Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park

We went south driving through the Black Hills National Forest to drive to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. What a rush; every kind of rock formation, hills and windy roads you can imagine. We stopped at Keystone, an old mining and gold rush town, where you can take your your picture with a stuffed buffalo. It's very quaint and we saw the Borglum Historical Center, for the man who carved the mountain. The carving photos were amazing. Seeing this massive granite sculpture memorializing the 4 American Presidents; Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, was truly awe inspiring. Next we followed the Iron Mountain Road which had been laid out by Peter Norbeck, a Conservationalist and S.D. Governor, on horseback and foot. This is not for the faint hearted. You go over 3 pigtail bridges, like corkscrews and through 4 narrow tunnels, carved from the rock, the last framing the 4 Presidents heads way across the valley. By now, we were in Custer State Park, 71,000 acres, and this took us to the Park Game Lodge, where we had a lunch buffet, the feature being a great Buffalo Stew, just delicious. Presidents Coleridge and Eisenhower have used this as the Summer White House during their terms. It is a beautiful building made of local stone and wood. Here's Ron in front of the fireplace with a 1920's buffalo nickel covered Buffalo sculpture on the coffee table. We continued onto the Wildlife Loop where we were delighted to watch the wild buffalo herds move beside us. The grass and wildflowers were so lush, you could hardly see the calf. We also saw pronghorns and finished up with donkeys wandering on the road further on.