we watched the movie about the Badlands and its habitat. That was next on our agenda. We drove through the portion of the badlands where we saw cows, Prairie Dog Towns and Bison. I like calling them buffalo. The prairie dogs are so tiny and cute, and har d to see on our pictures. The buffalo where awesome! So many, and to watch them drop down and roll in the dirt was pretty cool. As we kept driving out of the badlands toward Mt Rushmore, we saw a thunderstorm develop which was picture worthy. Remember we are a weatherman's family, so that stuff is cool! It did rain on the way, but nothing too spectacular. I don't even remember hearing thunder. We drove through Custer State Park on the way to Mt R. and saw some more Buffalo. These guys weren't shy. They walked and some ran across the street in front of the cars, including ours, and the motorcycles. By the way, I failed to mention that we are vacationing the same time as thousands of bikers. That in itself is interesting. Lots of competition for parking! Anyway, the buffalo were pretty cool, and we didn't get to see any bighorn sheep or goats, as there are only ~20 in the whole park! Upon exiting Custer Park, we drove on Iron Mountain Road to get to Mt R. There were lots of hairpin turns, beautiful scenery, cool temps and narrow tunnels in the rock of the Black Hills. When you pass through the first tunnel, you can see Mt R framed in the trees! Awesome! Thirteen miles later of mountain driving we made it to our exciting destination~Mount Rushmore!
Mount Rushmore is simply wonderful. It fulfilled all my expectations. We had beautiful weather and although there were lots of people, we were able to do everything! First we had lunch, where Jeff had a Buffalo burger. He said it tasted better than the hamburger Mary. Mary said it was good too. Jeff's was thinner, but probably had no filler. Matt loved his cheeseburger and I had an all BEEF hot dog, even though they offered a buffalo dog. After lunch we walked through the walk of the states with their flags flying to the observation area. Wow! The monument in all its splendor. We took lots of pictures and hiked the presidential trail. It wasn't so bad going down the steps of the trail, but hiking back up was another story for me. I finally made it, taking a few rest stops and just taking one step at a time. Of course, we had to have some ice cream and do shopping. Found some nice things too. Can't wait to give Sarah her things! By now it was nearing six in the evening, and we wanted to stay for the lighting ceremony. So we took our goodies back to the car, got our jackets and headed back to the information center. We saw a movie about the sculpting of the monument. It still is mind boggling to think of how they used dynamite 98% of the time to sculpt each face into the stone. My dad was just 7 when they began construction and was 21 when they finished it in 1941. The sculptor didn't live to see it completed, his son completed his vision and it is something to see and appreciate. The night ceremony began with some presidential trivia which was fun, but as the ranger spoke, he lacked any inspiration, and seemed quite bitter with a chip on his shoulder. He asked us to consider what our time line will look like when we die. Wasn't expecting that. There was a film about the 4 presidents and finally the illumination of the faces in the rock. Pretty nice. The ceremony concluded with the singing of the national anthem with all active duty military and veterans on stage. Our day at Mount Rushmore was over, a dream of mine fulfilled. We stayed at a Comfort Suites Hotel which was very nice and where I spent several hours downloading and organizing photos. Take a look at our Family Photo album for many many pictures!
That is all.....Next stop...Bismarck, ND to see friends from the seminary, Marcell,MN to visit with the Welshingers at the new home, and then Michigan's Upper Peninsula for some more beautiful sightseeing.
Gracie.
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