Saturday, June 25, 2011

Slow Turtle Crossing - Day 2 of 4

Unreal. I'm REALLY loving South Dakota.

We thought we'd get in free, but apparently there is this tiny
difference between National PARK and National MONUMENT.
Details.

Avenue of States leading to Mount Rushmore.

August 1, 1876. 38th state.
Just in case you were wondering.


Darling.
Love that girl.

Mr. Independent and his incredibly patient mother.

Hey, George!

Thomas, looking good!


What's that Teddy? Feeling squished?

Abe. ABE. Over here.

There's that darling kid that keeps following us.


I was really there! SWEET!

I love the perspective on this one! AND, I would love to be there again when it's night AND when they are giving a concert in this outdoor amphitheater. TOO cool.

We were there!

Wait, this makes MY head actually look BIGGER than theirs...
(Each face is 60 feet tall - their eyes alone are 11 feet wide.)

Peek-a-George.

I think there's GOLD in them thar hills!

Or a spade. In the cold, COLD water.

Crazy Horse...in progress.
Apparently, in progress FOREVER.

Yo. Keeping it real, Trevor and Abbey style.
What the memorial lacked in actual completion, it made up for in the museum that was on the grounds. TONS of information about Native Americans and awesome artifacts everywhere.

We weren't allowed any closer to Crazy Horse.
Probably because they were working SO HARD on finishing it.
Sometime this century.

We're pretty sure all they've done is chisel and polish the face for the last 20+ years.

So THAT is what it's going to look like.

Almost there. NOT.

Now, I'm not a big fan of people who talk on their cell phones in the bathroom, and I'm even LESS of a fan of people who take pictures in the bathroom, but I just had to document the fact that these stalls were WAY tiny! I felt huge! Thankful it was just Abs and I and no one else in sight!

Objects in Mirror are MEANER than they appear!
Creepy motorcycle gang that tailgated us forever,
and then roared past! Sheesh! MOVE ON!

You KNOW I love my water! On the way to Custer State Park.

Love it.

I had JUST said to Abbey, "You know, we might only see a bird in the Park..."

and THEN...

MOTHER OF PEARL! It's our friend, Mr. Buffalo!!!! Um, YEAH - right in front of our car! We parked the car, rolled up the windows, and watched him just stroll past! Awesome and amazing!


Here's the video Nicola recorded while he walked right past us!
Here's what you can't see (but can sort of hear):
1. Trevor in the back seat, looking in awe at the giant beast.
2. John in the second seat, pointing silently, yet excitedly.
3. Abbey next to John, freaking out, but holding it together.
4. Brenda, feet pulled up on passenger seat, completely thrilled.
5. Nicola, narrating and taping the whole event, calm as can be!

WHOA! We were looking at dinosaur fossils the day before,
and this was just like one of them...with lots and lots of hair!

More live animals!

They were super close to the car - I felt like we were invading their space!
It was kind of like Jurassic Park, just waiting for the next LIVE animal to appear!

How did THAT get THERE!?

Oh, my....look at those eyes.

You know the part where they kept warning us NOT to approach the animals!? These people obviously ignored the rangers, because they were all over these mules/donkeys/whatever they were. Crazy peeps.

Hello, Storm. Glad to see you've caught up with us.

"Where the deer and the antelope randomly cross the road..."

South Dakota is simply amazing.

WHOA! Mr. Buffalo's big brother, Biff.
Doing his best to hide in the bushes nearby.

Um...what? There's enough of a slow-turtle crossing
problem to necessitate a sign!?
We didn't run over any, just for the record.

Our fearless driver, Nicola.

Pa-MEE-da, Pa-MY-da, PAMIDA!
Just for you, Greenwalds!

That's BU-glin' Bull.
Because if you read it too fast, it could say BULGE-ing Bull.
And that's just wrong.

And.....we're BACK TO THE POOL!

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