TR Day 5
I had 3 clients this morning, from 10am-1pm...or 8am-11am Mountain time. I woke up early to get some breakfast. The hard boiled eggs were vacuum sealed and OU
I tried to get out at 12, but I just fell asleep when I laid down for “just a few minutes”. The travel was really getting to me! A big part of this trip is personal adventure, which for me means exploring both the amazing natural world, and my own internal self. Sorry not sorry for getting all therapist-y on you. So I took a breath, and allowed myself to leave late. Thankfully, the front desk let as well
I left after two, and headed to Mount Rushmore, a scant 40 minutes away. I entered the Black Forest, and enjoyed the rolling hills and thick trees. Passing though Keystone, I noted a bunch of touristy things I wanted to come back and see, like chainsaw wood carvings and fresh taffy.
I tried to get in with my Annual Pass, but I was informed that “admission is free, but parking is ten dollars”. Cute. You have to pay for parking at a kiosk, kind of like at a mall.
It’s about a 5-10 minute walk to the monument, slightly uphill. You can see the faces upon approach, and it does look pretty cool. There’s also a nice spirit of patriotism in the air.
I had a great random conversation with a Texas police officer about America, New York history, Israel, and the current social unrest around police brutality and Black Lives Matter. He said that he’s a police training office and he teaches Krav-maga, has been to Israel...definitely an interesting fellow.
(Please note that I say all of this without political comment. I ask that you show similar restraint on this thread.)
From there I stopped in Keystone, and saw the sights…This would NOT fly in NYC! Again, posting without commentary, as a curious observer.
I got bored pretty quickly. Most of these tourist attractions are the same.
True story.
In general, I would say Mount Rushmore is a good stop on a larger trip, but don’t plan to spend much time here. There’s not much to do. Take a few pictures, stop at the gift shop, move on.
Next stop was Crazy Horse Memorial, which I don’t recommend unless you’re super interested in Native American history and trivia. This may have been related to my being more and more tired as the day went on, but I really didn’t enjoy this stop.
The next stop was going to be Devil’s Tower Monument, but I nixed it. Too tired and too much looking at weird rocks all day. (Come to think of it, I WAS pretty grumpy).
The sunset was really nice, though.
I pulled up my IHG map, found a Holiday Inn in Gillette, Wyoming, and headed there full speed ahead. Which is pretty fast.
No state representatives were seen.
Summary: Some gas I’m sure (don’t remember), Less than 4 hours on the road, 172 miles driving.