Not All Who Wander Are Lost

We arrived to Mount Rushmore! We came in last night, around 5:30 mountain time, and checked in at our campground. Our campground is AMAZING! We are the very first customers of the season, and we had the entire place to ourselves! We set up our tent and got our beds situated, and then headed out to see Mount Rushmore for the first time! Mount Rushmore is located in a cute little tourist town called Keystone. It is set up to look like the "Wild West" and is basically souvenir shops, ice cream shops, and pizza parlors. It was pouring rain most of the evening, so we didn't bother getting out and taking pictures. We are heading back there today to check it out though. It really was an extremely unique experience to drive around the corner of a mountain and all of a sudden, four famous faces are staring back at us! It took a moment to take it all in! We were hoping that we could catch the lighting ceremony, but unfortunately the rain caused it to be canceled. It's not a problem though. We are so happy to even be here together, that not much bothers us! Unfortunately the tourist season hasn't started yet, so not much of the town was open. We had to drive about nine miles through the mountains to a little town called Hill City to buy some charcoal and lighter fluid in order to cook dinner! We made pasta for dinner, with broccoli and covered in marinara sauce! It was very delicious! Thanks for all of the great food Eo! We are enjoying it, and haven't had to buy a single thing yet!

We are going to go back to Mount Rushmore today before we head to Yellowstone so that we can take pictures and all that fun stuff!

So far the trip has been pretty amazing. We left Champaign right after my last final, and the first place that we've 'been' since is Mt. Rushmore, which is a pretty amazing and shocking transition. It was awesome to watch the flat midwestern planes turn into rolling hills of south dakota, and then see the badlands' mountain tops pop up in our view. It was spectacular, and very different. Along the long drive yesterday we saw a roadrunner cross the road, and he looked remarkably like the cartoon. We have also seen about 15 deer thus far, and a group of four small deer was waiting for us at our campground when we arrived. We tried getting a good picture but the camera currently has a lack of zoom functionality, so instead that was a very amazing moment.

We just finished getting all packed and ready to move out to Yellowstone National Park, so we are going on our way!
Pictures soon!
There are four quotes carved at the base of Mt. Rushmore...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

-Thomas Jefferson
Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776


"The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people."

-George Washington
First Inaugural Address
April 30, 1789


"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

-Abraham Lincoln
Gettysburg Address
November 19, 1863


"We, here in America, hold in our hands the hopes of the worlds, the fate of the coming years; and shame and disgrace will be ours if in our eyes the light of high resolve is dimmed, if we trail in the dust the golden hopes of men."
-Theodore Roosevelt
Address at Carnegie Hall
March 30, 1912

We have rediscovered how much we love this land! We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to see it in all of its beauty and wonder.

Love, Jx2