What a week – Shaun and Marie arrived, we drank beer and wine, hula hoops arrived from the UK, but most of all we finally saw Mount Rushmore. As some of you know when asked what was I most looking forward to seeing, I kept answering that I wanted to see this tacky memorial to presidents that I know nothing about…!! More on that later…

So, after the excitement of the election night – do watch the video – (I think even Jeremy Corbyn did not have as good a time as us… but I am pretty sure that I felt as sick as Theresa May the next day) we headed east to Custer State Park to await the arrival of our dear pals – Shaun and Marie.

We were like kids waiting for 25th December – we were so excited to see them that we did not know what to do with ourselves. We cleaned Reg from top to bottom and then sat and waited until they happily pulled up in their hire car. Sooo good to see them and have a laugh – all week, just like when we go skiing – interspersed with political chats and even God got a look in one night when we were on the second bottle! Students across the land would have been proud how after all these years we are still trying to get to the bottom of that issue!

Armed with goodies from home via Mummy, we settled them into their sleeping quarters and they were the perfect guests.

We had a full itinerary for the week – Sunday and Monday we spent time in Custer State Park. South Dakota has recognised how outstanding the Black Hills are and have protected and cherished a great park. Sadly Ray, still no sighting of Calamity Jane or Doris Day – but as she says the pines are so high that they touch the sky… There are bison, pronghorn, prairie dogs, mule deer, coyotes and of course a lot of birds in the park.

Shaun was very patient with the amateur Bradbury birders. Matt, we discovered is a lot more eagle-eyed than any of us thought and did a great spot of a sap sucker on Monday afternoon which was one on Shaun’s to see list and then he followed it up with a nighthawk on Wednesday. It was wonderful to be able to have someone say what everything was without Matt and I having to go through all the birds we know (about 30 and eliminate them one by one!). Both Marie and Shaun you could tell have done this a few times before!!

Tuesday dawned and we headed off to Mount Rushmore. Slightly nervous that we would be spending a whole day at a man-made monument instead of just being in the Black Hills, we stopped on approach and saw the ‘faces’ from afar. Of course, they are great presidents and as the morning progressed we all became a lot more impressed with Mount Rushmore.

For example, the road to get there was a complete 360-degree corkscrew – never seen that before – so that was exciting and we had to go through a couple of stone tunnels that framed the monument perfectly. On the plaza in front of the monument we sat and had a coffee and tried to name all 50 state flags (your next task H) which is ok when they helpfully put their names on them – not so easy when they are just emblems.

We walked around the site and ended up with a ranger talk in the artist studio. The scope of the project and the dedication of the sculptor – Gutzon Borglum was humbling, as was the timeline and potted histories of the four presidents. We all came away having found the experience a lot more intellectual satisfying than perhaps we had thought it would be. If we were American I think we would have been even prouder!

After Mount Rushmore which of course you may have noticed that we recreated in Reg on our last night with Shaun and Marie (we hope that you can spot the difference…) we went to Crazy Horse. Now everyone with young children should come to see this now as it is unfinished at the moment and we may not live long enough to see it completed.

Crazy Horse was a Native American leader who was basically stabbed in the back by a US soldier back in 1877. On some land in South Dakota, the Lakota tribe commissioned a Polish sculptor, Korczak to complete a huge statue out of the rock of Crazy Horse on his horse. The scale is larger than Mount Rushmore, but unlike that project it is self-funded. As visitors, the admission goes to the project and their progress is dependent upon how much funding they have. It started in 1948 and Korczak himself died in 1982 – but his whole family have carried on the project and the dream to make Crazy Horse come to life. It is a nuts idea – but very impressive and actually very moving.

So rather like the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona this is a modern-day marvel happening before our eyes. There is no completion date at present, so I might not see it finished but some of our younger readers might.

Wednesday, we called into Wind Cave which is another National Park in South Dakota. Not as exciting as Carlsbad Caverns – it is nonetheless a bit mind blowing. Over 100 miles in length, it was full of weird water made patterns in the limestone. No stalactites or stalagmites as it is completely dry now, but instead they have formations that are called box work. We did the candlelight tour which was exciting as we had to scrabble around in the dark – just like the original tour guides. We emerged blinking into the sunlight without any broken ankles – phew!

Thursday, we headed off to the Badlands which is in a nutshell (apologies for any geologists out there) is the debris that has eroded off the Black Hills from when they were mountains. It has arranged itself in these glorious mounds of layered sediments. All sorts of colours – black, maroons, oranges, greys and beiges. Some are very high – 100ft in places and some just look like a cement mixer has spilled on the ground. Totally unlike anything we have at home and great as a backdrop to more wildlife.

We had some great sightings in Badlands – long horned sheep, golden eagles and most excitingly an owl with long legs – a burrowing owl who is happily active in the daytime. We had been trying to get this little fella checked off the list – so when we spotted him we were rather excited. He duly went back into his burrow!

So, after two days in Badlands we headed back to civilisation and Spearfish. The end of our time with Shaun and Marie – but a good place to say goodbye. Spearfish is in a delightful canyon, back in the Black Hills and a good location for them to continue their trip down to Wyoming and Colorado. We have headed to North Dakota – but Matt will tell you more next week.

We had a great dinner, went to a bar and did some shots. For our Australian readers, sadly Matt still does like to buy everyone a cock-sucking cowboy or two… even strangers in the bar!

It was wonderful to see Shaun and Marie and we are now very excited to see B and Tim in a few weeks’ time – although we have to get to California by then.

South Dakota was wonderful. The people were lovely, loads to see and do and the countryside was stunning. If you ever get the chance – do come and visit as the towns were charming and it is still the wild west.

A x