Day Two of the road trip started early with a scheduled helicopter ride over the eastern part of the Badlands. It was a short 10-minute flight, but the views were spectacular, as you'll see below! From this point on in the day - we saw everything we could possibly squeeze into the day: the Minuteman Silo, Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, a beautiful hike into the Black Hills and a quick stop at a local microbrewery for a pint (no photos) before we finally settled into Rapid City for the evening. Day Two:
And we're off to the skies!
The lines across the rock are even more pronounced from the air.
The view of the main road through Badlands National Park is a stark contrast of black that cuts through the red and orange rock.
It was cool to see how the river basin carved it's way through the rocky exteriors.
Patches of green were sparse among the rocky peaks.
Like an intricate puzzle - waiting to be solved.
I love the contrast of the natural landscape.
The amount of detail you can see from directly above is amazing.
Crazy to see the drop off from the plateau the main road sits on to the crevasses nearby.
The last beautiful shot from the helicopter: the long and winding road.
We hiked a couple of trails to see just a little more of The Badlands before heading west.
The early-morning moon peaked through the towering rock.
We made one quick stop at the Minuteman Missile Silo National Historic Site. For a couple of history buffs - it was an interesting stop. We could have spent an hour reading all of the displays and materials, but knew the West was calling.
Love the play on Dominos advertising.
What is a trip to South Dakota without stopping at the world-famous Wall Drug?
We also met Mr. Cody before heading to see some other famous faces.
The avenue of flags is the grand entrance you'd expect at a monument of this caliber.
Presidents.
Mount Rushmore has been photographed so much in the past I spent most of our time looking for unique angles I had never seen or ways to frame the heads into each photograph.
Honest Abe.
I portrayed this guy in a play once. It was probably the most fun I ever had on stage. Teddy.
A different angle on Washington.
The grand vista of presidents.
Around the bend was this roadside stop with a beautiful view of this lake.
After several minutes of coaxing, he finally jumped. Upon surfacing he exclaimed that the water was quite cold, although in much different terms.
Next stop - Crazy Horse!
We had both prepared for a nice long hike, but the monument was closed for construction. I made due with what I had to make a couple pictures from the visitor's center.
When finished, the Crazy Horse monument should be breathtaking.
The perfect spot among the trees.
Before heading into Rapid City for the night we did a quick climb into the Black Hills. Doesn't the rock on the right look like a muppet?
As you carve through the hills, the views are just fantastic, including those through some tunnels in the hillside.
Black and Blue Hills.
A panoramic view of the Black Hills. A good end to our Day Two travels.