South Dakoda / Rushmore

So in earily July my friend Galen flew out to Nebraska, from Portland. Flew into the small airport of Chadron and landed in the wheat field that the landing strip is on. Made it through the hellish terminal! HA, no. it's just a couple of people, one building airport. The staff at the airport is awesome, and will drive you to you destination if you are stuck. The woman who checks you in is also the person who loads your bags and vaccumes the 19 seater Beach Craft Turbo Prop plane. They also de-ice the runway and the plane, scrape the bat guano out of the hanger and place the safety cards in their holders. Basicly they are all of the staff. The Airport staff is only 2 people at a time! They are awesome.

We'd decided to go to the Black Hills of South Dakoda during his trip. See Mt. Rushmore and take in some nature at custar state park. The Drive to SD is about an hour and about three total to Rushmore. We stoped in Hot Springs on our way, had some breakfast. Hot Springs is awesome, small, and very picturesque. It's nesteled inbetween a bunch od red rocks cut into the form of a gulch by a river that run through the town. Natural Hot springs run through. Obviously, the name....hot springs. There used to be a lot of them but because of commerce two brother dammage all the hot springs but one and built a pool (Evans Plungs) on it so that they had control of the springs and the tourism.

On our way out of hot springs we drove through the state park and saw, more or less, most of the advertized animals. Buffalo, Antalope, Deer, Eagles, Prarrie Dogs, and wild donkeys. The donkeys really do stick their heads into you window. which freaks me out. I guess people feed them. There were a whole set of tourists that were putting their children ON the donkeys.....ummm excuse me Sir, they are WILD donkeys.....there's sings that say dont touch, pet, feed, or annoy the animals all over the park...christ!

The drive through the state park was beautiful and took about two hours, winding though some amazin landscape and through mountians. Very breath taking. Epic almost. The top Photo was take in Needled Park....the hiking there is great, So is the driving, but the drivers leave something to be disired, imagine rubber necking tourists driving into a one lane tunnel and causing a traffic jam with the other one way traffic, both not wanting to move for fear of messing up their travel plans. lame. But after it all you end up here: Rushmore. Which is quite neet. Especially since you can walk up under Washintons noes and get a good look into it.


We drove back through the needles, and while there stoped for a swim in the epic waters of Sylvan Lake. Then we drove home. But on our way we had some awesome pie at The Purple Pie Palace...Custar SD. Oh man, the pie!