Day 8 Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Black Hills

The next hot day is expected to reach 33 °C. After a breakfast at the hotel (rare in the USA), we are quickly back on the highway with 100 miles ahead of us to the Badlands. Soon after, we marvel at bizarre rock cones, spires, etc., in an overwhelming number. This is the result of softer rock eroding while harder rock remains. A road about 50 miles long runs through the park with many viewpoints. Next, we continued to Mt. Rushmore. Now finally, I have the chance to see the four presidential heads of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln in person. Very impressive. On the other hand, I am very dismayed to learn that Trump also wants to be immortalized here. As a kind of counterpoint to the white presidents, the Crazy Horse Memorial is being created at Crazy Horse. It is meant to depict the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land. Work on it has been ongoing for 80 years. Our journey continued through the wonderful mountains of the Black Hills. We reached our accommodation in Hot Springs late, but happy and satisfied.