We came to see Mt Rushmore in South Dakota, not realising that only a few miles

away there is this amazing carving of Crazy Horse that was originally started in 1948.

It is the world's largest mountain carving and the 4 Presidents' heads at Mt Rushmore

fit into the top section of the mountain where the head of Crazy Horse is being carved.

The white carving is 1/34th scale model of what the mountain will eventually look like.

It is a fantastic story of a Polish American sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, who

devoted his life to creating this memorial and since his death in 1982,  his wife

and 7 of his 10 children continue to do so. Absolutely amazing.

This is a cute Marmot we saw at the base of the mountain.

On to Mt Rushmore, and we were not disappointed. The heads are 60 feet high, compared to

Crazy Horse at 87 feet high,  It was completed in 14 years between 1927 and 1941.





As it is Sturgis week, we had to go to the town to see what it is all about, The rally runs

from 6th -12th August every year and draws in around 400,000 people during that

time. All accommodation is taken up in the surrounding areas, we even saw tents on people's

front lawns! It all seems to be well organised and a fantastic celebration of motorcycling in the

most scenic setting of the Black Hills.

No pictures today as we left Medora late and after 3 hours riding in 38 degrees heat we decided to look for a motel and air-conditioning. Just as well as we got the last room in Miles City due to the hoardes of Harley Davidson riders heading for Sturgis for the annual rally.
Looking forward to heading towards higher altitudes and cooler weather!

Riding through the Badlands of North Dakota. We have spent the last 2 days in a small town called Medora in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Brilliant rugged scenery - saw a Bison herd, wild horses, elk and prairie dogs - all up close!

We stayed with our good friends Paul & Laurel at Devil's Lake, North Dakota for a few days. Laurel's brother Lawson called in for breakfast after spraying crops at his farm and gave John a demonstration of how the sprayer worked and opened the arms to their full extent. We can't imagine seeing this in a residential area in the UK!

Paul kindly allowed John the opportunity for some target practice down on the farm. I now know why cowboys rarely hit their target!

Our last evening in Devil's Lake, with Paul & Laurel. It was also great to catch up with Rich again after our trip in South America. We also got to meet his lovely new bride Rita. We had a great 3 days!

Moving on to Medora in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the North Dakota Badlands, we passed many fields of Sun flowers, which stretched for miles and miles. Long ride today in 32 degree heat! Shower and air-conditioning on arrival was very welcome!