On Saturday. Traci and I did a little more geocaching and then, at Traci’s suggestion, we all headed to Bear Country USA  – a drive through wild life preserve just outside of Rapid City. What a fun experience! Let me take you on our drive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the drive through part of the park, we went to the Baby Land section which is a walk through.

But I saved the very best for last. Bear Country had – not two, not four, but eight baby bears, and we watched, laughed, and thoroughly enjoyed these adorable toddlers.

What a great adventure!

“… let us place there, carved high , as close to heaven as we can, the words of our leaders, their faces, to show posterity what manner of men they were. Then breath a prayer that these records will endure until the wind and rain alone shall wear them away.”

Gutzon Borglum, 1930

On Saturday Tom and I checked off a big item on our USA bucket list – Mount Rushmore!!!!!

Over the years I have seen pictures of this amazing feat of engineering, but there is nothing that prepared me for seeing the actual phenomenon. I was overwhelmed by the sense of patriotism that enveloped me as I stood at the park entrance and absorbed the sight and the atmosphere of this place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the lookout platform, we went to the museum – fascinating!

(Click on the pictures for a close-up view then click the back arrow to return to the post.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the museum, we strolled around the grounds – beautiful!

 

And of course sampled the ice cream – delicious!

 

 

The weather was perfect, the company was perfect and it was a wonderful day.

 

Rapid City is a quaint, delightful town, and we thoroughly enjoyed our too shot stay here.

While in Rapid City we stayed in the old, elegant, and unique Hotel Alex Johnson – a warm, welcoming home away from home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also took advantage of the perfect weather to a little geocaching in a beautiful nearby park.

Surrounded by magnificent scenery!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The city was having issues with graffitiists defacing the buildings. The artists would “decorate” a building, the city would scrub it off which gave the artist a fresh canvas. To solve the dilemma, the city dedicated an alley just for graffiti art – brilliant!

 

Day 1 in Rapid City – lovely and relaxed.

 

April 29, 2015

Today Tom and I set out on a new and long overdue adventure – discovering the Great American Northwest!

But before I get started, let me give you a bit of background info. Our beautiful, multitalented daughter Traci, works for White Swan and sells scrubs for a living, Her territory is vast, covering 13 states in the Midwest and Northwest areas of the US. She invited us to travel along on the northwest loop of her territory. Tom and I have traveled extensively, but have sadly neglected this incredibly magnificent area of our own country, so we delightedly agreed.

Leaving Kansas City on the 29th, we headed toward Nebraska. We spent the next day crossing Nebraska, making sales calls and thoroughly enjoying Traci’s company as well as the beautiful scenery.

After completing business in Nebraska, we headed toward South Dakota. Along the way, Traci introduced us to her new hobby of Geocaching – great fun and a way to see wonderful areas that we would otherwise miss.

After a long day of driving, with a little geocaching along the way, we arrived in the charming city of Grand Rapids, South Dakota where we would spend the next few days.