Today we visited the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Although certain portions of the park were closed due to construction, none of it blocked the incredible views. We didn’t want to miss any of the great views, so once we took in the main view from the entrance, we walked the Presidential Trail which was also partially impacted by construction. This means that instead of enduring the normal 422 steps, we were limited to 240. However, this also means that we did 480 steps round trip since we had to go back down the 240 we climbed (so I’m not sure which was worse). Now let me tell you, 480 steps was bad enough, for those of us who live at sea level, but traversing them at an elevation 5,725 feet required numerous stops to suck in oxygen. It didn’t matter how many times we clocked 2 to 3 mile hikes in 90 degree heat in Sun City Center, the Presidential Trail was still a major workout. Then compound it with the fact that two days prior we burned up our quadriceps hiking the log ladder on the Notch Trail in the Badlands. For the next couple of days we will be moaning when we climb the steps into the camper. On a positive note, the temperature while we were at Mount Rushmore was about 60 degrees which was delightful.
Beth at Mount Rushmore 
Mountain Goat .Viewing Rushmore 
Mount Rushmore