May 6th

I have had quite good fortune with weather so far on this trip, but today my luck ran out.

I left Bowman North Dakota at 5:15 this morning to meet up with my traveling companion for the next three days, Rachel’s brother Phil’s wife Pat, in Rapid City SD. The forecast was clear of rain or snow for the early morning. However, about an hour into my driving heavy snow started falling. I stopped on the side of the road a couple of times and thought I might be testing out the South Dakota road plowing equipment. But I proceeded very cautiously, the snow slowed down and then stopped and I made it to the Howard Johnson hotel about 8:45.

We went to Mount Rushmore in thick fog and we could just barely see the four faces. I am sending the clearest picture in a dim lot. I did get to see the visitor center exhibits, the film on the idea and execution of the sculpture and a short hike on the Presidential trail.

Then we went to the 100 year old Custer State Park and, following tips from a ranger at the visitor center, got to see pronghorn deer, a few bison and a herd of elk moving on top of the ridge. I have a decent video of the elk movement. We went on a hike by a campsite and a lodge.

Then we went back through some incredibly thick fog to Rapid City for dinner and walked around the cute Western town and some statues of all the presidents on downtown street corners.

Western currency
President Taft, who was the first president to throw out the first baseball on opening day
A double one lane tunnel leading to Custer State Park
Pat and I in front of the old lodge
The rolling hills at Custer State Park
Three deer
A lone bison
A herd of elk migrating
The Custer State Park Visitor Center
The clearest picture of the four faces. Note the colored rocks under Washington