South Dakota Trip Part 3 & Final!

This is the last and final installment of our trip to South Dakota.  As I do print my blog into books each year, Bill wanted to include some thoughts/comments as well.  Be sure to read what he has to say in final thoughts of the trip.  I will let the pictures do most of the talking.  On Friday we took a drive along the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway.  Took the round about way to get there -  yes there is a story there.  The scenery was beautiful!  Bill and I both commented that the terrain in this part of South Dakota reminds us of the terrain in Idaho where we lived for a number of years.  

There were these little cave like openings all throughout the canyon.

The rock was quite high up on both sides of the road.

As always, I love to hear a stream babbling along.

I loved the purple flowers in this photo.

Bill and I were celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary so a stop at Bridal Veil Falls for a photo seemed appropriate.

Seemed like a gorgeous backdrop for a photo of the car.

This is where we stopped and had lunch.

On Sunday about 50 to 60 Camaros met at the Knucklehead Saloon and took the drive to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial.  It was a sight to see with this long line of Camaros in front and in back of us.  When we went through the small town on the way, people just stood at the side of the road video taping and waving.

My first glimpse of Mt. Rushmore.

The staff at Mt. Rushmore reserved the top ramp for the Camaro Rally and only Camaros were parked up there for a short time to allow professional photographer to take group photo.  This is just 1/3 of the Camaro on the ride in my photo.  It took 3 photos to get them all.  Why didn't I think to use my panoramic feature!

We were able to get someone to take a family photo of us next to our car in front of Mt. Rushmore.

I did all of my school reports growing up on President Lincoln so he is my favorite.

Those who know me won't be surprised that I had to take a wonky  unusual picture.  This is a closeup of the right eye on President Lincoln.

This is taken from about the half-way point walking up to the lookout area.

After visiting the Memorial we went and drove Iron Mountain Road.  We went through this tunnel....

....and this was the view waiting for us on the other side.  We are about 2 1/2 miles away from Mt. Rushmore here.

A little further up the road we stopped at a scenic overlook and I love this photo I took from this vantage point.  I am at the same level as the monument at the overlook.

A FEW FINAL COMMENTS

The accommodations at the Spring Hill Marriott in Deadwood were perfect for us and would definitely stay there again.  The motel was large enough to have all the amenities (pool for the guys, workout room for me, restaurant, room service, underground parking, free breakfast bar in the morning) but small enough that we never had to wait for an elevator for more than a minute when coming and going.  The rooms had a living area (sectional couch, desk, free wifi) with a frosted divider from the beds, bathrooms, closet area.  Also across from the living area was a built in area with a refrigerator, microwave.  It was definitely very comfortable for the 3 of us.

As mentioned before, we definitely had to dodge a few downpours.  The photo on left is the view from our hotel window Friday morning.  The photo on the right is the same exact view late afternoon after returning from Spearfish Canyon drive.

 

The end result was Bill detailing the car in the underground parking for the car show the next day.

I kind of got a kick out of the different style of photos I take compared to Bill.  These are the kinds of photos I take of Bill and Keith - try to get them looking at camera, smiling.

Bill somehow manages to get photos of me from the back.  Do you suppose he is trying to photograph my hair - smiling as I type that.  Definitely not Christmas card worthy.  Don't worry though....

.....I did manage to get him to take a couple of pictures more Christmas card worthy.

My last and final thought - there is nothing like the smile on my son's face when you have taken the last turn to home.

BILL THOUGHTS/COMMENTS

I had a really good time on this trip.  I had not been to that part of South Dakota before and it was fun to see.     The terrain reminded me of Idaho and Washington where we lived for several years.   I've decided we need to visit our relatives more often as this was the first time my wife met my cousin, Jim.  Amazing we have not visited sooner as it is only 6 hours away.   The number of cars they have sitting around gathering dust is amazing!  I wish I could take that 1923 home and restore it (picture in Part 1).  I had fun at the car show despite the weather.   The drive around Mt. Rushmore was amazing!  I loved driving all the turns in the Camaro.