Oh my gosh. What to say about today. I am speechless. When I got up this morning, the first thing I did was look out the window. Back in 1966, the last time I visited Mt. Rushmore, I never got to see it because it was shrouded in a thick fog. What a disappointment. So, this was my second chance and I was nervous about the weather, especially considering how the skies had been acting since we have been up here. When I looked outside my heart sank. It was overcast with a low ceiling and it was raining. And I thought, darn, not again. Not again!!!!!

We left the hotel at 8 AM, 64 degrees and headed for the mountain, hoping for a miracle. It continued to rain even though the sky seemed to be clearing ahead of us. When we arrived, it was still raining lightly, but the clouds had retreated. And we were thrilled to see that the mountain was fully visible, though, as you will see in the photos, it was still wet from the rain. We walked through the path of state flags and there it was, standing proud, with the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. Such an inspirational sight. It took an army of men 14 years to complete the sculpture. 90% of the stone was removed with small blasts of TNT and the rest was chiseled by hand by men hanging in seats suspended from the top of the mountain. The likenesses of the faces is incredible.

After spending time in the visitor's center and seeing a film, we left for Mitchell, SD, our next stop for the night. After looking at a map, we decided to take the scenic route, since we had plenty of time. The map indicated that the Bad Lands National Park was on the way, so we thought we might stop in, if time permitted. We drove through rolling pastures with thick green grass and stands of trees. The sky was filled with billowing clouds that cast shadows, creating patches of light and dark green across the fields. Suddenly we drove over a ridge and the farm and ranch land ended and the topography changed to white sand desert and mesas. It was like turning a page in a book and finding a new chapter.

As we approached the park, I began to understand the term Bad Lands. This land is not good for growing cattle, or growing grain or growing vegetables…it is not good for much of anything…except…it is absolutely beautiful. And I thought, this morning we saw a beautiful sculpture created by man, and this afternoon we are seeing incredible sculptures created by God, for only God could create something so beautiful. I will have to allow the photos to speak for me, because no words that I can think of will do this justice. This Bad Land is not bad at all. It is very, very good.

After driving through the park…time we really didn’t have, but time we really needed to spend…we made the long drive to Mitchell. With a time change built in, we arrived at 6:30 PM, tired, cranky, but still inspired. North Dakota...check. South Dakota...check. Tomorrow Minnesota and Wisconsin.