Mount Rushmore Vs. Crazy Horse---The Battle of the Monuments

Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument are about 20 miles apart so we visited both of them on the same day.

We went to Crazy Horse first because it was further away. They've been working on the Crazy Horse Monument since 1948. Mount Rushmore only took about 8 years to complete, but they had government funds and lots of workers. Crazy Horse doesn't have any government involvement so it's going a bit slower.

For some reason, neither of us got any pictures at Crazy Horse. But you can see pictures here.

At Crazy Horse there is a large complex with an assortment of Indian artifacts, artwork and information about the project. They also have a restaurant with a view of the mountain. We had lunch there. I had an Indian stew made with buffalo and served with Indian Fry Bread.

Here's a picture of Mt. Rushmore. Frankly, it was underwhelming after Crazy Horse, even though it's completed.

Mount Rushmore is impressive but didn't really hold any surprises. There's a snack shop and gift shop. We didn't go to the museum because by the time we go there we were pretty tired. 

It was a nice day spent visiting the two monuments, but if you can only visit one, I'd suggest Crazy Horse. 

Visiting Our Home Town

I've written a couple posts about why we have a South Dakota address and want to be South Dakota residents (no state income tax, you can become a resident with a one night stay, lower sales tax on vehicles and RV's). Our mail service is America's Mailbox and we've been extremely happy with their service. In addition to mail forwarding, they (for a fee) will register your vehicles and send the plates. Their site has lots of helpful information for getting you SD driver's license and other services needed by full time RVers.

We're here for a few days and staying at the small camping area at America's Mailbox. They're expanding the number of campsites, so business must be good. On sight they also have RV repair and a few hotel rooms.

The campground is very crowded (small sites) and no laundry or cable. The Wifi is pretty sucky, but the weekly rate for members is $150, so a bargain, even if the wifi is aggravating.

When we walked into the office the receptionist greeted us with "Welcome home!"

Ear's Looking At You, Kid

I'll admit it---when we saw billboards for The Corn Palace, I thought it was just a big corn maze, so when Chris suggested stopping, I wasn't too interested. But then I looked it up and found out it's so much more than a corn maze. It's a building decorated with corn, husks and corn silk. They've been doing this for over 100 years and it changes each year. 2016 is Rock of Ages so the murals depict music icons like Elvis, Willie Nelson and Michael Jackson.

If you want to learn more about The Corn Palace, click here.

The outside of the building is decorated with corn. Inside there is a gym and concert space where they have events.

The Badlands

The Badlands are Badass! If you have not seen them in person, you really need to make a plan to visit South Dakota. 

Perfect weather and wonderful views from the lookout locations in the park (also finally got a stamp in my National Parks Passport). Plus, riding in the MH, we were up high and had excellent views as we drove along. 

I think I showed restraint in only posting a few pictures, but I think this will give you the idea. The one thing I couldn't get pictures of was the prairie dogs. There were tons of them with their little dirt piles, right next to the road. We stopped and looked at them and they chirped and squealed. Totally awesome and I'm sorry I couldn't get close enough for a good picture. 

View out the windshield. Note the reflection of my knitting project and a book in the windshield. 

Goats the size of deer next to the road. We stopped and took a picture and they were nonplussed. 

Five Snores for Our New Mattress

When we bought the MH, it came with a Sleep Number bed. Apparently there are people who love these mattresses. We are not among that group. For one thing, it was several years old and even though it wasn't used continually, it was in bad shape. One of the two air chambers didn't really seem to work at all.

FYI---sleep number beds are popular in RV's because they are light (filled with air instead of springs or foam).

We ordered a memory foam mattress with a cooling gel layer from our pals at Amazon. Amazon Prime is awesome!

So, when you get one of these mattresses, it's rolled up and vacuum packed. Like those space bags you see on TV for storing sleeping bags and blankets.

Once you cut open the bag, the mattress starts to fill with air and expand. That happens immediately.

Now....if you're living in a house, you can pull your bed to the center of the room and lay it on the box spring and cut away the bag quickly.

If you live in a MH, you don't have much wiggle room. Add to this the fact that we're a couple of large people who aren't very agile and you can see where this could lead...trying to pull the plastic off the mattress while trying to move around the mattress to get it out from underneath.

But, we managed. According to the instructions, the mattress will continue inflating for 72 hours, but you can sleep on it the first night.

Wow, do we love it! We really should have done this before doing some of our other home improvements. A good night's sleep in important.

It's a little challenging for Dooley. It's about 6"taller than our old mattress so jumping up on the bed has been tricky for him, but I think he's figured it out and hasn't fallen off in his recent attempts.

We rate our new mattress with five loud snores.

Celebrity Sighting

We missed our turn along the way and ended up going through a couple towns that weren't on our route. But, as such things have a way of working out, we sighted a celebrity while driving through Blue Earth, MN and turned around to get a picture.

Would he be friendly? Would we be able to get a picture with him? What about an autograph?

With some anxiety, we circled back and hoped for the best. My stomach was aflutter as we alighted from the MH.

It really was him...

Here's a hint as to who it might be.

 Makes me feel small. Can you see Dooley? 

 For those of you who have always wondered what's under his leaves....

Apparently the town of Blue Earth is home to a Green Giant factory or something. Why else would a town with Blue in its name have a giant green mascot? 

RV Hall of Fame

While in Elkhart, IN we visited the RV/MH Hall of Fame.

You know how when you go to a natural history museum they have a path for you to follow from cavemen to modern day? That's sort of what this was like but for RV's and it only covered about 100 years.

We were about the only ones there so we could take our time looking at everything, but that still took only about an hour.

Here are some pics.

1931 AA Ford Housecar. Beautifully restored wood. 

The driver and passenger seats from the 1931 Housecar. Ouch. And remember, the roads weren't all paved back then either. That would  not have been a comfy ride. 

Interior of the housecar. 

An early pop up camper. I liked the trundle bed that pulled out from the bumper. I wonder who slept there? It might actually be the best on a hot night. 

A very tiny trailer. One of the first tear drop campers. 

"Why don't you come up and camp with me sometime?" Mae West had one of the first Hollywood

location trailers. Her driver sat up front, Mae in the second seat w/a desk. On the back, there was a balcony like the rear of a train car where she sat in a rocking chair between scenes.

An improvement over the wooden driver's seat, though I'm not sure 

either of them were actually fastened to the floor.