It was a busy day today - we took in 2 great sights and also panned for gold!
The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD is an active archeological dig in what was an old sinkhole. This sinkhole formed thousands of years ago and was filled with warm water from an underground spring. The warm water allowed grass to grow around the rim of the sinkhole year round and some of the mammoths and other critters that were drawn to it fell in. Archaeologists, thus far, have excavated about 1/3rd of the site and found about 60 mammoths. They allow tourists to walk in and around the site and view the work in progress. Many of the skeletons are left on display laying in the sinkhole as they were when they were uncovered.
No trip to the Black Hills would be complete without a gold panning experience. Gold was what originally brought settlers to this area in the 1870’s. We went to Wade’s Gold Mill in Hill City. These folks are the real deal. They actually designed and built their own gold mill that they use during the summers to sift through dirt from their claim. They welcome visitors and for a nominal fee they will give you a gold panning lesson and all the dirt you want to pan. The kids loved it. Although they didn’t find any gold, they did find a bunch of garnets and neat looking rocks.
We also visited Mt. Rushmore. This is such a great piece of Americana. We visited about 4 years ago and it was just a spectacular the second time. We took time during this visit to take in the museum. Here they provide a lot of information about how the monument came to be and the details of its construction. Very interesting stuff. It goes without saying that the methods they used wouldn’t be up to OSHA’s standards! We visited the small town of Keystone in the evening and got a picture of our family in cowboy garb. We spent the night in the parking lot of a closed restaurant.
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| Yep - they are big! |
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| Mammoth skull and tusks |
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| Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln |
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| Gold panning lessons |
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| Trying to strike it rich |
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| Eve carefully sifting through the contents of her pan |
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| Dirt, rocks and a stream - Zach says it's too good to be true! |
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