After a restful sleep, I woke early so I can get to the Jewel Cave National Monument before it got too crowded. I took a fascinating tour with a great tour guide. They have lots of tours to pick from...but many tours are offered only a few times a day. They sell out...so you have to get there on the earlier side.From Jewel Cave, I drove through Custer State Park. The park was fantastic with great views...much better than taking the main road to Mt. Rushmore! And if you are driving north, you'll go through a tunnel bridge and catch Mt. Rushmore from there. A pleasant surprise for me. The scenic route had a series of tunnels and bridges.
Then you exit the park, drive a few miles, and BAM...the presidents are looking at you. There is a nice pull off on both sides of the road where you can get a great shot of the faces. While Mount Rushmore National Monument is free, you do have to pay to park, which was I think $10, but they said my pass was valid through the end of the calendar year.
Of course as I get there, it starts to rain...so I walk the loop trail, take lots of pictures from lots of angles and then I leave. I didn't stay around after it started to rain really hard. But they do have fireworks at night, which would have been nice to see.
It was early, but I called it a night. Being on the road so long has been tough, so I took a few hours to do some research, catch up on emails, eat dinner at a reasonable hour, etc.
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