Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore

Our first stop of the day took us to Camping World....the shower head broke this morning. Don't worry, we were able to get our showers. Following that we had breakfast at a Perkins Family Restaurant.

A beautiful drive in the Black Hills out to Mt. Rushmore.  We were here fifteen years ago and  drove into a small parking lot below the presidents. There was a small platform we walked up onto to gaze up at the faces carved into the mountain. Not a big deal at all and not many visitors at the time. There have been many changes since we were here in 2001. First we noticed Keystone is a thriving tourist area that we didn't remember, then as we arrived at Mt. Rushmore we were amazed. There is a multi-level parking garage in place of the parking lot. A beautiful walkway, the Avenue of Flags, is lined with flags of the 50 states along with a plaque engraved with the state name and order of  being admitted into the union and that date, leads to a the Grand View Terrace, where the presidents are in full view. A visitors center, restaurant and gift shop are there and a short walk takes you to the sculptor's studio.