My Dutch friend Marianne and I first visited the Mammoth dig site in Hot Springs. There were restrictions on photography during the tour, then I forgot to take any photos after when the restrictions were off. Good grief! I’d be fired from my job if I were a reporter!

It was raining when we arrived thirty minutes before opening time, but the woman who turned out to be our excellent tour guide opened the door and let us in, where we could wait on a bench in the lobby till the official opening.

After the video, tour, and a little time to select agates and other small souvenirs, we drove to Custer State Park (photos above) where smoke from park fires earlier was cleansed from the air by the mist and rains of that morning. Everything was glistening, magical! 

A prairie dog town (photo with Marianne, above) provided a glimpse of the wildlife to come. The leaves on deciduous trees had begun to turn, turning the landscape into a festive one.

Apparently, these burros are seasonal at Custer State Park if I understood comments from a South Dakotan responding to our description of an “encounter” with this band of beggars! 

After a long drive through the Black Hills glistening in rain and light fog, we arrived at Mount Rushmore. Believe it or not, there is a carved mountain in this photo! It was pointless to pay the admissions fee to view more of this, so we turned south to see one last major sight and any wildlife we could view along the way.

[to be continued]