Day 72: Mt. Rushmore & Badlands National Park

Mt. Rushmore was more impressive than we expected. The carved figures of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt were incredible. We enjoyed learning how Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor, designed the monument and how it was actually carved. It was amazing to learn that 90% of the carving was done through dynamite!

On our way to Badlands National Park, we stopped at Wall Drug which is the number 1 tourist attraction in South Dakota. It was an old western themed mall to us. We really don't know what the appeal is.

On the other hand, Badlands National Park is now on our top favorites list! And to think we almost decided to skip it. The Badlands has beautiful pinnacle and spire rock formations with grasslands. It is known for having the largest fossil bed. We kept stopping along the way to get to our campground in the park because of all the beautiful views.

That night we attended a star gazing program and got to see Jupiter through several telescopes. Then during the ranger night program, the International space station passed right over us!