Travel with Tobey and Sue

Travel with Tobey and Sue
Tobey and Sue in Africa

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

September 20, 2013 - Mount Rushmore Memorial, Cathedral Spires Hike

Today the weather was fantastic! We were up and on our way by 8:30 this morning. First stop was Mount Rushmore. We took the 1/2 mile “Presidential Trail” hike to get a closer look at the mountain carving. It was interesting to have views of one face at a time along the trail. We stopped at the Sculptor’s Studio where a park ranger was giving a talk about Borglum and his work on the mountain.
Tobey graciously agreed to pose for the fifth face on the mountain!
We decided to come back tonight to go through the museum and the lighting ceremony because we wanted to take a couple hikes while the weather was good!

On our way back to the Cathedral Spires trailhead, we spotted these mountain goats along the road. Our wildlife list just keeps growing!

We stopped for a picnic lunch then arrived at Cathedral Spires. We were off … the trail was rated as difficult, but didn’t seem as bad as most Colorado hikes. We did have to scramble up some areas that were mostly boulders that was probably the hardest part.


The hike is about 3 miles roundtrip and is not a loop – it just deadends!


There was a group of climbers in one section of the spires that we stopped to watch for a while. They were brave!

We headed back to Sylvan Lake and walked the one mile loop around the lake. Enormous granite formations line portions of the lake making it one of the most picturesque in the Black Hills.

The path circles the lake and is cut through the granite to bring us back around.

On the way back to camp we stopped off at the Prairie Berry Winery for their free wine tasting. FUN! We had spotted their signs and stopped at a liquor store to ask what winery we should visit and they recommended Prairie Berry because they make all of their own wines. It was lots of fun and we ended up buying their red ass rhubarb wine to take home. http://www.prairieberry.com/

After dinner at camp, we headed back to the Mount Rushmore Memorial for the evening lighting ceremony and to tour the museum. The park ranger gave an inspirational program which included a talk about her favorite president, Thomas Jefferson, a film Freedom: America’s Lasting Legacy, and the lighting ceremony. After the ceremony, servicemen, active and retired, were invited onto the stage for the retiring of the flag. It was awe inspiring!

We enjoyed spending time in the museum looking at the historical pictures and reading about the construction. Built between 1927 and 1941, the cost of construction was $989,992.32! It was also interesting to find out why this memorial was built and why these four presidents were selected. You can check out more information about Mount Rushmore on the park service website. http://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm


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