Day 9 - Mt. Rushmore, Deadwood, Chief Crazy Horse

What a day! It was a chilly day, 54 degrees in Deadwood today, and 48 when we got back to the camper this evening. We left our around 8:30 this morning and got back to the camper close to 8:00 this evening.
First we rode the equivalent of The Dragon to Mt. Rushmore, curve after curve after curve! It was good to see Mt. Rushmore again. It is an awesome work of art and a wonderful tribute to four great Presidents. They have really improved that area with new gift shop, bookstore, ice cream parlor, and cafeteria (from our visit 26 years ago).
Then we went through Rapid City on our way to Deadwood. Phil loves Western movies, and really wanted to go there. We had so much fun. We rode Alkaline Ike’s tour bus around the town and up to Boot Hill. We learned so much and really enjoyed it. We took lots of photos (123 today). The town is just rich, rich, rich in history of the Old West. From the tunnels under the town that the Chinese dug for their opium dens, to the Old West look of the buildings in the town, to the graves of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane on Boot Hill, the town is chock-full of interesting people, places, and history. One interesting tidbit is that the country music duo Big and Rich bought a complex of buildings that used to separate gold from whatever and are making it a hotel, meeting center, and casino. (The town is full of casinos.) Big and Rich also filmed one of their music videos in Deadwood (have no idea which one).
From there, we went to Chief Crazy Horse site and Native American Museum. We went there 26 years ago, and there was just a vague shape and nothing else. Now there is the complete face of Chief Crazy Horse and a huge complex housing a Native American Museum that has tons of things from all the tribes in America. It was fascinating. We watched the introduction video and spent about an hour in the museum. We did not get to see the rest. It was raining pretty hard by then, so we headed back to the camper. We will go back (ticket good for another day within three days of the first visit) and maybe see the laser show at night. It is supposed to be pretty special.
When we approached our little campground, there were two buffaloes by the host camper’s site. Yes, I got photos. I could not post photos of yesterday when I tried this morning. We will try a spot closer to the lodge to see if we get better wifi tomorrow (if it is not raining too hard). If you see any photos, you will know it worked. LOL!
P.S. We were talking about the difference in photography from our last trip. We would NEVER have taken 24 photos in one day (much less 123!!!). Imagine the expense of buying the roll of film and then sending it off to Jack Rabbit for processing! We had to pinch our pennies, and photos were a luxury! And the TIME it took to get the photos back! Wow! What a difference! Viva la difference!