Mount Rushmore

The drive through Montana, Wyoming and into South Dakota was more mountainous terrain.  We saw numerous creeks & rivers in Montana and a lot of horses, which always excites James.  More of the same in Wyoming, along with many trains carrying coal.  I was fascinated with the huge fluffy clouds and rock formations in South Dakota.  Daniel says he's ready for some flat land though.

Cute little town in Montana

South Dakota skies

The kids are doing much better than I anticipated, but I believe it is due to having assigned seats, lots of activities to do in the car, and a variety of snacks when needed.

The KOA we stayed at is actually a resort, The Palmer Gulch Resort, and it is humongous.  They offer over 500 campsites, cabins, a lodge, restaurant, and many more accommodations.  You could make your entire vacation just visiting the resort (resort map).   They have 2 pools, water slides, pond with fishing/paddle boats, playground/basketball court, horseback rides, and chuckwagon dinners to name a few.  The only complaint I have is that I had a terrible time trying to connect to the internet through the free wi-fi they offer.

Mount Rushmore was only 6 miles away from the campground and we had no problems finding it.  Once we parked and began walking towards the monument, it took my breath away to see how big it actually is. Along the pathway there are flags of all 50 states displayed.  The kids were able to find the California state flag very easily.

After we marveled at the monument, we went downstairs to the museum.  We were all fascinated to see the actual tools that were used and the pictures of the carving process.  If we didn't have all the little kids with us we probably could have stayed several more hours looking at everything.  We also found out that part of the movie National Treasure 2 was filmed in this area.

The next 2 days will be long as we head to Missouri with an overnight stop in Nebraska.

Nicole