An Ounce of Grace...: Devils Tower and Mount Rushmore

Monday we headed back to Salt Lake City since Baba and Papa Joe were flying out of there in the evening. We spent a few hours in the afternoon at The Family History Library researching some of our genealogy. This will be something we have to continue in the future, since it is very time consuming. Early evening we tearfully dropped the grandparents off at the airport so they could head home and recover! We headed down the road towards Rapid City.

Yesterday morning we visited Devils Tower National Monument. We trekked around the whole monument, catching views from each side. It was actually a pretty steamy morning. There were several insane people climbing the Tower. I can't imagine how hot that must be. The girls once again completed Junior Ranger booklets and received their badges. They sure have loved collecting their badges. They have worked hard for them.

Leaving Devils Tower we headed through Rapid City to the Mount Rushmore area. I read that they have a wonderful night time program, so we decided to go ahead to the campground and let the girls have some fun before heading to Mt. Rushmore in the evening. Our campground was amazing(did you ever think you would hear me say that?) It was a resort with a pool, water slide, playground, putt-putt, horse rides and a shuttle to Mt. Rushmore(win!) The girls kicked off the hiking shoes and traded them for flip-flops and headed to the pool. Erin and I got to do laundry! They loved the water slide and did it about a dozen times.

After a quick dinner, we headed to Mt. Rushmore on the shuttle bus. This was definitely one of our favorite places to visit. Anna has been very excited to see it. Come to find out Thomas Jefferson penned the first vanilla ice cream recipe, so they sell TJ ice cream and you know the "kids"(big and small) had to try it. After a quick stop in the gift shop and for ice cream, we viewed the video in the visitor center. Then it was time for the illumination ceremony. A ranger came out and talked about why we were all at Mt. Rushmore on that particular evening and how proud we are as Americans of those who came before us. Then we watched a 20 minuted documentary about the 4 Presidents on the Mount and how it was carved. At the end of the video, America the Beautiful plays and at the very end, the Mountain is lit up. Then we all rose to sing the National Anthem. All veterans and active duty military members are invited down to be part of the flag folding ceremony. There were over 3,000 people there and it was silent. Such respect, honor and value was shown to our military members and the flag. I am so thankful the girls experienced this show of patriotism and the pride that comes with being an American. Mt. Rushmore is an inspiring place to visit.