Mt Rushmore, Nauvoo & More..

Three weeks have passed by quickly! 
 
While Tom & Sarah were in Nauvoo, Rick & I went on a road trip of our own to South Dakota to visit Mt Rushmore.  This is a six hour drive from Littleton and I have to say, it was great!!  Driving at our own pace, on our own, passing such varied countryside which was all green, listening to K-Love (Christian Rock) and country music, and then from time to time, talk back.  We stopped when we needed to and eventually the farmlands, or rather cattle country (I only saw one flock of sheep), became rolling hill country and then we were in a little town called Custer in South Dakota where we stopped for lunch at Subway.  Replenished, we made our way into the Black Hills of South Dakota to Mt Rushmore and enjoyed that amazing rush of seeing this famous landmark!  It's very memorable.  We were impressed with a wonderful tour given by 'Ranger Jake' about the politics and history surrounding the sculpting of Mt Rushmore.  Fantastic, I still can't believe we got to see this!

  

The Black Hills of South Dakota with huge outcrops of Granite.
The Black Hills were given this name by the Sioux Indians due to the dark Ponderosa Pines,
 which cover the mountains for miles!!



Can you believe this?  Here we are at the base of Mt Rushmore which show the faces of
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

The camp ground where we 'roughed it'.  This is the sun at about 6am. 
A very beautiful spot amongst the Ponderosa Pines.

 We stayed overnight at a camp ground on the outskirts of Rapid City, amongst the Ponderosa Pines and then the next day drove out to explore the Badlands which is a huge area about an hour from Rapid City with amazingly unique rock formations.  This area is so large, it's a National Park.  The formations of rock are sedimentary not granite, and so subject to enormous erosion.  The area itself is a grassy plateau surrounded by these unusual uplifts of rock.  We drove the Loop Road and stopped at most vantage points and climbed one trail.  A great day!

The Badlands is a vast area of sedimentary outcrop.  The pioneers who first settled this area described it as harsh, hence Badlands, unlike the Indians who loved the rich pasturelands and animals that live here.



Now, this is a scary sign!



We stopped at a trail and decided a climb was in order, but I did keep a sharp eye on all those holes and dark cavities after seeing that sign!!  Don't want to disturb anything!
The sedimentary layers give evidence of an inland sea at some point in history.  Quite remarkable..

This ended up being quite a steep, strenuous climb, but the view was very rewarding at the top.

This was taken at another 'overlook'

Driving back to Rapid City, the green, rolling countryside was very peaceful.
 This shack on the hillside reminded me of a screensaver photo..

Later that evening, we drove back to Mt Rushmore via the town of Keystone, where we killed some time, to see Mt Rushmore lit up at night.  This was a very patriotic presentation and very stirring for those present especially from the United States.  Overseas visitors were not acknowledge though, despite the objective of the monument being to attract visitors from overseas, as well as from all over the country.  When the MC was getting people to cheer when he called out different parts of the States, this women a couple of rows in front of us yelled out in her British accent, "What about England?" I was amused by that since we are from Australia and were sitting next to people from China. So that was the only critique, we have found Americans very friendly and helpful, but sometimes a bit ignorant and arrogant when it comes to people or knowledge outside of their own country.  It makes me wonder how foreigners perceive Aussies in Australia??  Something to consider..  Anyway, once again it was wonderful to experience Mt Rushmore.  It's an amazing sculpture.

A fine view of George Washington through some Granite.

The overcast skies cleared for a very pretty sunset. 
After the presentation, cloud covered the whole mountain. We were very lucky!

The ampitheatre where a movie presentation is presented nightly.
 A very interesting and patriotic event!

The faces lit up after the presentation, but after about 10 minutes was very quickly covered by misty cloud.  Quite a sight!

The next morning we made our way to Custer State Park which is directly next to Mt Rushmore.  It took us about 3 1/2 hours to drive around this park beginning with Sylvan Lake and The Needles Highway, which twists and bends its narrow way around the mountainside.  The scenery is truely beautiful, with the towering needle like forms of granite giving it's name.  We stopped a few times and explored a little, then again took a Loop Road and drove and drove until we came across the Burros, which belong to the donkey family.  They are so tame, and were looking for food.  Chloe and Zayla would have loved this stop!!  Driving on and on (this is a huge park), we saw a herd of Buffalo, they were over the opposite side of the road in a gully, however there were some at the top of the ridge next to the road and obligingly crossed the road in front of us, which greatly satisfied Rick!  They are very powerful looking animals!  This is a really beautiful park.  You could easily camp here for a week and really relax, but keep busy with things to do and see.

Sylvan Lake, Custer State Park



The highway forms a single land between these rock formations!!


This is one of five tunnels on the Needles Highway.  The single lane is pretty narrow, I'm sure some of the big vehicles we see on the roads would not fit through here!

We stopped by a creek and wandered and climbed the trail for a bit..



The pines are amazing and so is the smell!!

The Burros.  Very tame and keen for any tidbits on offer!

They didn't seem to mind a crowd, so long as there was food!

The elusive Buffalo.  But actally very obliging for us tourists!

Another beautiful lake, a final stop regrettably, before leaving the park.

We next made our way to the Jewel National Monument aka the Jewel Caves.   They were on the route back to Denver so we took the opportunity.  The tour took about 90 minutes, and at first took us three stories down in an elevator then we wound and twisted our way up and down and around a further seven stories down!! The caves are an amazing display of crystals, stalagtites, stalagmites and other formations formed by water mostly dripping through limestone.  It was excellent!! Quite something to see!

A bit dark, but you can see the steps and tour group moving through the caves.

Our drive home was very relaxing, sometimes a bit too relaxing as the country cowboy songs got very slow and drony! But what a great getaway, we were very glad we went..

"Oh, give me a home, where the Buffalo roam..."

Back in Colorado, near the top of the State for a beautiful sunset.

The kids arrived back home very tired, but very excited on Saturday night.  Tom got me to cut his hair a few hours later, and hadn't stop talking about their journeyings the whole time!  They had some amazing experiences visiting the Nauvoo Temple, Carthage Jail, Adam-Ondi-Ahmen, the grave site of Joseph and Hyrum and Liberty Jail.  How grateful I am that they got to experience these places and the wonderful spirit that is there, and especially thankful for our ward who fundraised and organised, so this was all possible.  Sometimes, I am so overwhelmed by the good fortune and blessings that have come to us.

Tom & Sarah outside the Nauvoo Temple, rebuilt in exactness to the original that was destroyed by fire in the mid 1840's.  Tom & Sarah were able to do baptisms for their Nana's family, the Schenck's.

At Adam-Ondi-Ahmen. They both said the Spirit felt at this sacred place was like that of an outdoor Temple.

In front of a monument of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum.

Liberty Jail. Terrible conditions were endured here by the Prophet and his companions during the cold of winter.

Inside the room of Carthage Jail where Joseph and Hyrum lost their lives.
 The original door with a bullet hole also remains.

The following week was not surprisingly a lot quieter.  Tom & Sarah were really worn out after their journeyings, and Rick & I were happy just to stay put.  We did however, spend quite some time organising and finalising our roadtrip to California and our trip to New York!  I can't believe we get to go to these places!!  Accomodation is the hardest and most expensive part, but we are finally happy with our itinery and need to just sit back now and let it happen.  We leave for California on the 15th August stopping first near the Grand Canyon, then Las Vegas then on to Southern California.

I have also been spending quite a bit of time researching some Family History.  Something that started with me finding some names for the kids to take to Nauvoo, but I confess, I have the bug. I have always said there is a time and season, so I guess while I have some time this is my season!!  I am currently finding out about the BENNALLACK family and have discovered some really interesting information about the lives of these hardworking people from the mines and villages of Cornwall thanks to the online parish records and Census Records.  It is so nice to know where our family came from, and a little about the lives they lived.

The kids meanwhile have been enjoying the warmth too, taking advantage of the local swimming pool which is only about 4 houses away.  They seem to find something to do and manage to keep busy! 

I have also been dabbling in watercolours and experimenting with different techniques or elements that make up a piece of work.  There is lots to learn, and it all takes time, patience and lots of practice, but I really  enjoy the challenge.

A study on reflections

A monochromatic study.  One colour to learn depth and light.

Shape painting. Using negative shapes to create depth.

The last week of June, began with organising the house and keeping things in order.  Chani Bramford, Sarah's 'bestie' from Adelaide arrived on Wednesday the 29th!  I have never seen two girls more excited to see each other! (That was one way to get a room clean!).   It proved to be a busy day, starting with us all going out with Bishop Smith and his wife on their boat on Chatfield Lake.  We left very early and it was so beautiful out on the lake early in the morning.  Bishop and DeAnne were both very good on their skiis, as was their good friend Kiersten.  Tom had snow boarded a few times now, and mastered the wake board very quickly and had some great rides.  It was also the first time for the rest of us, and Sarah impressed us by getting up on the board and staying there for a while, Rick & I however were a sad story.  We couldn't master it at all!  It seems I have absolutely no upper body strength, but did some spectacular face plants into the water!  Rick has since said that if I can do 10 push-ups he'll buy me a new dress!! (I can do 3!)  After the fun on the lake however, I had sore muscles all over for a few days!!

Sarah looking like she belongs there!  The calm before the action!!!

Sarah's first experience on a boat and wade boarding.  I think she is a champion!

Tom, looking very good!

DeAnne and Bishop Alan Smith

Bishop doing his best to dislodge Tom from the biscuit.
 (Now this was something Rick & I did have success on! Great fun!)

In the afternoon, Tom went with Kelland and his Dad, Dana on a hike to the summit of Mt Evans which is just one of the 54 '14er's' here in Colorado.  This translated means there is 54 mountains over 14,000 ft.  They drove most of the way and hiked the last couple of hours.  Afternoon storm clouds came across while they were fairly high, and both boys felt 'stings' on the tops of their heads, and all their hairs were standing up on their heads.  Recognising they were in a bit of danger from lightening, they scrambled to shelter under an outcrop about 200m above them, and sure enough they watched rain and lightening around them until it passed.   Quite the adventure, but they were very lucky they weren't used as a lightening rod..  This would have been the same storm system that caused Chani's plane to be delayed for over an hour, circling until it was able land.

Looking at America through Chani's eyes has been very nice, and makes us realise how settled and familiar we are with our surrounds now.  We have had fun showing her around, sharing our favourite take away and even shopping at Costco's.  I think going to the supermarket here for the first time is especially fun! Three tacos for $1 at Taco Bell's and $1 DVD movie from a Red Box, which is a movie dispenser found at Maccas, or the supermarket.  You just have to love some things in America!!

On Saturday morning, Tom left for EFY in Provo, catching a ride with the Mercer's and then the girls left on Sunday with the Hansen's.  They are in for a great week, and Rick and I find ourselves once again' empty nesters'!  Yay!