Day Nineteen of the big move west

We got an early start today. We had a ton of things on our to-see list, but we whittled it down. We are going to stay an extra day in this area so that we can see the things we want to see and not feel so rushed.

We headed out right after breakfast and went directly to Mount Rushmore. We got there and were one of the first people. By the time we left the parking garage was packed. We took the Presidential Trail and walked around the site. It was a neat excursion!

We had considered watching the movie in the visitor center, but we decided that we would continue on our way.

The next stop was at the Crazy Horse Monument. This is an in-progress monument. It was started in 1948 and is still nowhere near completion. I recognize that this is significantly larger than Mount Rushmore, but I thought there would have been more progress in 63 years. Mount Rushmore took 14 years.

It was pretty cool to see. The admission fee was $10 per person. Since we really only wanted a photo, we asked to turn around. The lady at the gate saw the DoD sticker on the car and asked if we were military. Bill showed his ID and we got in free! That was awesome.

From there we headed down to Wind Cave National Park, but decided that we didn't want to go. We stopped at a scenic overlook that had a little trail. We took the dogs for a walk on the trail and I think they appreciated the break.

We headed into the town of Custer, SD, and stopped at the Naked Winery for a tasting and a lunch recommendation. It is a kitschy place and it had great wines. We then went to Baker's Bakery for lunch, which was pretty good and then DQ for dessert. The dogs got a soft serve cone, which I think made their day!

From there we headed back to Spearfish on the scenic route, stopping at Stone Faces Winery, another location of Naked Winery, and Prairie Berry Winery for some tasting. The best experience by far was at Naked. The wines were good and the people were fun. Stone Faces had some good wines, including a Sturgis Merlot, the official wine of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally (if you can believe that), which was quite good. The wines at Prairie Berry were OK, but nothing to write home about.

We are ending the day with a bottle of homemade Barolo and dinner cooked over the campfire.

I am really digging this vacation!