Our road trip, while exhausting, was a lot of fun.  One of the places we did make a point to stop and spend some time at during our travels was Mount Rushmore.  You can’t speed through South Dakota and not stop, right? 

We were a little trepidatious as we drove up the mountain for the breathtaking view, because Mother Nature was being uncooperative for the first time in all the many days of travel, with clouds hovering menacingly and threatening to rain on our parade.  As we got ready to walk up to the viewpoint from the mountain, I snapped a quick shot from the parking lot:

The parking lot was pretty much packed, even though we went fairly early in the morning since we had a long drive stretching before us.  As we walked up to the observation area, I was able to zoom in over the heads of the multitudes of tourists to grab a decent shot:

We decided to take a little side trip into the gift shop to pick up some trinkets and souvenirs and were a bit disappointed that Mother Nature was busy during that 45 minutes by shrouding the mountain with low clouds:

Good thing I got the shot I did walking up to it.  The clouds didn’t deter us from taking pictures of the kids in front of it, though – and since the observation area was teeming with tourists, the hubby lifted each kid up high enough to cut out the heads of the tourists and just get the kids:

On the way out, we spotted the pillar for Pennsylvania and I wanted to get a picture of the kids in front of it (it was starting to rain, but they obliged although somewhat reluctantly):

This is the third time I’ve had the privilege of visiting Mount Rushmore, and it’s still as impressive as the first time I saw it in person, though now it’s become even more crazy and commercialized than it used to be. 

Have you ever been to Mount Rushmore?

.

Wordless or Wordful or Wordy or Wordish – feel free to link up:

Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets — Easy-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.


.

For Wordless Wednesday, be sure to visit Wordless Wednesday, Go Graham Go, and JollyMom for more great Wordless Wednesday Posts.

More Wordless and Wordful fun:

Live and Love...Out Loud

. I’m also participating in Random Deals Whimsical Wednesday Blog Hop:

Random Deals

 


Warning: Undefined array key "cl_post_url" in /misc/18/317/293/821/5/user/web/stacysrandomthoughts.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/commentluv/commentluv.php on line 761

30 Comments

  1. That was so cute how you picked up the kids to have their heads on Mt. Rushmore hehehehe & so what did you have there Mother Nature & her Princess, and the Dude of Earls!???! hehehehe Drive safely!!!!!! hugzzz

  6. No I have never been there. Still on my list of places to visit.
    Looks so cool!! Love the kids pics!!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

  10. I’ve been a couple of times. When we were driving back to Seattle from Grad school in Indiana we stopped. JR had never been. Strike that off his bucket list.

  15. My uncle lives by there. We went a lot when we were kids. I always liked it! They have a great KOA campground there as well! The best one I’ve ever been to. I lived in Georgia for awhile. We lived right by Stone Mountain, which was carved by the same people as Rushmore.
    alissa apel would like you to read ..WW: Art in Chicago {Linky}My Profile

  16. It’s one of the few places I haven’t been – I’m going to have to do something about that.

    I love the photos of the kids, especially the last one together; they look as if they’re thinking mischievous thoughts!
    Jan’s Sushi Bar would like you to read ..Easy Roasted PotatoesMy Profile

  19. I have never been to mount Rushmore, but it’s on my must see list. Some day I’ll make it there.

    Sorry the weather spoiled your fun, but the photos are still precious and the kids will always remember visiting this historic spot. 🙂
    Run DMT would like you to read ..Fishing and Catching CrittersMy Profile

  20. I’ve only seen it once and I was very young. I totally want to take my kids back and see it again. So awesome.

  27. I haven’t seen Mount Rushmore yet, but I really would like to have the chance to get there! It must be such an amazing place, I have seen so many beautiful pics about that country!
    Katrin would like you to read ..Endlich ein fauler TagMy Profile

  29. Great shots. Little Dude is adorable and PN getting so tall!
    I have not been to Mt Rushmore, my parents went on a trip after I moved away from home for the first time!
    Some day!

  30. What a beautiful picture of Mount Rushmore. The first one in the article, the colors are fantastic! South Dakota is amazing, if you get some time, check out Deadwood Sd. Just like the rest of South Dakota, it is packed with rich history and great places to visit.
    Steve would like you to read ..Deadwood Dick’s SuitesMy Profile

Comments are closed.