Destination 21: Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

We got a late start the next morning from just being on the go all the time. Rather than rushing out the door at 8 a.m. to get to our next destination, we took our precious time waking up late, watching TV and catching up on emails. Around 11, we finally dilly-dallied out and drove to Mount Rushmore.

On the way there, we spotted some bison near the road, which was really fun since I've never seen them out in the wild like that. After a few pictures, we continued on but kept our eyes peeled and paid very close attention to the drive. We didn't find anything after that but it made for a quicker second half of the drive!

[The bison!]

We arrived at Mount Rushmore in the afternoon and right away, we were amazed at how neat it was. It's so hard to imagine ordinary men working on those massive faces and perfecting it. You'd be amazed at what details they paid attention to: Lincoln's furrowed eyebrows and Theodore Roosevelt's mustache and even his glasses!

[A touristy picture isn't complete without jumping]

[Marveling...aaaand semi-posing]

The stop didn't take long...there wasn't much more we could do other than look at the mountain and read a few displays about the workers. But with the combination of the beautiful weather and the gorgeous view, it turned out to be a fun day!

[A peak of Mt. Rushmore through the brush]

[Ranger Robert]

It got better after we left too. On our drive out, we spotted some more animals--a huge herd of sheep and some moose--as well as wonderful cloud formations in the sky. As we drove deeper into nature's thick, curving around the windy roads, the day just got better and better. The entire family was just in awe of how gorgeous some parts of our country are. It is so completely different from southern California in the most perfect way: silence, fresh air, crisp weather, wild animals, fresh water, I could go on and on forever!

[The moose]

[A curious little guy]

[And the most gorgeous sky ever!]

But no worries, we ARE returning home soon. We will not be turning into nomads and we will happily rejoin the civilization that exists at home, which, by the way, can you believe is only a week away?! It seems like just yesterday, we were driving away from our humble abode for what seemed to be an infinite amount of time of chaos and uncertainty. And now, here we are 5 weeks later, mentally preparing ourselves to return home and all experiencing a degree of sadness that it's almost over.

Well, it's not over yet! So let's cross that bridge when we get to it ;)