We started the day by visiting crazy horse and Mount Rushmore. We didn't pay to see crazy horse up close so this is the best shot we got. They have a long way to go before it's finished.
Mount Rushmore is a cool place to visit and I was surprised that you could get close enough to see some great views. This was from the visitors center. We took a hike that was about 1.5 miles or so and that gave even better views of all the presidents.
This was along the path as you went closer to them.
Lincoln in close up view. They say that 90 percent of the work was done with drilling and then using dynamite to remove the rock. It is really impressive how detailed each face is.
Looking up Washington's nose!
I couldn't help but think about the movies North by Northwest and National Treasure as I was looking up. There actually is a granite vault in the mountain behind Lincolns head but it is not used.
My Dad down the path. The path went to the sculptors studio and showed one of the compressors used for the air drills and chisels.
They had all of the states flags flying with the state and the date it was admitted to the union etched into the granite. Here is Utah's flag with the monument in the back ground.
and the etching.
After Mount Rushmore we went on a ride through the state park. The road was awesome with cool curves, bridges and tunnels. It would be a blast on a motorcycle.
This is the road and at this point it's basically the width of a bike trail.
Here is the first of many tunnels. You need to honk when you enter because they are only 1 lane wide.
More tunnels. I love tunnels and try to get pictures whenever I get a chance to. I had my brother take these because I was driving.
I pulled over and hiked back to meet up with these bikers and look at the view. You can't tell here but in the clearing of the trees is Mount Rushmore. I talked with these guys. They were all from Regina, Canada and down for the weekend. I have spent some cold days fixing airplanes in Regina. They were a bunch of cool guys just going on a road trip for their long weekend. I guess in Canada they celebrate their Memorial day on this weekend instead of next weekend like we do.
We came across this cabin and couldn't pass up the photo opportunity. It was for sale with 34 acres and a lodge back in the woods. I didn't see how much they wanted for it though. Most likely it was out of my price range.
We then headed to rapid city. Rapid City is actually pretty close to Mount Rushmore. I think I will fly my family to Rapid City for a weekend and let them see all the cool stuff here.
The goal for the rest of the day was to keep heading East. We had to stop and see some sights along the way though. The first one was in Wall, South Dakota. There were signs for miles advertising for Wall drugstore. If you ever pass this way it's worth stopping to see. It is the largest drug store in the world. Here I tried out my panoramic camera on my i phone for the first time. This is wall drugstore and it is a whole block long. It looks like I took a picture of a bunch of store fronts but it's 1 long store with lots of other stores inside it. It was interesting to say the least.
Here is the inside of the store. It's a lot of western stuff. I bought a book of stamps so I could send some postcards home.
This wagon was inside the store. It's a scaled down version of a real wagon. All the rods on the walls are branding irons.
On the road again. We passed by the badlands. The clouds were like this all day and the weather was beautiful.
The next stop along the way was Pioneer Auto in Murdo, South Dakota. I have checked out a bunch of car museums and auto displays but I have never seen a place like this one. It was the most unique place for cars that I have ever been to.
This is how it looks on the outside. It doesn't look like much from here but then you go in!
The first building had this cool car made from wood on a Cadillac frame. It was different but cool.
This is looking into the 2nd building. You had to literally look on the floor, walls and ceiling to see all the stuff that was in the buildings. I mean stuff was everywhere. It was a horders and pickers dream come true.
So my cameras battery died halfway through this museum and if you look at this map you can tell why. This place went on and on and EVERY building was full of rare cool cars. I need to point out that none of these buildings were very weather proof and possibly were not structurally sound. Ha Ha, I mean it, some of the cars had cat prints on them along with bird poop and lots of dust. It was like you walked into the barn finds of all barn finds. It blew my mind and left me a little bit confused also. The amount of money in these buildings is mind blowing. All the buildings on this map were full of cars and almost all of them were rare.
Here is a Diamond T pickup. I like these trucks because they came from the factory looking like the top was chopped. I love it!
I took a picture of this Harley Davidson because I could of bought one many years ago just like this one for 50 bucks and I didn't do it. This is a reminder to kick myself for not buying it.
This will show you some of the weirdness here in this place. That is a CORD stuck way in the back of this barn and yes, that is a Rolls Royce next to it. The red ford in front of them pales in comparison of what the other 2 are worth yet here they all sit. They are all on blocks of wood holding them up. It just cracked me up.
This was the last picture I got in the museum before my battery died. This car was featured in Hot Rod magazine a long time ago. Yes it has a hemi in it and 8 wheels. Very interesting!
We spent a long time looking in all the barns and then we hit the road. I remember a globe trekker talking about a corn palace in Mitchell, South Dakota so of course we had to stop and check it out. That's what happens when I am driving. I like the weird stuff that's along the roads. The outside of this building is decorated with all corn and it changes all the time. I got out my panoramic camera again so I could get all of the corn palace in the picture. It was cool and I laughed because this town had signs all over about the corn palace. They even had corn cobs on their street lamps.
I had to flip a u turn to take a picture of the side of the building. It was all corn also.
We ended the day in Sioux Falls, SD. It was a full day of sight seeing and I never knew South Dakota had so much to offer. I drove on roads I have never been on and seen sights I never thought I would see. It was a good day! Tomorrow we hit Minnesota. I hear they have the largest mall in america there but that's 1 thing that's not real high in my list to see!
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