Tuesday 9-24-24 Mount Rushmore and Dutchman Campground

 

Welcome Sign

I woke up at 7:00 and got dressed. We had a quick breakfast and then we put things down because we're moving on. We were on the road by 7:30. Before leaving the campground we drove around to the other loop where the ramp and marina was. The whole campground was beautiful with all the trees. The sites were very roomy. We went to the other loop because it was close to the hiking trail. The campground is closing next week, they are going to do away with services and keep a loop open. We thought if we were to come back when it closes maybe we could hike. But if we did we would have to take the motorcycle to the hiking trail because it's a mile away from the loop that is going to be open. 

Our next destination was Mount Rushmore National Memorial, 20 miles away. The road was a curvy mountain road. We went through a tunnel. The last time we had come o Mount Rushmore we had gone through three tunnels but we were coming from Custer State Park. We arrived early, about 8:15. It was very easy to get in. You stop at the entrance gate and get a parking ticket. Then they direct you where they want you to park. We were a small RV so we were put in a spot designed for RVs less than 29'. At the entrance to the memorial you pay for the parking at a kiosk. We 're seniors so we only had to pay $5.00, the standard parking is $10.00. We walked the .6 mile loop round the facility and took pictures. Then we walked through the gift shop and visitor center. We watched the movie about Mount Rushmore and how it was built. While walking through the visitor center we learned about Mount Rushmore. We also saw that they were getting ready to do a culture performance. A local Native American told the history of her Lakota people and performed a couple of dances. They were Little Shell and Hoop. The Hoop dance was about her life and she danced it with hoops. She did an outstanding job with the presentation and dancing. We had a great time at Mount Rushmore.

 

Entrance to Mount Rushmore National Memorial

 

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

 

Performing the Little Shell Dance

 

Beginning of the Loop Dance

 

Ending of the Loop Dance

After having lunch we left Mount Rushmore and drove 30 miles to our destination for the day. It was Dutchman Campground. There was only one other camper there besides us. Camping is free because it closed for the season. It's a beautiful campground with some hiking. It also has Deerfield Reservoir. Each campsite is surrounded by beautiful Ponderosa Pines. We were there by 1:00 and we spent the rest of the day relaxing.  

After dinner Larry and I went for a 3 mile walk to find the trailhead, we also walked and one of the closed loops of the campground. We found a gate to the trailhead, it was suppose to be open year round but it was padlock with three different locks. This gate was only a half mile from the campground. We continued another half mile and found another gate to the trailhead. The problem with this is if we wanted to hike the trail we would have to hike a mile up and a mile back so we really could only hike about two miles of the trail. This really wouldn't work for us. We went back to the campground and walked around a little more. We took a trail but it only went downhill to the lake. When we got back to the Minnie Larry went inside and I stayed outside to do some steps. I ended up doing 17,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group.

 

Deerfield Reservoir