Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A lot to see on the way from Wyoming to South Dakota

Sundance - Kid sculpture in Sundance, Wyoming

Harry A. Longabaugh
made a huge mistake: he got caught stealing a horse in Sundance, Wyoming and was thrown in jail. He might have lost his innocence, but he gained a name and a place in history. He became known as 'The Sundance Kid'.


We have seen the "Devil's Tower" in the Black Hills of Wyoming

Devils Tower
(Lakota: Mato Tipila, which means “Bear Tower”)
is a monolithic igneous intrusion or volcanic neck located in the Black Hills near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River. It rises dramatically 1,267 feet (386 m) above the surrounding terrain and the summit is 5,112 feet (1,558 m) above sea level.

Devils Tower was the first declared United States National Monument, established on September 24, 1906, by President Theodore Roosevelt. The Monument's boundary encloses an area of 1,347 acres (5.45 km2).


Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota

Mount Rushmore National Memorial,
near Keystone, South Dakota, is a monumental granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum (1867–1941), located within the United States Presidential Memorial that represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of America with 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents (left to right): George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (5.17 km2) and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level. It is managed by the National Park Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. The memorial attracts approximately two million people annually.


It's laundry day today - don't disturb me :)
We had a special encounter with Grizzly bears!

Bear Country USA
is home to 20 species of North American mammals which live in large natural exhibits. While captive born, every effort is made to imitate a wild environment for our animal residents. Larger species roam freely throughout 250 acres of the drive-trough park. Smaller animals, as well as those younger than one year, are exhibited in the Babyland area. Visitors can observe these animals while strolling on foot.


I love you sooooooo much, my little brother :)
After seeing the big bears, we had the fun to observe the kindergarten - also called "Babyland" - of the park
(click in the photo to see them (all) bigger)

Black bear cubs
are usually born in January. The 11 cubs at Bear Country are all 3 to 4 months old and weigh about 8 pounds. Cubs usually weigh about 12 ounces when they are born. Most full-grown sows weigh about 200 pounds. Boars usually weigh closer to 400 pounds, but Stoffel said the record weight for a boar black bear is 900 pounds.
The cubs do not seem bothered by the whole process and adapt quickly to life without their mothers.


And today we are arrived in Mitchell, SD and have visited the only one and main attraction in this town: The Corn Palace


The needle of the corn compass points to Mitchell, a prairie town that is corn crazy and proud of it. Mitchell's high school sports teams are the Kernels. Its local radio station's call letters are KORN. And it's home to the "agricultural showplace of the world," the Mitchell Corn Palace.

The Palace, with its mad mix of onion domes and minarets, looks like it was drop-kicked out of czarist Russia. It was originally built to show off the fertility of South Dakota soil - and it's remained on the job, standing in downtown Mitchell for over 75 years. A rival "grain palace" in Plankinton, 22 miles to the west, succumbed to the rigors of prairie weather decades ago. The Corn Palace, shrine to a superior foodstuff, has survived.



Hi my friends,

the last two days I had no connections, we were close to the "Bad Lands" in South Dakota - by this "bad" name it's no wonder that AT&T didn't let me connect to the net....LOL..
I wanted to show you much more pictures, but I have decided to reduce my post to this 6 photos, as a summary of the main attractions and places we have visited . Click in the links and you can read and learn more about all those great places.

I hope you'll enjoy! Stay tuned....
Susanne and David

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would love to see the animals. There is so much beauty in every corner of this country. Thanks for bringing so much of it to us.

The Retired One said...

We hope to head west thru there this coming autumn. Great photos, as usual!

Rajesh said...

Fantastic snaps. The Devil's Tower is amazing.

Jen Rinaldi Photography said...

I've always wanted to visit Mt Rushmore! And those lil baby cubs - adorable!!!

vanillaseven said...

great photos! the bear looks scary yet cute :)

Lifecruiser said...

Soooo many fantastic places, sceneries, architecture, history so we're all just amazed. I hope you're going to make a book out of all this! Or several books I mean of course :-)

I have a mission for you, I've started a new meme called drinks 'round the world: can you please take a photo & write something about a drink you've had somewhere 'round the world?
We want to invite YOU ALL to an international cocktail party meme that soon will start: Drinks Round the World.

It's taking place the 1st every month where we all post text and/or photo about a drink we have been or are experiencing somewhere around the world.

EVERYBODY is welcome, so bring all your party animals (friends) too, the more the merrier!

Cheers ;-)

Bob Johnson said...

Great shots Susanne, Devils tower is where the aliens landed in "Close Encounters of The Third Kind" movie, I would love to see it up close and personal one day, love the bear shots,so cute.

kRiZcPEc said...

So I am staying tuned! Thanks for your to help with those translation, you're so kind!

kRiZcPEc said...

Oh BTW, found something, thought you might like:
http://vlog.xuite.net/vlog/guest/basic.php?media_id=bEJFNHR4LTE1ODE3MzkuZmx2&fmt=1
I like the melody of this song, Greensleeves, that's all. :)

Feisty Crone said...

South Dakota is a beautiful state!

DianeCA said...

Lovely photos! And thats what I call a bear hug!

This Makes My Day said...

Hi Sue and David,

Great photos. The Devils Tower is impressive but it also has a scary aspect it looks like the devils chair.

Have a great time!

Aaron Soares said...

Mt. Rushmore was awesome too!

myonlyphoto said...

Susanne that was very very informative post, and btw those baby bears are so so cute! Anna :)

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