Our fifth and final day in beautiful South Dakota. We have put in a full week so far but we are excited to do a little more exploring before packing up our bags and heading east.
Today we explored a gold mine and learned about the gold mining industry especially during the gold rush days. We got a chance to pan for real gold which the girls were able to take home in a little bottle.
Then we headed back to Custer Park via the Iron Mt. Road to take in more beautiful views and revisit the roaming buffalo. We stopped in Custer for lunch to eat like the locals: buffalo burgers with blue cheese. After lunch we continued west to the Jewel Cave where we learned how to be a Jr. Park Ranger and explore the beauty beneath our earth. After a few more stops on our way back to Keystone we gathered with the cousins for our final South Dakota meal.
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| Learning to pan for gold...it's a little more difficult than it looks. |
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| Checking out the panned gold in their little bottles. |
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| Big Thunder Gold Mine was completely dug by two men that took them over 35 years and they only earned $100 a piece. They didn't find what they thought was there... |
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| Another view to Mt. Rushmore |
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| Hanging out in Custer |
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| Welcome to Jewel Cave |
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| Taking the oath to become an official Jr. Park Ranger after completing all of their requirements. |
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| Jr. Park Ranger Anna & Jr. Park Ranger Kate |
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| Bobkat's Purple Pie Palace A great place for a piece of pie such as bumbleberry |
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| Crazy Horse |
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| Joining the Wisconsin cousins for dinner in Keystone |
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| Ahhh...what a great vacation and now it's time for a little sleep before heading home. |
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