Sights and Wildlife

August 24, 2010
Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
Sights and Wildlife

Today was a beautiful, cooler day - a great time for a day trip. We decided to make a return visit to a couple of places we visited when we were here four years ago: Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore.

Custer State Park dates back to 1912, even though Custer's Expedition found gold in the Black Hills as early as 1874. It represents the vision of then-Governor Peter Norbeck, who mapped the whole area out as a park and preserve. In addition to the varied topography, from grasslands to rocky formations, it's home to numerous species of wildlife. We managed to see six different kinds of animals during the day: Pronghorn and whitetail deer, prairie dogs, burros, wild turkeys, and - of course - buffalo.

We made a quick stop at Mount Rushmore, which was somewhat crowded (to be expected in late-August) and a little late in the day for the best photographic exposure. We made a few pictures and hung around a bit watching the other tourists, then headed home after a nice day.

Click here to see a photo album from today's drive.