KOA – Rapid City, South Dakota, Mt Rushmore, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse

We stayed two days in Rapid City, SD.  On the way there we stopped and had lunch at Wall Drug (Now we know where the hell it is!).  It was really fun to walk through the town, visit all the shops and just take it all in.

After getting settled at the Rapid City KOA, we went to see Mount Rushmore for the nightly lighting ceremony.  We got there a couple of hours early and hiked around the base of the monument.  It wasn't very far, but there were a lot of changes in elevation and it was super hot.

Just before the lighting ceremony, we had a massive thunder storm and heavy rain that sent everyone running for cover.  We went back to the car and waited about 20 minutes for it to subside.  Then the ceremony went on as planned.  It was amazing to be there in person, after so many years of seeing it on TV and in various media.

The next day we went to Custer State Park.  We didn't have any real expectations, but were surprised to find out they had a massive heard of Bison, in the thousands, as well as deer, antelope and prairie dogs.   We took the Wildlife Loop and were fortunate to see so many animals in the wild.

We also visited the Crazy Horse Monument, which is still being built.  It may take 100 years before it's complete. It's enormous.  When it's finished, it will be over 500 feet tall and over 700 feet wide.

It was a fast, but wonderful, two days.