Sturgis, South Dakota - Sturgis RV Park

Saturday, August 20, 2011
Sturgis, South Dakota - Sturgis RV Park, 58 degrees partly sunny, 81 degrees and mostly sunny. (To enlarge pictures; Click on picture to enlarge, click return button (<) on your browser to return to post).

Silver Sally had us over to Rogers and Barbra’s rig early 8:30 A.M. for a driving tour of the black hills of South Dakota. Roger drove about a hundred and fifty-mile loop thru the major towns of the Black Hills. In Lead, SD there is the closed (2001) open pit Homestake Mine, mining gold and silver (no picture).

Hill City to Keystone Train

Deer, there were five as we pulled up

In Hill City, SD we saw one end of a railroad line that runs to Keystone, SD that was used for the mining operations from the 1880's and on and in 1957 tourist operations started. This line was also used in movie and television productions.

Crazy Horse Memorial

We saw where they are blasting into the rock for a sculpture of Chief Crazy Horse and his horse into the rock mountain face (Crazy Horse Memorial).

There is a Prairie Dog

The lone Buffalo

In front of the face will be his out stretched arm pointing and the horses head. There was some wildlife also, Buffalo, Prairie Dog and Elk. Latter we found the rest of the heard of Buffalo. These were in from of a camping area, the road and with some standing in water at the left edge of the picture.

Buffalo heard

 Then on to Keystone where we had lunch and Mount Rushmore National Memorial, what a view and a scenic drive. We drove thru Rapid City and back to Sturgis. 

Mount Rushmore as we come out of a one lane tunnel

 

Mount Rushmore

George Washington from the side

Cemetery in Keystone, SD

     From this cemetery where Mount Rushmore workers are berried you can see the memorial.