Unfortunately, it is very hard to wake me up from a deep sleep; so when we awoke Jason told me all about how he listened to the barking of Prairie Dogs all night. I was upset that I didn’t hear the barking but I was glad that I had a good night sleep because we were up by 4:30. I wanted to get a few nice photos of the morning light on the Badlands.
It was nice to drive around and see what we had missed the night before. It was worth waking up early for; the lighting was fantastic. As we drove back towards the west side of the park, we had a lot of fun watching the bison, prairie dogs and antelope.
*The most photogenic animal in the park was a cute rabbit that I could have easily torn through two rolls of film on.
After spending a few hours in the North end of the park, we drove through the grasslands, then Northwest towards Rapid City.
Rapid City is a very artsy city North of Mt. Rushmore. I specifically choice to visit this small city to photograph an art alley and to visit a free dinosaur park. As Jason waited with the little guy, I ventured out to explore an alley way that local artists took over. Every wall of the city buildings that faced into the alley became a canvas. With every artwork being a bit different from the next, it is obvious to tell that there had been more than just a few artists that took advantage of the permission granted by the city. After my camera battery died on me, I made my way back to the car.
While driving back through Rapid City we ran some errands and then made our way towards the presidents. After an hour of driving we finally arrived at Mt. Rushmore.
The drive up the mountain was a climb for the little guy, but he was able to get a break the minute we saw the monument. Stopping on the side of the road, Jason and I were in awe. Neither of us could believe we were actually there. We then purchased a parking pass, which is good anytime up to a year, and then decided to drive through the Black Hills and come back through Custer Park to see the night show.
Driving through the Black Hills was a lot of fun. Every so often we would drive around in a pig tail, beep before entering through a one lane rock tunnel, drive through and look back to see Mt. Rushmore perfectly framed. It was a fun time filled with hiking and a lot of photo opportunities.
After driving through Custer Park and Needles Highway (which was a strenuous mountain drive) we arrived at Mt. Rushmore around 10 o’clock. Unfortunately, as we arrived a storm was rolling in. It was a majestic and spiritually calming. experience seeing the faces disappearing and reappearing through the dense fog.
After sitting and just taking in the beauty, Jason and I decided to head back to Rapid City, where we could sleep safely in our home at the Wal-mart parking lot.
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