We hit the road on our quest to seek the great state of South Dakota on an early August morning. We would gander at our nation’s shrines to our West. Our nine hour road trip started out quite normal and uninteresting except for the occasional childish argument over a magazine or M&Ms. What can I say? I like M&Ms!
After an all day drive of frequent potty stops, embroidered shirt buying, fast food and stopping at every conceivable tourist trap ‑ including a stay over in Mitchell
South Dakota visiting the world famous Corn Palace. A few more hours lead us to our final destination at a Hill City hotel literally, at the feet of Mount Rushmore.
After taking up in an old saloon for dinner that night, the preparation for our second day vacationing in the mountains was met with graphic exuberance from every member of the family.
The next morning we raced each other to the car. The air was chilly, the grass was with decorations of dew, together with soft kisses of early morning fog smoldering in the treetops, made our drive quite surreal.
From a few miles away we could view the faces of our past leaders emerging from the winding tree lines. Having only saw Mount Rushmore in books all of my life, the glimpses I grasped around each winding corner gave me oversized goose bumps, as if, I had just landed on the moon. It was exhilarating to say the least, and I would soon be at its front door with my wife and children. We would take pictures and ask strangers to snap family portraits of us, and we would reciprocate.
As we parked, every one of us fumbled for our door handles attempting to be the first one out the door. We ran to the front gates which, were iconic Roman pillars aligned in a pathway driving your body and eyes towards the top of the mountain. It was awe-inspiring!
To be continued.
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