Sam And Saundra's Year Long Adventure - Part 99

Sam and Saundra’s Year Long Adventure – Part 99

Mid-West

5/6/09-5/12/09 – Custer, South Dakota - Mount Rushmore Monument, Crazy Horse Monument, Evan’s Plunge

Crazy Horse Monument: We were disappointed that more work had not been completed on Crazy Horse. It is still very impressive, but his horse remains in the imagination stage.

Crazy Horse

Mount Rushmore Monument:  Mount Rushmore was stupendous.  We both have been here twice before: once as kids and once with our kids.  This time, there were no crowds.  We were not trying to keep up with parents or trying to keep up with kids – so we had a first time experience with this ‘honoring’ mountain.  We drove into the park, not remembering how far from the main highway it was located.  As we pull into the parking lot, we see the President s gazing over our heads and a strategically placed American flag gives the sighting a patriotic feel.  I was awestruck again over this majestic, massive, piece of art-sculptured out of a rock mountain. We walked through the passage of state flags and viewed a part of the past from the amphitheater area. We were able, for the first time, to walk unimpeded on all the trails, studying all the information provided.  The only thing that was closed was the original artist’s workshop. Birds, squirrels and mountain goats keep drawing my eyes away from the many different views of the men above.  The trail makes it possible to face each man’s statue pretty square on, resulting in the feeling that they are looking directly back at you.

Very Patriotic Big Men

Evan’s Plunge: We backtrack one day to spend some time at Hot Springs, South Dakota, just to re-experience the mineral pool called Evan’s Plunge.  When we took the kids – it was crowded.  This time, Sam and I had the very, very, very large indoor pool (including the water slide) almost to ourselves.  A very nice experience.  The pool has smooth pebbles covering the bottom and the water is naturally replaced, completely, several times a day.  The water stays at 87 degrees even in winter and they post the mineral content.  Sam and I spent most of the morning swimming and floating.  Sam took the plunge several times.  We used the extreme hot spa area and left prior to the scheduled tour bus arrival.  Very nice. They have an outdoor pool that opens a little later in the summer.

Indoor Pool At Evan's Plunge

The weather runs from very nice and sunny – to below freezing, with snow – and everything in between. 

This Is Awesome!