Day 7, Rapid City, South Dakota to Billings, Montana



That's inspiring!

As I prepare this post I am in the lobby of the Hampton Inn in Billings Montana.  There is a tornado warning in effect for a funnel that has touched down just west of here and is drifting this way.  This morning when we left Rapid City we saw the Dominator, the armored tornado chase vehicle that some of you may have seen on the Storm Chasers program.  I plan to duck into the hotel laundry in the middle of the first floor if the sirens go off!!

On to happier thoughts.  The first picture is intended to be inspirational to the park service in case they decide to add another face to Mount Rushmore.  What do you think?

We left Rapid City and headed south to Mount Rushmore around 9:00 local time.  This seems to be a light tourist season, so the crowds were light.  The park really is impressive and a moving, patriotic experience of the best kind.  As promised here is a picture of Gloria in her cowgirl hat.

Although we were facing a daunting 375 mile trip to Billings, we couldn’t resist the urge to travel another 11 miles in the wrong direction to see the Crazy Horse memorial which is still under construction.  Pictured is me (in my new hat) in front of a model created by the sculptor, which is being used to control the dimensions of a huge mountain sculpture.  The face of Chief Crazyhorse is done and the outline of his arm and horse are beginning to take shape.  The visitor’s center is fully developed and a great educational center on native peoples and the project on Crazyhorse Mountain.

The Hotel lobby is filling up with concerned guests.  One storm missed us, but another is bearing down and everyone is collecting on the ground floor of the hotel. It feels like a  hurricane party, western style.

We learned that Beartooth mountain pass is still under deep snow drifts, so we are going to go to Cody and the dude ranch by an eastern route and save the mountains for another time.

I’ll post again tomorrow assuming that the weather doesn't eat my computer.

David