Sweet women, Badlands and Mt. Rushmore

Monday we headed out a little late but just in time for lunch with Ruth Schoon.  She was very happy to hear from us and invited us to share lunch with her at the apartments where she lives.  We arrived a little after 11:00 and chatted until lunch time.  She tells great stories and I could listen to her voice a long time.  

 After lunch we talked a little longer and then got back on the road.  The goal was to go through the Badlands but we decided that we really wouldn't be able to enjoy them before it got too dark so we drove on to Wall, N.D. and spent the night there.

 In the morning we went for a walk and headed downtown for breakfast.  Bud was kind of looking for a new traveling companion but he didn't think she was really properly dressed for his type of traveling.

 I was looking for a new way to travel but decided that this might be too slow and I wouldn't be able to bring along very many things.

 So we left Wall and headed south through the Badlands.  It was a bit of a backtrack  but we managed to enjoy the whole scenery and then head north again through a grassland area so it was interesting.

 The geology of the Badlands is very interesting.  Around every corner we saw beautiful scenes.  It kind of reminded us of a small version of the Grand Canyon. We took our time and enjoyed the sights along the road. I now have a Senior Pass for all National Parks so we were even able to get in free.  If any of you want to take me along, I am good for a free entrance to any National Park.

 We drove on to Keystone, bypassing Rapid City thinking it would just be another city.  Mt. Rushmore was calling us.  We arrived in time for a very late lunch and then headed up to the monument.  It is a spectacular sight.  We walked around some and then decided that we had time for one more activity in our day.

 We took a drive through Iron Mountain and the 'Pigstail' bridges.  The road circled up the mountain with some bridges that twisted the road around while changing elevation.  It was a beautiful drive.  The colors are changing here.  The trees are mostly yellow, probably aspen and birch with the pine trees to set them off.  It was a very pretty drive.
After that drive we came back to Keystone for dinner.  Since we ate lunch so late we really weren't interested in much of a dinner and settled on ice cream.  You really know that you are on vacation when you get to eat ice cream for dinner.

By the time we finished 'dinner' it was getting dark.  Since we are staying in Keystone which is only 2 miles from Mt. Rushmore, we were able to drive back up and enjoy the view by night.  It is just as spectacular at night.

Tomorrow we will continue our exploring of scenic drives around this area.  We are really interested in the outdoor sights on this trip.  The weather has been terrific.  It has been cool in the morning and then warming up in the afternoon.  The towns and sights are not crowded and it is perfect time of year to see everything.  I like this traveling in 'off season' when we aren't fighting crowds and the heat.

I will keep you posted as we continue to travel.  I hope your days are full of beautiful sights and wonderful weather even if you are sticking close to home.