On June 10th (day 3) we headed to Grand Rapids, South Dakota. On our way, we stopped at Custer's Last Stand, The Battle of Little Big Horn. We were surprised by how reverent it felt there. Our country has had some rough parts in history and the way we treated the Indians is one of them. However, this was the last big victory for the Indians.
This part was for the Indian memorial.
The remains of 220 US soldiers, scouts, and civilians are buried around the base of this memorial. The white marble headstones scattered over the battlefield denote where the slain troopers were found and originally buried. In 1881 they were re-entered in a single grave on this site. The officers' remains were removed in 1877 to various cemeteries throughout the country. General Custer was buried at West Point.
After we walked around we went into the visitor's center and looked around before watching a movie about Custer's Last Stand.
This indian dress was decorated with buffalo teeth.
There is also a military cemetery there and anyone that was killed from any war can be buried/rememered here.
When then traveled to Wyoming and had lunch at Arby's in Sheridan and then to Devil's Tower. The drive was a little scary at times with the intense rain and the bad hydroplaning. When we arrived at Devi's Tower we almost didn't go because we were afraid we wouldn't be able to see it because of all the clouds.
This was our first view but after we left the gift shop it cleared up a little.
It was interesting to learn about how it was formed.
If I remember right there hasn't been any rock to fall since it was discovered.
We stayed at the historic Alex Johnson Hotel for two nights for $602.64 (this included one meal plus valet parking. It was built in 1927. They only had full or king-size beds so we got a king-size bed and brought an air mattress for Brady to sleep on. We ate at Paddy O' Reilly's Pub & Casino and it was pretty good. We had to take a picture for Cole of their video lottery since that is his new favorite entertainment. haha!
On June 11th we went to Mount Rushmore.
We all loved it here!
So cool! It amazes me that someone could create this!
On our drive to Crazy Horse you can see the back side of Mount Rushmore.
That will be pretty amazing if it ever gets done.
This was a cute little town we drove through on our way up.
We were surprised by how much there was to do in the Rapid City area.
We got some salt water taffy and turtle popcorn plus Brady got a bag of mixed candies.
We couldn't believe all the flavors.
We then got some lunch at Jimmy Johns before heading to the Badlands National Park. We were able to drive through the park and stop at the pull-outs for a few pictures and videos. It was so pretty there. We even got to see a big horn sheep.
I sure love our adventures together!
Brady was getting pretty tired so he didn't go on this little hike with us. It was so cool!
We then drove to the city of Wall. We have never seen so many Wall Drug billboard signs. It was getting almost comical there were so many. When we got there we learned they have gotten pretty famous for their signs. A lot of people will take pictures from their hometown and send them to them with how many miles it is to Wall Drug. haha! We got a few souvenirs and some yummy fudge before heading back to our hotel.
I had to get some pictures of this historic hotel which still has the original decor from when it first opened.
The Alex Johnson Hotel combines historic architecture with handcrafted Native American art in tribute to the area's Lakota and Sioux culture. Main Street Square is only a block away and 25 minutes from Mt. Rushmore. It had a rooftop bar Irish pub, salon, and spa. It also had Chubby Chipmunk Chocolates which we never got a chance to check out because it was always closed when we had the time.
We even got a selfie with George Washington while we were waiting for our car. haha!
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