I have avoided visiting Mount Rushmore up to this point in my life, having some personal difficulties with its location and the history of the area. However, with my parents visiting and my Dad having also not visited, we decided to go. The Hills are so lovely, with the various rock formations and the smell of the Ponderosas making me feel like I'm home in north Idaho. We had a good day. Lunch was at the monument (where my mom spotted a mountain goat), then we drove down the Iron Mountain Highway to Custer State Park and took 36 to 79 back into Rapid. Saw bison and pronghorn in the park. Sadly the Needles Highway is still closed, so had to miss that. Today was my friend's birthday, so I headed back to Badlands to join a large group of friends and family celebrating with a barbecue and games.