Ride to Mount Rushmore 6 June 2010

Following the hatchery, we made a short stop in Deadwood,SD; a historic mining camp, built on a rowdy history of gold, gambling and gunpowder. It was the American Frontier, turbulent and on the move. Where Wild Bill Hickok met his violent end with a bullet to the back of the head at Saloon #10...Now it is home to 86 gambling halls, hotels, and the Mt Moriah Cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried. Ahhhh...true love...she died many years later with her final wish requesting to be buried next to Wild Bill...wonder how her husband felt about THAT?!And miracles of miracles...we made it out of town without gambling any!!! Another short stop was the Chapel in the Hills in Rapid City, SD built in 1969 and an exact replica of the famous 850 year old Borgund “Stavkirke” (Stave) Church located near Laerdal, Norway. It is beautiful from every angle and the construction techniques were as the early church builders had in choosing the timbers with each being hand cut. Imagine...16,000 shingles being hand cut with a saw! The ceiling is constructed like a Viking ship turned upside down. The front door is a carving of snakes and dragons, the battle between good and evil. As pagans, the dragon was good luck to the Vikings. The front door is known as the men’s door and the side door known as the women’s door. In the early church, men stood on one side and women and children stood on the other. Hopefully you will be able to see the beauty from our photos. While driving around the Rapid City area, we passed through Sturgis which is home to the largest bikers rally with over 155,000 bikers attending every year and even more expected this year in August for the 70th anniversary!! Just can’t imagine…thank God it's not August!