You and I can never please everyone. There will always be those who don’t like you and I. Even if you are the nicest person. Them liking you might not have anything to do with you. Maybe you have something they wish they had. It could be a quality, trait, job, lifestyle, and so on. Maybe they don’t like you because of your belief. You could be making them feel uncomfortable without trying or realizing it. My son once told me that people like me (hyper, excited, loud) make him feel uncomfortable.
There has never been a person who was loved by all. I mean never. Even Jesus was disliked by many and for many different reasons.
There is so much freedom in this truth. You and I can stop trying to please others because we can’t please everyone. Take a deep breath and be the unique and wonderful person that God created you to be.
South Dakota is one beautiful state. We can’t wait to come back and explore more.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
I have always wanted to see Mount Rushmore. This was a highlight for our family on this trip.
Did you know that Doane Robinson had the idea to carve heroes on a mountain? He wanted western heroes such as Buffalo Hill, Chief Red Cloud, Lewis & Clark, and Sacagawea to be carved on Needles. However, the sculpture Gutzon Borglum changed it to four presidents and wanted them to be carved on a granite mountain. Around 400 men and women worked to create Mount Rushmore. They had to climb over 700 stairs to get to the top of Mount Rushmore. It took about 14 years to complete it.
Located at 13000 SD-244, Keystone, SD 57751
Crazy Horse Memorial
Crazy Horse Memorial is a masterpiece in the making. Zorcak Ziolkowski started the project in 1948 and it is still in the making today. It is believed to become the second largest statue in the world when finished. It is being carved on Thunderhead Mountain which is granite.
Majority of the memorial is very much a rough draft. To see Crazy Horse Memorial closely you’ll need to go on a bus tour which take you there and back. During the tour we discovered many things about the memorial and its creator, including that he had 10 children which he homeschooled on the property and that while we were there two of his grandchildren were working on Crazy Horse. This is not only a extremely ambitious project but along the way this project gave two generations a home and job opportunities.
Located at 12151 Ave of Chiefs, Crazy Horse, SD 57730
Custer State Park
Custer State Park is South Dakota’s first and largest state park so why not take a lovely loop here. The wildlife loop definitely lived up to its name. At first we didn’t see any animals and were worried until we saw a huge herd of bison. The herd walked across the road actually stopping cars. As we drove we saw herds of hundreds in the distance as well as so many more animals. We also saw prairie dogs and pronghorn throughout the drive. Along the drive we encountered something we didn’t expect, burros. These burros are actually famous for flocking around vehicles, begging for food. The fact that the park isn’t going out of it’s way to ask people not to feed them really goes to show that these burros are already too used to it. Some of them grazed on grass, some simply rested, but the majority were trying to grab every vegetable and fruit they could. This loop is 18 miles long and is surrounded by grasslands really allowing for animals to be seen farther away if not nearby.
True Center of the Nation
After taking a 7 mile drive down a dirt road with nothing but grass and cows around we finally get there. The center is on private land but the owner actually invites people to see the center via a cross and sign to tell you that you’ve arrived. Once you open the door on the fence simply walk towards the flag and your there. The center of The United States of America. I’d have to tell you that standing in the center of the nation was a neat feeling.
Badlands National Park
Pinnacles Overlook
This overlook let’s you see the ridged side of Badlands National Park with all the land being extremely eroded and looking like a miniature mountain landscape. There is very little vegetation when looking at this overlook.
Green, Tan, and Pink are all on display when looking at Yellow Mounds Overlook. Here you can see very clearly places where rivers used to flow. Due to this it looks like someone put an imprint into this area. Not only is it colorful but also fairly lively with the areas with plants being much more than those without vegetation.
Look out into the badlands for mile at Panorama Point Overlook. Here you can see so far out that it looks like someone took bubble wrap and popped it very carefully. Despite there being a major difference between the lowest and highest points in sight it simply looks so minuscule.
At Fossil Exhibit Trail you can see where they looked for fossils. There is a boardwalk here which spans 0.4 miles. Here you get to get an idea of the animals that scientist believe were here. Why not look at some of the layers of badlands while exercising and learning.
Thank you Visit Spearfish for hosting our stay.
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