OurNextStop: Mt Rushmore

We enjoyed a day at Mt Rushmore and the Black Hills. We started out at Mt Rushmore and enjoyed

a few hours there and then returned to a small tourist town back down the road for lunch. There was a gunfight in the street while we were there. Some gunslinger with a grudge against a local guy with a long bull whip that drove the wagons that brought supplies to the gold miners! We managed to get some good ice

cream and out of town before they stopped the traffic was stopped by the coroner news wagons!! .

We took the scenic highway from there to Sylvan Lake about 10 miles SW of Mt Rushmore. It was a narrow (BJ says too narrow) winding mountain highway with some beautiful overlooks that took your breath away (in BJ's case literally)! The Grey Ghost maneuvered around them smoothly and effortlessly, especially since he was traveling naked, i.e. no kayaks on top.

We got some great pics that will do a better job of showing the majesty of the Black Hills better then my mere words. So enjoy the pics that follow.

One of the many stone peaks in the Black Hills

Harney Peak

Another beautiful rock peak

A one lane tunnel on Needles highway thru Black Hills

The Black Hills were formed 60 million years ago when some primal rock was thrust up to the surface and what we have today is the weathered results.

A lot more beautiful in person - try it!

And another!

We also hiked up the trail to Harney Peak later but did not make it all the way as it was a 6 mile round trip and it was getting late in the day.

At Sylvan Lake there were several trailheads and we had planned on hiking up to Harney Peak but it was getting late and so we decided to just go up part way. We made it up about half-way and it was well worth the time. The main route was through a Ponderosa Pine forest. Ponderosa Pine is the dominate tree and what gives the Black Hills there name because the younger trees have a very dark bark and in the distance it gives a dark color to the hills. However, due to recent drought the Pine Bark Beetle, another native of the area, had made some serious inroads into the forests and we saw numerous patches of dead trees. They are trying to control them by cutting infested trees and removing them. Our route was through a shallow valley where the pines had been cut and then removed by helicopter because it was so inaccessible. They were creating an environment in this valley to encourage the aspen, another native species to grow thereby increasing the diversity of the forests and make the Pine Bark Beetle less of a threat! Time will tell about the success of this effort.