Road Trip Day #4

Apologies for the delay in posting these recaps!

On day four, we had rested up from our big drive into South Dakota, we headed downtown Rapid City. 

Rapid City has statues of 43 presidents on each of the street corners that covers the main part of downtown. It is a fairly cool to turn a corner and come across a president. We grabbed a map, so that we could spot some of our favorites. 

FDR

JFK and John Jr. 

Jackson

LBJ

Downtown Rapid City

Grabbing Starbucks, we soon headed up into the Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore. When we finally turned the corner, and it came into view, it was real sight to see!

We parked and then walked around for about an hour. You can't get super close, but there are plenty of viewing opportunities to stare up at the four presidents. There is also a small exhibit about how they carved each of the presidents.

Mount Rushmore 

As we left Mount Rushmore and ultimately South Dakota, we took the drive through the Black Hills rather than immediately jumping back on the Interstate. I highly recommend this to anyone. Sure, you go slower, drive through villages, and get stuck behind a logging truck (true story), but how many times do you get to hang out in the Black Hills?

Once we entered Wyoming, we headed to Devil's Tower.

Viewpoint from Devil's Tower 

Devil's Tower

Devil's Tower

I first heard of Devil's Tower when I was a little kid playing the Oregon Trail game. From there, being a history lover, I read numerous accounts of those traveling West coming across the rock structure.

It was truly an incredible sight to view. We walked around the base of it via the trail. Each side has a different appearance due to nature's elements.

As Mount Rushmore and Devil's Tower took up quite some time, we didn't stop again until Cheyenne except for gas and Lost Springs. Lost Springs is considered a city in Wyoming. It is one of the smallest in the USA, had a population of one in 2000, and has one bar! What a true obscene roadside attraction.  We had other stops planned, but it was better that we pushed on to make it to Denver this day.

Population of 4

Wyoming

Wyoming State Capitol 

We got into Denver around 10pm this day.  We were staying at a Doubletree, so we were very excited about those cookies waiting for us after another long day of driving!