Mount Mushmore

So as I said in another post, we've been wanting to move out of Montana for the last 7ish months. I mentioned to hubby that I wanted to go to Mount Rushmore before we left- I mean, it's not far from here, so it wouldn't make sense to go all the way south, just to come all the way back up later on for vacation.
And I wanted to go before it snowed.

And my hubby... oh, how he spoils me.
He told me we'd go before October.

So we had just got financed for the 'new-to-us' truck, and he was coming up on his days off, and said 'why don't you pack up the trailer and we'll go on Wednesday!' Well, who am I to say no? lol





 We planned out our 4 day trip- it was around 440 miles from here to the KOA up the road from the monument- which SHOULD be around a 6-8 hour trip for one or two adults. 14 hours after we left home we finally arrived at the KOA.










Between stopping to eat, bathroom breaks, gas, and a stop in Wyoming at a Rest Area that had a fun playground, we weren't exactly in a hurry.








So we finally got to the Keystone, KOA. And it was around 3AM. This was one of the ONLY KOA's that we have been to that doesn't have a night check in. So we parked in the driveway and went to sleep. Hubby got up at 6 to go check us in, and we let the kids sleep until around 8.

We went to the Ponderosa Restaurant for all you can eat pancakes.

That day we went to Bear Country USA,

(RAWR)

and Reptile Gardens.

 





The next day we went down to Keystone and rode the 1880 Train, did some window shopping,




and went up to the monument to check it out and see the lighting ceremony.





During the lighting ceremony the lady asked all of the current and veteran military to go down to the stage and be recognized, then salute the flag as they lowered it down the pole. I was so proud of my hubby.

I loved watching him down there being applauded along side probably 50ish other military personnel. He doesn't get a lot of appreciation for his 12 years in, and his last year-2 years were pretty miserable, so he doesn't even like to talk about it much. But I'm still very proud of him.





 There aren't any more pictures because the camera battery died, and I didn't have the foresight before we left to bring the charger. DOH!

The third day we headed south to Hot Springs to go play all day at Evans Plunge! That was a BLAST!

We were supposed to head home that night or the next morning so hubby could be at work the night of the 11th. But we decided, instead, for him to take a 'dump day' to go to Crazy Horse which was pretty cool, but the night time laser light show was disappointing to say the least. I really felt like they were trying SO hard to out do Mt. Rushmore that it turned out just gaudy. And the whole story of Crazy Horse, the indian, was him standing up against the white military who were supposed to be protecting his people, but instead were stealing from them, and in the end, a white military man stabbed him in the back and left him to die alone in a shed. SO .. what did they do at the end of the laser light show? Show the insignias of each of the military branches while playing Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American".
Perhaps it was just because it was 9-11, I wouldn't know unless I went back on another date to watch the show again, but I'm not sure it would be worth it to know. And they never specified that the tribute was for "patriot day"... so who knows. But it just left me with a feeling of.... confusion and disappointment.

But, in the end, I am glad we went. We had the best time together as a family! We just saw so much, did so much, and had a huge amount of fun. And my kids... my kids learned. It wasn't just a fun experience, it was an educational one as well!


And now, every time hubby or I drink coffee out of our new souvenir coffee mugs, my little 2 year old guy (the one in the banner up at the top of this page) gets a HUGE smile on his face, and excitedly points to it squealing "Mount Mushmore, mommy! It's Mount Mushmore!!!"

And if nothing else, THAT makes it ALL worth while.