A few years ago, Andy and I visited South Dakota for Christmas, and I arrived excited to see Mount Rushmore, which is the only part of the state I knew anything about. Little did I know how much more there is to do and see here!  During that trip, we also went to:

• Wind Caves National Park
• Jewel Cave
• The Mammoth Site
• Deadwood
• The 1880 Train in Hill City
• Loads of other things I’m sure I’m forgetting

Now that we’re back in South Dakota, we realize that the list of things we missed exceeds the original list of things we did! And this past weekend, we went to one of my new favorite spots:

Needles Scenic Highway. I loved every moment.

Andy, Will, Ellie, Scout and I hiked up into the needles and admired them close-up. They’re made up of granite, and most of them are studded with flashing, shiny hunks of mica and huge quartz crystals. As we walked through the towering pillars, every surface sparked and glittered in the sun. It was magical! Remember that movie Legend? Yeah, it was like that. Magical.

Finally I was told I couldn’t stay there for the rest of the day, so we drove on through Needles, and Maggie suggested that on the drive into Rapid City, we take Iron Mountain Road. It was beautiful, and we saw all kinds of wildlife. Scout even saw a buffalo!

We had plans to see The Producers in Rapid City that evening (yay!), so we weren’t able to see more of the area that day, but we’ll be back to check out neighboring Custer State Park. I’ll post photos when we do!

For now, though, here are some pictures of Gracie brushing her hair. Just because.