Wandering Around the Black Hills

Backing up a bit, on the way to Rapid City, I drove through Badlands National Park. The scenery was spectacular!

I even stopped for a few short walks.

And of course I had to stop at Wall Drug. Not sure why... Coming across South Dakota, there are hundreds of billboards for Wall Drug, so it must be good. Well, at least they had a parking lot big enough for RVs a block away.

I settled into a forest campground west of town, and went on several day trips. On my first stop, I started off on the trail around beautiful Sylvan Lake.

Awwwww, how cute!

Except for the fact that I had to watch where I stepped!

Unfortunately, the water was high and this part of the trail was under water, so I turned around.

And went on down the Needles Highway to the "Eye of the Needle."

You mean I have to go through there???

There are several of these tunnels, and 3 of them have views of Mount Rushmore.

From a distance, the heads look tiny, but still impressive.

The next day, I went into Mount Rushmore. But at the entrance, everyone was looking away from the monument and taking pictures. Why?

Four big military helicopters were getting a good view!

Inside the gate, you get a much better view of this amazing sculpture.

Afterwards, I walked around trying to get a view of the backside -

But I ended up buying a postcard instead...