Mt. Rushmore

After driving to Casper, Wyoming, where we spent the night, we then headed out early the next morning to South Dakota. We drove through Custer State Park where there was a ton of wildlife. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we were so lucky the weather was great for us. 

At the end of driving through the park, we were able to drive through three huge tunnels on the way to Mt. Rushmore. As we were about to drive through the first one, we could see in the far distance Mt. Rushmore. It was framing the carving perfectly. It was pretty awesome!

A couple miles away was Mt. Rushmore. It was beautiful. The monument was as big as I thought it would be, but it sure was impressive.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, established in 1925, features 60-foot sculptures of four US presidents—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln—carved into the granite mountain top. The memorial, designed by sculptor Gutzon Borglum.

Walking through the museum and watching a short film that explained the sculptor's idea and their journey creating it all was fascinating. 

Martin's Cove

On our way to Mt. Rushmore, we stopped off at Martin's Cove, where we were able to experience a handcart trek much like the one pioneers endured over 150 years ago. We visited the Mormon Handcart Visitors' Center and viewed exhibits recording the tragic circumstances of two handcart companies. Leaving late in the summer, they experienced bad weather, exposure, and death (for many) in order to unite with the main body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley. 

It was such a beautiful place and a great experience for Scott and I to reiterate with the boys of how wonderful our heritage is. To learn more about this historic event go here. 

Spring Break Part 2 - Goblin Valley and Hiking

We headed to Goblin Valley the next morning after everyone slept in and ate some breakfast. The park was about 25 minutes away from our hotel. It was simply amazing, even at first glance. You're in the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden, there are a million of these Goblin statues everywhere. It was beautiful. It was windy. It was way fun! 

We spent the next couple hours running, climbing and searching in the valley. The boys even found a couple of geocaches! 

Next we headed to Little Wild Horse to hike through the slot canyon. We stopped under a huge rock and ate our lunch, leaving "no trace behind". The boys had a blast. Running, climbing, jumping and exploring every nook and cranny. 

One of my favorite things to see was this huge rock with thousands of other rocks on top of it. We all found a rock, made a wish and added ours to the pile.  So cool!

It was fun and so beautiful. We live so close to so many amazing sites that nature has produced over long periods of time. Again, I am so thankful be so close and to experience nature at its finest with the ones I love the most.