An Epilogue

Well, I am writing you from Iowa. We will be visiting Lee's sister Rosanne and husband Jim for a few days. We will also see their new grandson Felix and his proud parents, of course, Nathan and Suzie. Then we will be off to Red Bay, Alabama for motorcoach servicing and then off to Florida which will be our winter home base after the holidays.
What an amazing experience!! For those who know me, you know how reticent I was about doing this trip. But I have to say, it was a life changer in so many ways.
We have such a beautiful country!!! We need to continue to preserve it for generations to come. I thank those who have been faithfully following our blog and feel that the only way to end this adventure is to say:

"Oh beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountains majesties
Above the fruited plains
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!"

Until next time... I wish you good health and the love of family and dear friends!!!

Custer State Park - South Dakota

The next day Lee, Sammy, and I took a drive through Custer State Park. Did you know that George A. Custer led a scientific army expedition into the Black Hills in 1874???? Though the expedition discovered gold, Custer seemed more interested in the area's uncommon natural beauty. Years after fortune seekers took a toll on the area's wildlife, in 1913 The South Dakota legislature created a state game reserve in the southern Black Hills. In 1919, the reserve became Custer State Park.
We decided to visit this park since we were told by our friend Dan that there was a wildlife road where we could see more animals. Well, we certainly were not disappointed as the pictures show. We saw bison, deer, mountain sheep, burros, and more.
We then drove through Iron Mountain Road where there are granite tunnels, some so small, that we didn't think our Jeep would fit through. What a weird feeling to drive through these mountains; thank goodness we were not in the motorcoach!!!
One destination that caught our eye was the Black Hills Playhouse. I just love their sign using buffalo as the symbols of masks of tragedy and comedy. I had to take a picture of this. Even though the theater was closed for the season, it was nice to know that they had professional theater in the Black Hills!!
The next road we took was the Needles Highway. The name "Needles" comes from the slender granite peaks that characterize this area. The Cathedral Spires is a series of pinnacles that resemble church spires and the Needles "Eye" is a granite formation which looks like the eye of a needle. Isn't that just amazing!!!
Lee and I enjoyed traveling around and looking at the differences in the mountains and its surrounding landscape.
We are so delighted to have had this experience.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial - South Dakota

What a breathtaking sight. Ever since I had seen the Alfred Hitchcock movie,North by Northwest, I've always wanted to see Mount Rushmore and, boy oh boy, I was not disappointed.
Here is a little history. Gutzon Borglum, the artist and sculptor, had a vision for Mount Rushmore to be "the formal rendering of the philosophy of our government into granite on a mountain peak". Borglum chose to give human form to the abstract. His monument to America grouped four leaders who brought the nation from colonial times into the 1900's. The four Presidents were chosen to commemorate the founding, growth, preservation, and development of the United States. They symbolize the principles of liberty and freedom on which the nation was founded. George Washington signifies the struggle for independence and the birth of the Republic; Thomas Jefferson the territorial expansion of the country; Abraham Lincoln the permanent union of the States and the equality for all citizens; and Theodore Roosevelt, the 20th century role of the United States in world affairs and the rights of the common man.
It took fourteen years of work but only six years were spent on the actual carving.
Gutzon Borglum said, "A monument's dimensions should be determined by the importance to civilization of the events commemorated....Let us place there, carved high, as close to heaven as we can, the words of our leaders, their faces, to show posterity what matter of men they were. Then breathe a prayer that these records will endure until the wind and the rain alone shall wear them away."
Pretty powerful stuff!!!!
We were very fortunate to have seen the lighting ceremony of the monument which included a movie on Freedom and a salute to our men and women in the military who were in attendance. It was a very moving evening for us.