While not at the top of our list of ‘must sees,’ Mount Rushmore is an American icon and since we are relatively close to it (300 miles), we decided to take a long weekend trip to visit.

Unfortunately, we didn’t time our visit well. We went the same week as the Sturgis bike rally and, although Mount Rushmore is an hour away from Sturgis, the monument and the area were packed with bikers. Sadly, most didn’t wear masks and there was very little social distancing.

We have all seen so many pictures of Mount Rushmore that we wondered how different it would feel to see it in person. It really is amazing to see and to realize the effort that went into it. There is also a trail that allows you to see it from different angles and a display of the original model it was made from.

We didn’t want to take the camper for a short trip, so we stayed at The Roosevelt Inn in Keystone. It is an older hotel, but is well maintained and included a free breakfast. The local restaurants were all packed and again, no social distancing. But luckily, Sherpa’s Kitchen was right next door. It was only open for carry-out but they had a nice patio where we could eat. We haven’t found many Indian restaurants since we went full-time so this was a real treat!

We had planned on going to Custer State Park the next day but right as we were leaving the hotel our truck suddenly lost power and became undriveable. We had Good Sam Roadside Assistance tow us to Accelerated Diesel in Rapid City, about 30 miles away. These folks were fantastic! They squeezed us in even though it was a Friday afternoon, diagnosed the issue, and were able to make the repairs that afternoon.

So, it may not have been the BEST trip we’ve taken, but we wound up enjoying it and can now check off one more item on our ‘been there, saw that’ list.