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A small chapel at a SD rest area - about 8' x 16'
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Neat name . . .
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We didn't stop at Wall Drug. So sue us . . .
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Operates in Custer State Park at an old CCC camp
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A quartet of fat swallow babies at the playhouse
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This is a roadside attraction all grown up
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Antlers still in velvet
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He knows he rules the roost
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Arctic white wolves are shedding their winter coats
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And that's where they're shedding them
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Bighorn sheep
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A couple of BIG horns
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Mountain goat with personality
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Baby's walking, momma's shedding
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OK - that's what Bear Country is about....
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There are a couple hundred bears here
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And they're all heading straight for us!
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Whew - it's the food truck.
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Glad there's glass . . .
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This guy sniffed out our whole car
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They have private baths
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There are grey wolves roaming free, and there are confrontations
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All dressed up and no females in sight . . .
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Pooh's friend
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They've been deodorized (we think)
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Raccoons are fun to watch
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Lynx . .
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Bobcat
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We could watch the baby bears all day
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They spend a lot of time climbing
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It's a skill they're born with, but need to practice
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But they also seem to be having a lot of fun
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Top of the World!
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I can see clearly now . . .
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Coyote . .
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Red Fox
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Arctic wolf pup
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Otters . . .
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Would you wear that in 100 degree weather?
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The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountainous project
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They've been carving at it for almost 60 years
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The model and the real thing
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Harp sighting . . .
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The sculptor didn't just carve mountains
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It was this bust of Paderewski that motivated the Sioux Indians to contact him
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Another model of the ultimate mountain carving
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That's Buffalo Bill
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A really spectacular sculpture
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The project will take many more years to complete
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Two big things pointing . . .
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A decorated bison in Custer, SD
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Another one
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Must have been eating the "special" grass . .
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Custer on a bison in Custer. OK . . .
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The guy holding the menus at a coffee shop
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A buffalo roaming (the song says they do)
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A deer playing (the song says they do)
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Antelope playing (the song says they do)
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Neat valley in Custer State Park
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He's the leader of the pack
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A pack of semi-wild donkeys coming for us
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We tried going around, but they really wanted to see us
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One of our first views of Rushmore from Custer State Park
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There was a classic car rally this weekend
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Profile view
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As we approached the monument
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From the avenue of the states
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It's just awe-inspring, no matter how many times you see it
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Big George
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Big Tom
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Big Teddy
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Big Abe
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It's a cotton tail !
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The original sculptor's model
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When work stopped it was less than half finished
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We made a wrong turn and found this view
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Thru a US-16 tunnel across the valley
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Another Custer bison
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Inside Wind Cave
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The formation is called "Boxwork". It's very rare.
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The formation is mostly quartz and calcite.
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More cave
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Our guide at the mandatory cave "lights out" experience
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The formation is called "Popcorn"
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It's calcite nodules
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The boxwork is so intricate
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It's also very fragile
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95% of all known boxwork in the world is in this cave
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At the Mammoth Dig in Hot Springs, SD
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It's a 15,000 year old sinkhole that trapped a bunch of mammoths
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They've even found old mammoth footprints in the sediment
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They've found 102 tusks so far, so at least 51 mammoths
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Only two of the mammoths were Wooly Mammoths
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A very complete Columbian Mammoth skeleton
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Kids doing a make believe dig for replica bones
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Another very complete skeleton
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The largest skull found thus far
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Rick - notice the intact hyoid bone! Very rare.
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Teeth . . . mammoths had six pairs that erupted in sequence.
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A replica of a full-grown Columbian Mammoth
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A speculative indian lodge made from mammoth parts
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A full-grown pygmy mammoth from the Channel Islands of California
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A prairie dog
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A baby prairie dog
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Another prairie dog
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These are black tailed prairie dogs
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We never saw a buffalo herd - just occasional individuals
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There were three lounging around at one place
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A herd of pronghorn antelope
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The young are about half-grown
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Satisfied after a dust bath . .
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Our first look at The Needles
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These are impressive granite formations
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A balancing rock
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The spires are remnants of an ancient volcano
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The hard stuff remained when the softer stuff washed away
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There must have been a couple hundred of these things
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Every turn meant a stop for more pictures
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Why you never see this on a bus tour
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The "Eye of the Needle"
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There were folks climbing around on these things
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A recreation area near the Needles
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These big rocks are just amazing
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JFK statue in downtown Rapid City
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That one's Jefferson
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James Monroe
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LBJ
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Sorry, Mr. President, we don't remember who you are! Maybe Madison?
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Hangin' with Jerry Ford
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Jimmy Carter
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We toured the Black Hills Gold factory
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Hmmm - what's up on that hill?
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Lots of concrete dinosaurs, that's what
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They were built before scientists knew what they really looked like
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Some dinosaurs get no respect
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Amazing they were all the same color green . . . we'll end here