Bessie was dwarfed by the mighty Mammoths in Hot Springs, South Dakota. We were up close to a huge excavation of actual bones from animals who had gotten caught in a large pool of water. The tale they told was quite interesting and we all learned a lot about the life and extinction of many species. View Photos…

Afterwards, we headed to downtown Keystone to eat lunch at Flatiron Coffee bar. However, they were out of Chicken. They were out of Beef. That left two menu choices. So, we left and went to The Blue Bison. We enjoyed our sandwiches enormously there. The ice cream was delicious and the atmosphere wonderful. Afterwards, we took a relaxing dip or sped down slides at Evan’s Plunge, a hot spring. View photos…

Feeling refreshed, we braved our final twisting, mountain road called Iron Mountain Road. It features some great outlooks onto Mount Rushmore. From there, we ventured into Keystone again, this time to take in the sights and have a bit of dinner. We chose Arriba for its Mexican cuisine. Such delicious nachos! Oh, that you weren’t 832 miles away!

We finished the day back at Mount Rushmore. Every evening they have a program before lighting the mountain. It’s a wonderful sight. View Photos…