Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, Custer State Park (6/19 - 6/23)

On Thursday 6/19 we arrived at Beaver Lake Campground just outside of Custer SD. We were about 20 miles from Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Mountain. Custer State Park is also just East of Custer. We went to Mt. Rushmore on Friday and also did some shopping in Custer.

Mount Rushmore is the first National Monument in the US and it is a really nice memorial. We walked to the base of the mountain and toured the displays that explain how this amazing project was completed. We went back to the memorial on Saturday night for a lighting ceremony that they have each night. After a brief talk they show a twenty minute film that highlights the contributions of the Presidents that are carved into the mountain and the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, who spent a good part of his life completing the memorial. After the movie and the lighting of the mountain they brought all the veterans in the audience up onto the stage of the amphitheater for the retiring the flag ceremony. It was really nice.

Sunday we visited Crazy Horse Mountain. This is a private mountain carving that has been in process since the 6/3/48 and is probably only about 30% finished. When it is complete it will be the largest mountain carving in the world. Crazy Horse is a memorial to the Native Americans. It is amazing the amount of rock that has already been removed. This monument will not be finished in our lifetime. It is very impressive.

We were able to do two very nice hikes in Custer State Park and we also drove the wildlife loop and saw numerous antelope and a herd of about 200 buffalo. The buffalo have had there calves now and it is really neat to watch them.

We finally had some great weather except for the hail we had the day we were at Rushmore. This is a very pretty part of South Dakota and Custer State Park is not to be missed.

Today is Monday 6/23. Today we drove to Wall SD and visited Badlands National Park which is just south of here. We also spent a couple of hours wondering through the many shops of Wall Drug which is a big tourist trap in Wall SD.

Tomorrow we are on a boogie across SD to Mitchell. We heard that there is a place called the Corn Palace that is an interesting tourist attraction. If we have the time we will do the tour.

Most of our days now will be one day drives until we get home July 2. I guess we are both in the getting home mode but we still have a lot of miles to go.

Life is Great!! Enjoy!

Bill and Eileen

Little Big Horn

Indian Memorial!
Handicapped Indian!

Current Residents of the Battlefield!

Where Custer and his two Companies died. Custer's stone is with the black. His grave is now at West Point!

Mass Grave!
Indian Memorial!
Indian Memorial!

Last Stand Hill!
Memorial!

These are pictures from the battlefield. There is a memorial to the Indians on the hill where the mass grave of the fallen soldiers is. A year after the battle they relocated the remains of the fallen soldiers to the monument on the hill. The officers graves were relocated to various locations and General Custer's body was moved to West Point.

Great Falls - Hardin Montana (Little Big Horn)

The first day out of Jasper we drove to Fort Macleod, Alberta. the campground was really small and to get Wi-Fi , we took a back in site closer to the office. It was a grass sight and when I put the jacks down, they went into the ground about nine inches. They had had a lot of rain and the ground was really soft. In spite of our move and all the trouble we had getting leveled, we still didn't have Internet.

The next day we traveled across central Montana (a very pretty ride) to Hardin, Montana. Hardin is at the edge of the Crow Indian Reservation and about ten miles from The Little Big Horn National Monument. The night we arrived we had a bad storm that brought quarter size hail. If you have ever been in a motorhome during a hail storm, you know that the sounds are very scary. We put the spotlight on and watched the ice bounce off the roof into our parking spot. When it started to get windy, we decided to put the slides in and that is how we spent the night. A very restless and scary night.

Little Bighorn was interesting. We were able to learn what happened during the battle and the Ranger talk brought a better understanding of the history that led up to this confrontation. I left there with the feeling that we really screwed the Indians out of their way of life.

Last night we had storms all around us but escaped the fury of the weather. The lightening north and south of us last night was unbelievable.

Today we drove through a little of Eastern Montana and through part of Eastern Wyoming into South Dakota. We are in a campground about ten miles from Mount Rushmore. Guess what? It's raining!! On the way through Wyoming I counted 43 antelope along the highway. We have been in a lot of the western states the past two years and Wyoming seems to be the choice of the antelope.

Tomorrow Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument that is in the process of being built.

Life is Great!! Enjoy it!!

The Trip South on the Parkway Going Home!

On the day we left, the weather was marvelous. It was the best weather that we had the entire time we were in Jasper. It had rained the night before in Jasper and it had snowed in the valley. We didn't stop, but we did get some great pictures from the RV. It is always nice when you have to leave.

Enjoy!

The Valley of the Five Lakes!!

Beautiful Water!
The Bottom!

Turquoise!
Turquoise!
Resting Hiker!

Look at the Bottom!
Ditto!
Grooming American Dipper!!

The day before we left, we took a five mile hike in an area where there are five small lakes. The water in the lakes reflects the minerals that are suspended in the water; and because of the different depths and the crystal clear water, they were absolutely beautiful.

At one point we were on the trail about forty feet above one of the lakes looking down into the water. We were able to see the bottom as though there was no water at all. We saw a bird we think was an American Dipper. This bird dives to the bottom in search of food. From our vantage point on the trail, we were able to see the bird dive and we were able to follow it along the bottom of the lake. I hope the pictures captured the beauty of the water. This was a beautiful hike and a great experience. We met a couple from Yorkshire England on the trail and managed to have a very interesting political conversation regarding the Iraq War and the US elections. Our conclusions were that everyone should vote for the conservative candidate.

This was a cool hike, enjoy the pics.

Our Elk Pictures

Fawns! Probably Twins!
Fawns and Moms!
Nap time!
This is the Aggressive one! The picture was taken from the inside!

Resting!
Out the front window of the RV!
Out the front window of the RV!
Fawns at play!

Between Yellowstone NP, Teton NP, and Jasper NP we have seen many elk. It is calving time in Jasper and the park employees warned everyone that the cows get pretty aggressive this time of year. We did get some pictures of a few calves with their moms and a few that were just relaxing around the campground. There is a herd that apparently spends a good deal of time in the campground. I have some pictures out of my front window on the RV.

The day we were leaving I was outside taking care of the plumbing when I heard a noise behind me. I turned around and twenty feet away was this beautiful cow elk. I said hello in a nice quiet voice just before she charged me. I ducked behind this tiny tree that was near the RV as she continued to be very aggressive toward me. She would jump forward then retreat a little, each time getting a little closer. I waited for a minute until she decided to move away. When she was about forty feet away, I went back to the business of plumbing. When I looked up she was coming at me again. This time I decided that inside the RV was safer than behind a four inch tree.

There is one picture of this unfriendly elk. When I went back outside I saw a young couple walking by in the direction of the elk. I told them what had just happened and cautioned them not to get too close. About a minute later I looked across the campground and there they were behind two trees with the same elk in their face about three feet away. She eventually decided to wonder off but I think they both had to take care of their own plumbing problems after their encounter.

All of these pictures were taken in the campground but we did see deer and elk in other parts of the park.

Enjoy.

Athabasca Falls - The Backpacker

French Backpacker!

Read about the water colors!

Grows as part of the spruce trees!

The day after the Icefields, we took a couple of smaller hikes between the raindrops. We did see a black bear on one of the back roads; and talked to a young backpacker from France who was taking a summer break from the University in Montreal.

We visited Athabasca Falls that same day. The water is turquoise color and it is really cool what the eroding water has done to the rock along the river.

Wildlife on the Parkway

Bighorn Sheep!
Mountain Goat!
Mountain Goats!

Bighorn!
Here he comes!
Working the horns!
Bighorn!

On our way back from the Icefields, we were also lucky enough to view some of the wildlife that is prevalent in the Park. These animals have grown up with the tourists and are really not afraid in any way. The Bighorn Sheep walked within ten feet of the car just after I jumped back in from my camera shoot. They were grazing in my direction and I don't think they liked me getting close.

Most of the good pictures you see are courtesy of Eileen. The Mountain Goats are the only ones I have ever seen in the wild. Most of the animals are loosing their winter coats, and many of them are a little mangy. The elk were this way when we started seeing them last month but they are finished now.

Enjoy the Pic's.

Sunwapta Falls Hike

On the way back from the Columbia Icefields, we stopped at one of the many waterfalls that you can visit in the area. We hiked a couple of miles along the Athabasca River to view a number of waterfalls and rapids. Good exercise and beautiful views.