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<\/a>Trail in the Petrified Forest<\/p>\nWe plotted a course on the cell phone and twenty minutes later we were driving up a steep hill off a back road behind campers and cabins. There was a small admission charge which included a twenty minute video, the small museum, and a self-directed trail guide.<\/span><\/p>\n Numbers on the guide identified significant pieces of petrified logs along the trail. The forest had existed in this location millions of years ago and the petrified wood was discovered during the 1920s. From a distance, they resembled huge rocks because most\u00a0of the trees had been over one hundred feet tall.<\/p>\n My photographs really do not\u00a0do justice to the park and\u00a0we actually enjoyed the visit. The video was excellent and explained rock formations in this part of the world. Hiking on the trail through the cedar and pine forest also was great fun.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Our next stop was Sturgis, South Dakota,\u00a0Harley Davidson\u00a0motorcycle Mecca. Although Jeff kept saying I was the one who wanted to go to this famous town, I think he was curious too. Fortunately, we missed the annual rally which happened earlier in the month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What did we do in bike heaven? We walked around, did a little window shopping, admired the motorcycles that rumbled down Main Street, and bought a couple of T-shirts.<\/span><\/p>\n We pulled ourselves away from Sturgis and drove to Deadwood, South Dakota which was a short ride away. Named after dead trees found nearby, the city has a National Historic District which had sounded interesting. Deadwood gained\u00a0<\/span>notoriety as a wild and lawless place and attracted gamblers and prostitutes during the ‘Wild West’ of the late 1800s. The graves of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are in the local Mount Moriah\u00a0Cemetery.<\/span><\/p>\n Caught in a long line of traffic as we approached Deadwood, we waited patiently. As we approached the town, we saw that Main Street was closed for an antique car rally and street fair. Loud rock ‘n’ roll music poured out from an entertainment tent and parking was impossible. We decided not to stop and continue on a quiet scenic road toward Mt. Rushmore.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Keystone was the town located at the entrance to Mt. Rushmore National Monument. It had started to rain as we drove through. The town was full of tacky souvenir shops, fast food restaurants, cheap motels, fudge & ice-cream stands, and tourist families.<\/p>\n We continued up the hill and parked in a\u00a0new parking lot. I had read about recent improvements to the facility including a modern visitor’s center. We donned our rain gear and walked toward the statues.<\/p>\n The presidents looked a little sad in the rain. Washington seemed to have tears running down his face and his nose was running. We stopped in the gift shop to see tacky presidential novelties. We were especially drawn to the plastic bobble-head Jeffersons. No wonder they were sad.<\/p>\n By the time we left the shop, the sun was shining again so we took a few more photos. The light was better and the quartet looked much happier. Four hundred workers carved the faces onto the granite side of the mountain from 1927 -1939.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/a>Section of a Petrified Log<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/a>Scattered Logs<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/a>More Petrified Logs<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/a>View Across the Valley<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/a>Sign Across Main Street in Sturgis<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/a>Tacky Main Street<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/a>Store Sign<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/a>T-Shirt Store<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/a>Inside a T-Shirt Store<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/a>Photo of the Crowd During Rally Week<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/a>The Bank Saloon<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Sign in Deadwood, SD<\/p>\n<\/a>Pactola Dam & Reservoir<\/p>\n<\/a>Driving Into Keystone, SD<\/p>\n<\/a>Main Street, Keystone<\/p>\n<\/a>Mt. Rushmore<\/p>\n<\/a>Presidents in the Rain<\/p>\n<\/a>Borglum’s Dream<\/p>\n