Above and Below the Black Hills.....

After dinner one evening, we went to Mount Rushmore to catch the Evening Lighting Ceremony. We took the scenic Iron Mountain Rd. to get there, which meanders through part of Custer State Park and along the countryside. We passed a lot of horse farms on our way and I just had to take a few pictures of the foals for you Jess! They were so adorable...playing and chasing birds! You would have loved it!

this little guy is chasing a bird!

Bad picture-but they both are romping after birds!

some of the other foals weren't as playful at the time

We continued on the Iron Mountain Road, which is known for the one vehicle tunnels. As you drive through these tunnels, you get a view of Mt. Rushmore. It is spectacular, but you need to be paying attention! The road is also famous for its pigtail bridges. This is NOT a road for RV's! Click here for more information.

start of Iron Mountain Rd

Ponderosa pine forest

one of the tunnels

the view from inside the tunnel 

We arrived a little early, so we had time to take the President's trail, which winds closer to the base of the monument. It is a pretty walk, with lots of steps (250). From this trail, you get different views of the monument, where not all of the presidents are visible. It is quite a work of art!!

Here we are at Mt. Rushmore

On the Presidential Trail, the view can vary

At this viewpoint, only Washington is visible

here, only Lincoln is visible

and here, only Jefferson

the amphitheater in front of Mt. Rushmore Memorial

lots of stairs on this trail

easy going down!

We also had the time to visit the sculptor's studio, the movie, the museum, the gift shop, and of course, an ice cream treat! For more information on Mount Rushmore and things to do, click here.

inside the sculptor's museum (the monument is visible out the top of the window

view from the sculptor's museum window

oh no,so many stairs going UP! 

time for some ice cream!

what a view...

marmot? near the patio

The Evening Lighting Ceremony was a very interesting ranger-led talk with a slide show, touching on the bios of those 4 presidents and why they were chosen to be sculpted, as well as information on the actual sculpting of Mount Rushmore. Besides history, the program was focused on patriotism and freedom and was quite inspirational.

Hoping the storm goes around us! See the dark clouds?

Fingers crossed that the weather holds out

The ranger talks to just about everyone in the audience-nice!

After the ceremony, those in the audience that served in the armed forces, either active duty or veteran, were invited down to the stage, introduced, and said which branch they served. How nice was that? Well deserved surprise for a lot of vets!

LOTS of servicemen and women in the audience!

Mt. Rushmore lit up

Another day we visited Wind Cave National Park. There are several ranger-led tours offered to explore the cave. For more information, click here. We had every intention of taking the Natural Cave tour, however when we got there we just missed a tour, so we opted for the Garden of Eden Cave tour. This tour was great....we saw boxwork (95% of boxwork in the world is in Wind Cave), flowstone, cave popcorn and frostwork, which are all mineral formations of calcite found in the cave. To learn more about boxwork, click here and cave popcorn, click here.

Wind Cave National Park

smetterling (that's German for butterfly!)

Inside the cave

Enjoying the tour

formations inside the cave

exploring

Boxwork

Cave Popcorn

close up of Cave Popcorn

Frostwork and some Cave Popcorn

Having fun exploring

Flowstone

winding through the cave

Boxwork

closeup of Boxwork-very fragile

Great cave tour!

The story of the discovery of the cave was also quite interesting. Two brothers heard a whistling sound, and when they explored the landscape, found a hole. The wind was blowing from the hole, and blew the hat off of one of the brothers. According to the story the ranger told us, when they came back to show someone else what they had found, one of the guys took off his hat to demonstrate the strength of the wind coming out of the hole. Well, his hat was sucked in instead. Scientists later discovered that the differences in atmospheric pressure inside the cave vs. outside caused the wind to either blow out, or blow in. When we started the tour, by taking an elevator down into the depths of the cave, the ranger could barely open the door due to this wind. It was amazing. The original hole to the cave that these brothers found can be seen on the grounds near the Visitor's center. The day we were there, the wind was blowing out. It was like standing by an air conditioning vent on full blast! (You know I love that!!)

ahhh, feels like air conditioning full blast!

Though most people only visit the caves, the park actually is above ground as well, and is every bit as beautiful as Custer State Park. There are wide open prairies and ponderosa pine forests as well. Lots of rolling hills and valleys too. The scenery is spectacular, and there was abundant wildlife visible when we were there.

Wind Cave National Park above ground

beautiful!

too funny!

Pronghorns running like crazy playing....on the other side of the fence, which is Custer State Park

Deer running through the prairie

such pretty vistas

isn't that stunning?

wildflowers blooming everywhere this time of year

Pretty as the picture!

the road meanders through this beautiful scenery

with wildlife everywhere

not a fan of snakes!!

Buffalo have the right of way

these boys are rough-housing!!

boys!! 

play nice!

what's over this hill?

another gorgeous view

that's the park...above and below ground!

Since we were right at the park boundary of Wind Cave National Park and Custer State Park, we decided to drive through the wildlife loop again. Being that it was nearly dusk, we were hoping to spot the "shy" elk known to be in Custer State Park, but we were only able to see a herd from a distance. The mule deer were plentiful at this time of day!

Custer State Park, right next door

prairie dogs here are darker! Mom and kid by the river

did you know that deer can grow an inch of velvet a day?

aaa....nooo.....we don't feed wild animals!

trying to get a picture of the bluebird!

its not easy...see it in the middle of the picture?

lots more buffalo and babies here

another big guy near the road

Almost every day since we've been in the Black Hills, there have been severe thunderstorm alerts, and they are broadcast on the radio for everyone's safety so you can quickly find cover. The lightening is amazing....we usually watch it from the inside of our new home. The alerts include half-dollar size hail, which can do quite a bit of damage. So far, we have only had small hail, and we hope this weather pattern ends soon. Before we do anything, we check Intellicast. We don't want to be out bike riding or hiking in a storm like that! As quickly as the weather turns severe, the sun comes out and the sky is blue!!

Lighting bolts everywhere...hard to photograph!!