Breakfast With the Presidents

The “fab four” are just down the road from us so we got going early and arrived at the Mt. Rushmore Memorial in time for breakfast and morning pictures. Here’s the view heading out of Keystone and up to the park.

We had the Monumental Breakfast (just what I needed) Here’s our breakfast view…

We took the 1/2 mile Presidential Walk where you get lots of great views of the faces. I took another 80+ pix of the Presidents and 99% of them are beautiful. But here’s a view at the end of the walk when dark clouds started rolling in. I like the contrast and the perspective giving a sense of how the monument fits into the surrounding area.

While we were stocking up on T-shirts in the gift shop a thunderstorm materialized complete with lightning, thunder and power outage. Everyone rushed inside so we completed our shopping and headed for the cafeteria for lunch with the Presidents! Here’s the view after the rain. Looks like they are crying.

“People Watching” is excellent at Mt. Rushmore. We sat next to a young Japanese family at breakfast. When the three kids were done they got out workbooks about the monument and worked on completing the stories and puzzles. Mom and Dad guided them…all done very quietly with lots of hand gestures. A couple of tables away a family with one child was creating a ruckus because the kid didn’t like his breakfast. Cultural differences 🙂
We sat in the amphitheater to take some photos and rest. We overheard the American family next to us. Dad said, “Who is that guy, the second one? I can’t remember his name. Thomas something.” He did finally remember 🙂 (in case you are unfamiliar, they are Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt, Lincoln.)
After lunch we headed out and drove north to Deadwood. I was in hopes that it would be better than Virginia City, NV…it was. The whole town is a historical landmark so any restoration or building has to be approved by the Deadwood historical society. It is an interesting place. Of course there are lots of tourist T-shirt shops and lots of casinos. The whole restoration is financed by the casino profits.

We did a little more shopping, relaxed with a drink and then headed home. We probably blew a months’ entertainment allowance..but it was a great day.