Day 1 and 2 are in the books.  Apologies for not posting yesterday, but we drove straight through the night without stopping at a place with wi-fi.  The good news is we did not kill each other, and honestly never really came close to doing so.  Here are the highlights from Day 1:


Departure from Sigel

When we think of the greatest feats of man, several events come to mind - the pyramids, landing on the Moon, scaling Everest.  These are nothing when you consider that we actually left Sigel within 10 minutes of our scheduled departure time with all our luggage in the vehicle.  I almost cried with joy. 

First on our schedule was a stop at Notre Dame to view the Golden Dome in person.  Chunk is a big Fighting Irish fan, so this stop had particular meaning.  We were able to see the Dome, some of the sacred grass, and (of course) Touchdown Jesus.  Good times were had by all. 

Touchdown Jesus!

After Notre Dame, however, we had 18 straight hours of driving to reach the Mount Rushmore area.  It was in every way possible the painful experience you might expect.  Our rented Town and Country minivan, while nice, fails as a sleeper.  We had a good system, though, with at least one co-pilot assisting the driver at all times.  The van was treated to Matt and Chunk serenading the group with a mix of heavy metal power ballads, progressive country, and a few classics.  "American Pie" has never been so beautifully executed by two men in a van at 3:00AM.

We arrived in Hot Springs, SD at 8:00AM, where we enjoyed an excellent breakfast at Dale's Family Restaurant.  Kati was sick to her stomach all night, but ate both her breakfast and 1/2 of Josh's, at times even gaining his permission to do so. 

We hit the ground running on Day 2 with a trip to Wind Cave, which is the 5th largest cave system in the world.  There are apparently 138 miles of navigable caves layered in a 1 square mile area.  This includes a massive underground lake with dozens of unique microbes that digest rocks and shrubs made of crystal.  They teased us with this, but then said nobody is allowed there. 


Caves ROCK (get it?)

The Mammoth Site was our next stop.  It is a tour of an excavation site where many, many mammoths met untimely ends.  Basically, an underground cave collapsed, creating a sink hole that filled with water.  Because the sides were slick, however, anything that ventured in did not get out.  Fun fact: Of the 60 mammoths excavated, all are male. Mammoths were a matriarchal species, so at times males were cast off to fend for themselves.  Seeing the sink hole as an easy meal/drink, they fell in.  Our 12 year old tour guide was disconcertingly upbeat when she relayed this sad information. 
 

The Bachelor Life Killed Him...

After the mammoth site, we traveled the Needles Highway in Custer State Park.  This 14 mile road includes many switchbacks, tunnels, and curves winding around amazing rock spires.  Our car - like 'Merica - is a democracy.  Kati asked to drive this highway, but was soundly defeated by a vote of 4 to 1.  We love her dearly, but did not wish to risk so much so soon in the vacation.


This is Why Kati was Denied

Two other items of note.  First, Kati and Becky decided to scale one of the lesser spires.  Wearing flip-flops.  This did not go well, given the poor "gription" of the soles.  Second, at this point, mind you, we've been traveling for 36 hours with little sleep.  Why I cannot say, but the sight of these rock spires inspired a spontaneous rendition of America the Beautiful led by Josh.  It was hauntingly beautiful.

Our final stop was Mount Rushmore for the evening lighting ceremony.  They told stories about the four presidents, then light up the monument in dramatic fashion.  Here are thoughts person-by-person:
Josh: "I thought it was bigger, but it is still striking."
Chunk: "Worth seeing once, but why do they call it Mount Rushmore?"
Kati and Becky was stunned speechless, muted by the glory of Mount Rushmore. 
Matt: "We have 15 minutes here before we need to leave.  Enjoy it quickly."

Up next, traveling from Mount Rushmore to Cody, WY through Little Big Horn.

Random Stats:
Total Hours Driven: 28
Town and Country Kills: 2 (Raccoon and unknown varmint)
Buffalo sited: 2
Showers Taken: 0

Quote of the Day
"One....BILLION YEARS!"
 - Chunk, when our tour guide asked how old the Wind Cave is.  He was off by 960 million.