Standing Next To These Other Three Guys

On Sunday morning, after some delay for blog posting, we thought we were checking out of the motel more than half an hour late. In order to avoid a late fee, Alan and Olli distracted the cleaning ladies while Cara finished packing … except that actually, we were on Mountain Time by now, and somehow we ‘d missed it. So, with an extra hour to spare, we set off for breakfast at Wall Drug, where Alan thinks every teenager in the greater Wall area works, and then on to Mount Rushmore.

I have a confession to make. I was a little disappointed at how SMALL Mount Rushmore is! When you see it in pictures, they only show you the giant heads, how they fill the frame … they don’t show you the HUGE Black Hills of South Dakota that surround and dwarf them!

But still, it was cool to see. It took fourteen years to carve. Did you know the man who carved it was 60 when he started? (Granted, he was an accomplished sculptor at that point … but I don’t think he would have been famous without Rushmore). They had a good interpretive center that explained the building process. The film was from the late 60’s, and had that triumphal ring that newsreels did. In sharp contrast was the “new” film in the adjacent theatre, “The Wild Side of Rushmore,” an afterthought on the ecological impact of the monument. Alan mentioned how funny it is that the carving is younger than our grandparents (it was finished in 1941), even though it looks as old as the hills! Our parking pass is good for a year, so if anyone wants to save $10 they can borrow our truck and drive out to see Rushmore.

Alan’s quick quiz: 1) Name the faces, from right to left. 2) Why did they include T R? 3) Which face would you add to the monument? (Alan wants Bob Barker up there.)





(this is the one we’re taking to our Immigration interview)

And then we were on to Wyoming. Sagebrush was the dominating feature of the landscape. Every other time Alan has been through the area it’s been unbelievably hot, dry, dusty, and dead. This time it was relatively lush, with fields of yellow flowers in bloom that gave off a beautiful scent.

We started seeing deer-like creatures grazing with the cows, but we passed too quickly to focus on them. Alan saw a non-labeled, gravel exit and pulled off on what looked like maybe a ranch-access road to see if we could get a better glimpse of the animals, and have a short snack break in the shade where the road pulled under the highway. So we pulled under the overpass, and Alan came around to the passenger side as I opened the door, looking doubtfully at the overgrown area … this is the WEST, you know. And what is the first thing I see? Holes in the bank. I said to Alan, “Are those rattlesnake holes?” fully prepared for him to scoff at me, and be forced to sit on the bank looking nervously around the whole time. I could see it in his eyes when he turned to look at the bank for a minute and then said casually, “Do you have your camera?” I handed it to him without thinking, then my mind caught up. “Is that a YES?!”

Yeah, next time you think I’m overreacting …

The pretty animals in question did turn out to be antelope (this IS where the deer and the antelope play, you know), and they were edgy! When we tried to get closer for pictures, they took off fast!

That night we camped for the first time in a charming family campground maybe 10 miles off the highway. Of course, it still backed up on a city park, and wasn’t far from the local highway, but it had a nice river running by our campsite.

I thought we’d leave Olli in the truck overnight, but Alan went to tuck him in and heard him crying and brought him in (in his small crate). Much to my surprise, he slept through the night and didn’t wake us up meowing (as he does at home). You were right, mom—it was COLD. (Alan thinks it was approaching “nice.”)