Easy day and night lighting at Mount Rushmore

We had some errands to run in town, had lunch, and then John took a two-hour nap. He felt much better after the nap which was a good thing. While he napped, I sat outside and read. After John got up, we chatted outside for a while and then I was off for a much needed haircut.

Rick, Y, John, and I left the campground around 5:30 to head up to Mount Rushmore for the night lighting ceremony. We walked the Presidential Trail, went to the Sculptors Building, and watched a movie on the building of the monument before the evening ceremony began.

The ceremony tonight was organized a bit different than when we visited a few weeks before with Melissa. Regardless, the evening leaves one feeling patriotic and in awe of the majestic sculpture that sits in front of you.

4th of July Weekend

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th. It was a working weekend for John and I. The campground was almost full; I think only a few tent sites were left.

After a quick bite to eat after getting off my Saturday night shift, Rick, Y, John and I headed out to watch Custer's fireworks. For a small town, they certainly had a good amount of fireworks. The fireworks show lasted close to a half-hour. We got a much better viewing than the 30,000 people at Mount Rushmore got the night before as we had no fog.

On Sunday's shift, John helped out in the cabin that is being built. All the sawdust really aggravated the allergy attack he is experiencing. My morning shift went by pretty quickly answering calls, selling ice and firewood, and checking a few campers in.

After dinner, we went up to Rick and Y's to play cards. They taught us a couple of new games that we enjoyed playing. Before we knew it, it was midnight. My how the time flies by when you are enjoying yourself.

John didn't get the best night's sleep between a running nose and feeling like he had a fur ball in his throat so he ended up sleeping on the Lazy Boy loveseat for a few hours where he could elevate his head. Hopefully, he gets feeling better soon.

Lots of sightseeing

We have been busy seeing the sights and being taught assorted games with Rick and Y. It is very nice having a couple that is our age to hang out with. John and I are getting our horizons expanded with learning new games. As I never played card games growing up, I am the slow learner (also a poor card shuffler). Thankfully, I am permitted a cheat sheet! Must say that the camaraderie and laughs makes the learning fun.

We headed out on Wednesday toward the Peter Norbeck Vistor Center. We were greeted with this beautifully constructed Bison. The Bison's head and beard was made out of Mica, a scene of Sylvan Lake was painted on one side and the Cathedral Spires was painted on the other. This Bison is not one of the ones being auctioned off at the end of September. The artist is selling this Bison herself . . . any takers? I've told John that if we had property, I would really want one of these painted Bison's in our yard. Thank goodness there is no way to transport one on the back of the fifth wheel.

We then headed out on the drive on Iron Mountain Road towards Keystone. As it was raining, it wasn't particularly a nice drive. Even the Wild Burro's weren't interested in hitting up the passing cars as they were seeking shelter under trees. When we arrived in Keystone, we went through the Presidential Wax Museum. We also decided to take the Thunder Gold Mine. Here is a shot of the four of us that our guide took. Don't we look fashionable with our yellow hardhats?

Here is a shot of some of the mining equipment.

On Thursday, we headed up towards Spearfish. We stopped at Sheridan Lake and took some photos of this pretty lake.

Here is a shot of Pactola Lake from up above. As the drought is over, this lake is now 100 percent to capacity. Last year when we were here, it was down to about 60 percent capacity. What a difference one year makes.

We stopped at the DC Booth Fish Hatchery. It is always fun to feed the fish. Here is a shot of some of the big fish (Rainbow and Brown Trout).

This is an example of one of the fish trains that was used to transport fish from place to place. It was reconstructed by volunteers who did a beautiful job replicating an original. This was the house of DC Booth and his family. We took a tour of the beautiful home. More like a mansion for its time and location.

Once done at the fish hatchery, we headed down the Spearfish Canyon Highway. Here is a shot of Bridal Veil Falls. We had to go past the other two falls as it was raining.

As we got closer to Pactola Lake, we could see that the area was hit by a good sized hail storm as it looked like it had snowed in places. Notice the eery layer of fog.

The weather didn't exactly cooperate with us. We got home, had dinner together, and another night of game playing. What a nice day.

Friday was another wet day. We just stuck close to home and got some chores done around here. We had Rick and Y over for dinner and some games. As Mount Rushmore was having their fireworks televised, we turned them on to watch them. What a disappointment as the fog rolled in around 8 p.m. and you couldn't see the monument nor the fireworks. All you could see was different clouds of color. I feel for all those people who spent all day there and couldn't see a thing. Glad we weren't one of them.