Mt. Rushmore

I try very hard to not rehash information that is readily available on other sites (like wikipedia).  If you don't know about Mt. Rushmore, you can find the basic information...  well, anywhere.

So, for your enjoyment, here are some photos I took on my recent trip to South Dakota.

There are a fistful of monuments and landmarks that you can see from a distance as you drive to them.  Getting there is very cool, but the moment when you first spot them a little ways off is so exciting.  Driving through the Keystone area and catching your first glimpse is shocking.

We, like many other tourists I'm sure, drove around for some time, seeing it from various other angles and locations.

If you are in the area, and you are on a serious time limit, you could actually drive past it and say that you saw it, but there is just something so exciting about walking next to it.  Plus, if you just drove by you would miss the Sculptor's Studio, the movie, etc.  We really enjoyed taking the hike to go right under the faces of Mt. Rushmore.  In Rapid City someone told us that we should be able to look up and see the nose hairs of the Presidents.

In the evening they do a very patriotic presentation, discussing Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln.  American values and the early history of the the country is covered.  A ranger does a talk, and then a film is shown (narrated by Avery Brooks!). 

The faces of Mt. Rushmore are lit up for this and it is very cool to see.

Nick Clifford, who spent a few years drilling on Mt. Rushmore was there selling and signing his book!  More on him later, but I love the fact that someone so directly involved with the legendary sculpture is there and is so accessible!

Back to the driving around the area.  There are many tunnels and pull off spots that offer great and unusual viewing angles.  The roads can be curvy, but the traffic wasn't too bad.

There are other interesting historic things to do in the area too, mostly relating to the presidents.  I took a photo from in front of a near by business with large busts of some other presidents in a more modern tribute.  Rapid City has their president statues.


Enjoy the photos!

Eagle Nest Observation Point- Colorado

"THE EAGLE NEST OBSERVATION POINT AND INCLINE RAILWAY AT SEVEN FALLS IN SOUTH CHEYENNE CANON, COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

By climbing or riding to this vantage point, the visitor obtains a magnificent view of the whole falls."

Carbondale, IL

Carhenge- Alliance, Nebraska

Kevin Steele's Lexington Ghost Walk

So, as far as I am concerned, Halloween Season has already started!

Let me take a moment to plug one of my all time favorite "Ghost Walks" in the area- Kevin Steele's "Ghost Walk and Creepy Crawl".

I have done this one myself pretty much each year since moving back to the Lexington area and I really enjoy it each time.  He really packs a lot in to his walk.

And it is an impressive walk!  You will get a nice workout and you will hear a lot of great, DARK tales about Lexington.  Kevin tells his stories on the exact spots where the strange events occurred.  I don't want to give anything away but one of the creepiest stories he tells involves a major film that was shot here in the 1970s.

Kevin's ghost walk is a lot more involved and researched than others.  He has the style of a good story teller.  He doesn't allow recording or photos on his walk (his ghost walk is more comparable to good theater than a pseudo science search for blurry pictures).

AND, Kevin has buddied up with some of the local haunts.  Some locals have allowed interesting paintings to be viewed on the tour, and a local fire station with a lot of history has been friendly about letting the tour walk through!

So, I called Kevin to make sure he was doing the walk again this October and he assured me he was, starting Friday the 5th at 7pm.

After that, he plans on doing it each Thursday, Friday and Saturday in October at 8pm.  There might be some other times available, you should call him first to make sure he is doing it on the night you want.  His number is (859) 825-8702.

Chimney Rock- Nebraska

We had very high expectations on our trip out west.  Our expectations were generally exceded on this trip- for example.......





Chimney Rock in Nebraska was one of those places. You expect it to be cool, but once you see it inperson, you realize that is flawless.

 

Check out the photo I took recently compared to the much older one from the visitor center with the wagon in front of it.  There is noticable deterioration.  It is a monument that you recognize, yet it is changing.  And, unlike some other well known monuments and formations, we can see some very clear change.

 

To me, Chimney Rock feels very alive.  It is still noticed by travellers- greeting them as they travel by car, just as it greeted travellers by wagons over a century and a half ago.

 

I picked up a very nice little book at the visitor center by Merrill J. Mattes about the rock, and its first mentions by travelers.  The book includes quotes from journals about observing the site.

 

We were a little concerned about the "Rattlesnakes are common in this area" sign.  We did not seen any here, but we were told that a few are spotted each year.  Inside, we saw a photo of one right up against the side of the center.

 

 Inside of the visitor cetner, a nice film about the trails passing Chimney Rock is shown.  They have a very nice museum about those earlier travelers, and their observations.

There are many relics and bits of information relating to the formation, and its role in travelers passing through.

The formation has really become a symbol for the state of Nebraska, showing up prominently on the state quarter.

 

 



Badlands National Park, SD

President Statues- Rapid City, South Dakota

I had read about the statues of our various presidents on the streets of Grand Rapids some time ago and thought that it sounded cool, but I dismissed it a bit. 

When we arrived in town, however, I saw just how cool they are.

I was actually very impressed with the likenesses.  These are all well done, nice statues.  They look right.  They look lively. 

We walked around looking at them for a while, and then we realized that the statues actually have their own visitor center!

The visitor center itself was great.  They have small models of many of the larger president statues.

The very friendly guy running the visitor center talked for a long time with us about the statues, presidents, Grand Rapids, etc.  He gave us some great tips on things t see in the area.

He also told us about a scavenger hunt that the visitor center promoted.  On the back of their visitor guide, there are 10 photos showing small parts of the statues of the presidents.  If you correctly identify each of the photos, you win a prize!

We had just arrived in Rapid City on this early afternoon.  Shops do seem to close a bit early in the area, and our only plans in town at that time were to walk around and explore the town.  We figured we might as well visit each statue and do the scavenger hunt as we explored the town!

I hope that the visitor center doesn't get mad at me for revealing a couple of secrets...  First off, if you do the scavenger hunt, one of the photos literally gives away the identity of the president pictured.  Still, you will want to visit that statue anyway, as the president pictured is one of the all time most popular.

You should be able to visit each of the statues and complete the scavenger hunt in a bit under an hour.

We completed the hunt and headed back to the visitor center.

We celebrated our accomplishment with our new friend at the center with our prizes.  Again, not to give too much away, but my prize was a grape soda in an Abe Lincoln labelled bottle.  My partner in crime picked ice cream as her prize.

As a side note, this was one of the best pops I have had in my life.


I am going to say that the president statues in Rapid City are among the "must sees" in this region.

Again, we really enjoyed Rapid City in general and there is so much to do in the area.  The statues on the street add to this town's character.

Sebree KY