The first stop of the morning was the Crazy Horse monument. It was a nice learning experience about the area and monument itself. It is an active construction site, so you can't get really close. They had one the machines that is used to carve the stone on display. There is a learning center and also other sculptures to look at. I got there early so I didn't have to deal with a crowd and was able to take my time walking through the cultural center.

After visiting Crazy Horse I headed over to Mt. Rushmore, it was a nice hilly winding road, a very enjoyable ride. Rushmore was busy, should of went here first to avoid the crowd, well now I know. The setup was nice even thought they were doing construction on the visitor center. The walking plaza heading towards the monument had flags and plaques from every state, showing the year the state was ratified. Everyone was toping to take pictures with the bust of the designer of the monument. When I was leaving I stopped to ensure I got a photo of the bike in front of the sign. You know, just being a tourist.

This was a great suggestion. It added about three hours of riding onto my day and I had to cut out Custer Park but it was worth it. This was a live dig so there were students actively excavating bones. There was another area where one student was trying to separate dirt and stone form the mammoth's tongue. It was difficult because the soft tissue was starting to tear as he was trying to remove the rocks. They had a place where you could sift through some of the dirt from the site and find small bones and arrowheads. They showed how ancient people used every part of the animal for food and build a structure to live in. If you get a chance to go, I highly recommend it.