Trail to Rushmore

AUGUST 20-21

After a long night freaking out about going over Teton Pass with our rig, I awoke early to verify I had found a much better route that only added about 45 minutes to our drive.

Going south on 31 from Victor to the 26 took us through much lower grades (6% rather than the 10% Teton requires). Though the pass was not as steep, it was still beautiful.

We even found our first rain drops since leaving Watson Lake, BC mid-July!

We joined the Snake River as we winded back north just slightly, passing the amazing Palisades Dam.

It holds back the Palisades Reservoir which is quite large with boating activity and beautiful hillside homes overlooking it.

We passed through these amazing wind eroded rock formations as we passed through mostly flat farming lands.

We wandered through Lander and into Riverton for our night stop, which was greatly needed as it was a 5 hour car ride. Even the dog was ready for a break!

We enjoyed our first Thunder & Lightening storm this night, which brought much needed rain to a very dry area.

After a quick restocking of groceries the next morning, we headed on into South Dakota towards Mount Rushmore.

The Black Hills are exactly what I would imagine when I hear “Rocky Mountains”. With pillars shooting to the sky, and trees abounding, the eyes do not go hungry!

As we got closer to our destination, we noticed this face appearing on the red rock, then realized it was the beginnings of the Crazy Horse Monument. This monument has been being built since Rushmore was conceived, and is still not finished, though continued dedication and focus drives it forward. It would be so great to see this monument to Native Americans be finished in our lifetime.

We made it to the Mount Rushmore KOA Resort early enough to get in some swimming and bubble (trampoline type) bouncing before calling it a night.

~S