On Monday we took a short 90 mile drive from Badlands NP to Rapid City, SD where we planted ourselves in the Rushmore View RV Park. It was an interesting departure from the flat grasslands of the Badlands to the up and down of the Black Hills.
We took the scenic Rt. 44 south of the Badlands rather than US 90 for an easy drive with literally no traffic. 
What a change from the straight flat Rt 44 above to the up and down hairpins of the Black Hills.
After getting settled our first order of business was to find Mt. Rushmore.
The Mt. Rushmore monument was originally conceived as a tribute to western hero's such as Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley and others. Gutzon Borglum was hired as designer and sculptor but thought that the monument should be to great American leaders, thus, Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln.
The promenade has the flags of all 50 states displayed.
Viewing the monument from the promenade is spectacular.....
.....but viewing it from the walkway directly below the faces allows you to see incredible detail like Roosevelt's pince nez glasses and Lincoln's beard.
On Tuesday we headed out to Custer State Park via the Needles Highway. The NH is incredibly twisty with many 180 degree hairpins and radical elevation changes, Along the highway are the "Needles", granite fingers sticking straight up.
There are also numerous tunnels like this one that is 8'6" wide and 12' tall and had a forty foot bus going through it!
Some areas were so narrow I had to take the truck through verrrryyy slowly. (I don't know how the bus got down the road but it must have been exciting for the passengers)
On the other side of the park is another twisty, turny road, Iron Mountain Road. The road was laid out from horseback by the former SD governor Peter Norbeck. There are 3 tunnels on the road that have been oriented so that, when travelling north, you have a view of Mt. Rushmore from the entrance of each tunnel.
Also, on this road, were "Pigtail Bridges" so named because they handled elevation changes by turning 360 degrees with the exit passing under the entrance (downhill). They were engineering marvels whose spans were constructed of wood. Check it out.
That's all for now. We'll be on the road for a few days but are planning stops at Devil's Tower and Little Bighorn.
After getting settled our first order of business was to find Mt. Rushmore.
The Mt. Rushmore monument was originally conceived as a tribute to western hero's such as Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley and others. Gutzon Borglum was hired as designer and sculptor but thought that the monument should be to great American leaders, thus, Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln.
The promenade has the flags of all 50 states displayed.
Viewing the monument from the promenade is spectacular.....
.....but viewing it from the walkway directly below the faces allows you to see incredible detail like Roosevelt's pince nez glasses and Lincoln's beard.
On Tuesday we headed out to Custer State Park via the Needles Highway. The NH is incredibly twisty with many 180 degree hairpins and radical elevation changes, Along the highway are the "Needles", granite fingers sticking straight up.
On the other side of the park is another twisty, turny road, Iron Mountain Road. The road was laid out from horseback by the former SD governor Peter Norbeck. There are 3 tunnels on the road that have been oriented so that, when travelling north, you have a view of Mt. Rushmore from the entrance of each tunnel.
Also, on this road, were "Pigtail Bridges" so named because they handled elevation changes by turning 360 degrees with the exit passing under the entrance (downhill). They were engineering marvels whose spans were constructed of wood. Check it out.
Fascinating post! Love the close-up of Mt. Rushmore, the bus-swallowing tunnel, and especially the story of the pigtail bridges!
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