South Dakota!

I left SLC again on Monday morning, heading towards Mt. Rushmore. The first day of that part of the trip consisted of about 6 hours of this golden, low-rolling hills. Yes, 6 HOURS of that. Did you know there's actually a town called Little America, WY? Started out pretty & got pretty old. Thank God for sunflower seeds and Dr. Pepper! I planned on stopping in Douglas, WY, just because it seemed to be close to the middle. But there was nothing there, so I kept going. Landed in Lusk, which wasn't much better. I was starving, but there were only 2 restaurants open in the entire town and only one of them delivered - and of course it was a pizza joint. So, if you find yourself in the southeastern corner of WY at night, eat first! And be prepared to be bored!

I hit the road this morning to a very pretty sky: 

...with my new constant companion!

How is it that I bought him soft, comfy beds and stuff, but he choses to sleep on my open box of files & important papers or on the hard, plastic section between the seats? This shot was when we were parked, not driving down the road, don't worry. (BTW, 3rd night in a row of him wanting to play in the middle of the road, so still not sleeping well...)

Before we actually got to Mt. Rushmore, there was another mountain that is in the process of being carved. It has an Indian Chief on top and it looks like they may still be working on it or adding another face.

We continued up to Mt. Rushmore. I walked around and took some photos and then took Fletch out to the observation deck with me.

We actually got kicked out of the area! I was going to say something like, "I've been kicked out of better places than this," but I really haven't.
                                                                                                                        
Before you get to the observation deck area, you must walk through a gauntlet of concrete and marble walls with flags from every state and that state and its date of inclusion to the US is carved into the walls, directly beneath its relative flag. It was a very nice addition to the mountain display.

I ate a late lunch at the "Grille" up at the monument. The people were very nice but the food was kind of bland - a typical government run, cafeteria-style, minimal-choice meal. I had a flashback to downtown LA and the Federal Building, 4th Floor. Take my advise before you go up there: either eat in Custer or in Hill City before to go up to the monument. Those are two little towns on either side of the mountain that lead up to the monument.

This little guy was standing right by the side of the road, practically in the middle of Hill City. He was just minding his business, eating something close to the road, and just ignored the cars going by...

Drove through a town actually called Deadwood, which was between Rushmore and Sturgis.

It was a really cute little town that was only about one street wide, as if the entire town used to be a small river or creek (crick). Wanted to stop, but was trying to get to Sturgis. Turns out I should have stuck to Deadwood. There was nothing to see in Sturgis. (Actually, I was hoping to find a big, burly, scary-looking, biker dude who would hold Fletch for a photo, but I didn't see a single biker dude of any kind.) I had planned to stop there for the night, but I didn't bother after all. I drove on, eastward. Thought about going back to Deadwood, but that really would have been backtracking. Made me look forward to traveling again when I get back from Africa, with no need to be anywhere specific at any given date.

It was kind of cool driving east on Interstate 90; looking at the low, soft hills, I could almost see (imagine) a covered wagon cresting over one of the hills like a scene out of Bonanza or the Virginian.

I guess I'd better wake Fletch up and make him play a little bit (he's lying right here beside me), so maybe he'll sleep better through the night, so that I can sleep better through the night, finally!

We've got some cool plans for the next couple of days, so stay tuned!