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South Dakota: the Coyote State
Yes, we came to South Dakota to see the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, bison, and the badlands. Here is a bison who climbed up on top of a restaurant. Some firemen came and had to help the poor guy down.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
The sculpture, Gutzon Borglum (who incidentally also carved the Confederate memorial on Stone Mountain in Atlanta, Georgia) chose to depict Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln to commemorate the "foundation, preservation and expansion of the United States". Here, Kelly walks down the Avenue of Flags which displays every state flag. We noticed that they have not changed Georgia's flag yet.
Abraham Lincoln served as president from 1861 to 1865. Under Lincoln's administration, the Thirteenth Amendment which abolished slavery was added to the United States Constitution. It was this brave man who led the country during the Civil War and stated that "a house divided against itself cannot stand".
George Washington was our first president and served between 1789 and 1797. While many tried to encourage him to be emperor, he refused on the grounds that it would stand against the principals of the new nation. George Washington is the Father of our Country.
Thomas Jefferson (1801 to 1809) fittingly stands next to George Washington, as he too was one of the founding fathers of America. Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence and ironically died on the 25th anniversary of its signing. Theodore Roosevelt stands between Jefferson and Lincoln and serves as a symbol of opening up American relations with the rest of the world. He linked the East and the West when he led the project of the building of the Panama Canal. He was also a good buddy of the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum.
You cannot visit Rushmore without stopping at the famous Wall Drug Store. The old fashion billboards are everywhere.
The Badlands are mysterious and supernatural. Just imagine colorful canyons and rock pinnacles among grasslands on which deer run and bison roam. We visited the badlands in the fog, which only added to its mystique.
Continue with us as we spend the next day driving through 7 states, but mainly through Missouri, to reach our final destination, Graceland.
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Mount
Rushmore is an American symbol in so many ways. First it is big. In
the roaring 20s, times were good, and Americans felt very big--a big country
demanded big art. And so it was proposed to build a big sculpture in the
mountains of South Dakota's black hills. 
After
Badlands, we drove across South Dakota and down into Iowa before stopping at the
Motel 6 for the night. We must say that we were very impressed with the
6. It was very clean and had everything from Cable TV to a desk and a
comfortable bed. And they even left the light on for us.