Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore 2009 - Day 7

We spent every waking moment today doing something incredibly FUN. And each one of those "somethings" cost a lot of money. Traveling with 5 people is not cheap!!

We were out of the hotel by 9:00 this morning and we drove up the hill to Mount Rushmore. Let me just say this: Mount Rushmore is amazing. The history of it is so fascinating and we spent the day exploring and walking the Presidential Trail at the base of the mountain. We got to go in Gutzon Borglum's sculpter's studio and see the actual sculpture he used as the model for the mountain. We went through a replica of a small Indain village and watched a demonstration of how Indians used every part of a buffalo's body once it was killed. We learned an important fact that we'd like to pass along to you that may change your life. Wait for it...

Every animal's brain contains precisely the amount of oil needed to tan it's own hide.

True story. We found that to be one of the best trivia items of the day.

We spent a few hours at Mount Rushmore and left feeling very patriotic. I think all Americans should travel there to get a little refresher course about our country. It's a beautiful piece of art and quite overwhelming. And the kids loved the giant heads on the mountain and the trails. Everybody wins.

We drove down to the Keystone Mall, which is this little old fashioned western strip mall with a boardwalk, and ate lunch. Then we took a scenic drive through the Black Hills National Forest. We drove out to the Crazy Horse Monument but didn't go to the museums. If they ever get that sculpture done, it's going to rival Rushmore. It's beautiful, and the story is pretty poignant. We drove out to tour the Jewel Caves but they were already sold out for the day so we bought tickets for tomorrow morning at 9:00.

We came back into Keystone and rode this ski lift, called The Rushmore Tramway, up the side of this beautiful green mountain covered in pine trees to a little summit with a cafe and garden and views of Mount Rushmore. We rode DOWN the mountain on Alpine Slides, which reminded us a lot of tobogganing. You control your own speed which, of course, means that Chad went as fast as humanly possible and crashed his sled on a really sharp turn. He was videotaping at the time so that might be a factor in the crash. Ashley rode with me and was so nervous, that going up the mountain on the ski-lift, she was violently shaking and her teeth were chattering. It was funny. Alison and Jackson got their own sleds and it was a totally great experience for them.

Next, we piled in the car and drove to Big Thunder Gold Mine where you can take a tour of a real gold mine, pan for gold and of course, buy cheesy, cheap tourist junk. The tour was interesting. We learned gold mining history, geology and saw all kinds of original tools used in mining. We were 240 feet underground and it was really exciting. We were the only ones on the tour so that was fun. Except the fact that our tour guide reminded me of some creepy teenage pervert that probably wears a trench coat to school and draws up plans to annhialte his classmates while playing Dungeons and Dragons. But other than that - good times!

Then came the real fun... We went to this place called Cosmos Mystery Area. It was SO RAD. Instead of try to explain it, we'll let you check out the website if you're interested: http://www.cosmosmysteryarea.com/

We've got some great pictures too that we'll add to our Snapfish albums later...

We left Cosmos and went back to downtown Keystone and ate some great pizza at this 50's style pizzeria called "Cruizzers". After dinner we walked down the boardwalk to a candy store. Then back to the hotel for some swimming.

It was a good day, but a LONG one! And we don't have any plans of slowing down. We are all going to crash and burn when we get home.

Nighty Night,

The Niemeyers