Today, nothing too
strenuous to get under our belts, we still left early and headed straight for
Mt Rushmore. This was good as we were able to park easily in a very convenient
spot for exit and there were not too many other people there. After taking the classic photos we had a short look around in the Museum then continued on our way.
Next stop was Bear Country USA, a wildlife park where you can drive through and see many species of American wildlife - notably bears!
After the drive around and a walk among the other enclosures, we had lunch and then headed for the Needles Highway for an
entertaining afternoon driving this aptly named winding highway.
Our first long stop
was at Sylvan Lake, an artificial lake near the Sylvan Lake Lodge. A pleasant
walk along the shore, we came across some artists. Apparently they are there to
paint during the week leading up to the Buffalo Muster, which starts on Friday (tomorrow).
Their paintings are then put on display and prizes awarded.
As we continued we
saw some beautiful views - autumn
colours combined with the darker shades of the pine trees, mixed in with the
amazing rock formations of the famous Black Hills, made for lots of stops. The
narrow, low, one-way tunnels provided lots of entertaining watching.
We were lucky enough
to see some Rocky Mountain Goats up on the hillside as we watched traffic
negotiate the Needles Eye Tunnel we had just passed through.
Further down in the
valley, we came upon some Mule Deer grazing beside the road.
All in all a lovely,
not too strenuous day.
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| Early morning lake view on our way up to Mt Rushmore |
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| George Washington (l) and Thomas Jefferson (R) |
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| Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt (L) and Abraham Lincoln (R) |
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| Very good read - more should adhere to this code. |
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| Reindeer in Bear Country |
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| Timber Wolf |
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| Lots of bears roaming in this wildlife park |
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| Mule Deer in velvet |
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| American Badger |
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| Raccoon |
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| Skunk |
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| Two beavers |
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| Lynx Cat |
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| Bobtail Cat |
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| Timber wolf |
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| A solitary Grizzly Bear |
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| Kiowa and Popping Ears having a Pow Wow |
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| Sylvan Lake |
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| Rock climbers looking down on the traffic at Needles Eye Tunnel |
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| Needles Eye Tunnel |
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| Mountain Goat way up on the hillside |
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| Tour buses have a tricky time negotiating this tunnel |
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| Another of the tunnels we negotiated |
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| Kiowa and KOA at the Hole in the Wall |
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| Mule Deer |
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| Negotiating Needles Eye Tunnel |
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| On the other side of the tunnel looking back - you can just see the tunnel in the centre of the picture at my eye level |
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