We had a later start this morning but made up for it with a full day of sight seeing. We visited Mt. Rushmore early in the day and followed it up with their light up ceremony in the evening. We really enjoyed walking the presidential trail and seeing the monument from various angles. It is truly a marvel. The evening event was exceptionally patriotic and over all we appreciated the overview of American history. There were a few statements made that smacked a bit of propaganda, however I was pleased to see our older kids pick up on it on their own. In its context it is interesting to see the American viewpoint. We appreciated the flag ceremony and presentation of active and veteran servicemen and women at the end of the day.
Midday, we went to Besr Country USA which is a drive thru animal park. I saw more bears than I have seen prior combined. Dozens. Even a full sized adult grizzly, although thankfully it was in it’s own enclosure. We saw dozens of black bears, as well as enormous elk, wolves, bison and many other animals. A very cool experience!
A surprising side trip led us to Dinosaur Park in Rapid City. We followed some signs that led to a n almost 360 degree view of the city. The surprise? The life size yet cheezy dinosaur statues at the top of the hill. The rest of the crew laid low in the a/c in the van. Garnet had a photo shoot on the dinos, and Steve and I burned off some steam climbing the stairs and walking around up top. We followed this with a trip to Boston’s, the US version of BP. It seems to be a family favourite when we travel.
The gift shop at the Bear place was interesting too. Watching Samuel choose a stuffy is a highlight for me even though it is always a lengthy process. He has to stroke them all for ultimate softness, give them the hug test and finally tuck them under his arm to see if he can carry them easily. I honestly love watching it all unfold. Finding a toy for Isaiah is all about buttons he can control himself (success with a glowing, swirling thingamabob). Grace zeroes in on the animals. This time it was a small animal figurine. She loves to display her treasures. At the light up Samuel found a junior park ranger vest with roughly a million pockets. We were sold. So much better than a back pack for him to carry his treasures.
Tomorrow is another driving day. Mt. Rushmore was full of surprises. A fun stop over on our way to the east coast.
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