By all means, Rushmore. You might want to take Alt. 16 from Custer to get there though. Called the Iron Mtn. road there are height restrictions and some of the curves can be length challenging also. But the multiple views of the presidents make for some good stuff. And as long as you are in the area, the Bad Lands are on the way east, as is Wounded Knee. BTW, the Milky Way is stupendous in the Lands.

I'd do St. H from the Windy Ridge area. If you are an owl, there are 4 peaks available without moving your body after a short climb. Those would be Adams, Hood, Rainer and Helens. If you miss Crater Lake, you will not be kicking yourself later, others will stand in line to do it for you. And if you can squeeze it in, a day north and south of Newport on the ocean is worth every minute. Just say'n.

On the back of the camera, move the indicator to the L position. It is by the OK button.

Your kidding, right? I could write a book with the 10,000 words you've presented here.

I use elements 9, but hopefully they kept the sharpen tool in upgrading. In full edit, there should be a pyramid shape at the bottom of the tool box. Right click and select the sharpen tool. At the top select the brush you want and the size. To the right I normally select the strength of 10%. And, don't forget to enlarge. And, and it works on more than eyes.

The male is an import from the isle of Kalymno. I'll explain later. Sorry for the delay, just wanted to get the last pic in.
Before the great recession, there were more than a few exotic game ranches in the area. For 35 large one could be guaranteed a trophy for the den. Most of these outfits went belly up and had think about putting down their herds. Well, some of the animals caught wind of the future, knocked down some fences (hunger driven) and ventured out on their own. A few survived.

After an 800 ft. trek down the south wall and about 3/4's of a mile in soft red sand across the canyon floor, the ruins of the White House appear, so named because of the white wash taken to the upper ruin; and I have never been there at the proper time for daylight exposure. It is the only area in the Monument not "guide required". The first shot, by Mr. O'Sullivan, shows the ruins 140 years ago. Notice to the left 4 men, 2 per level in the ruins. Would not happen now. Notice also the sign of Shamman in both the 1st and 2nd (mine) entrys. Important to me because in a whole lot of years crawling around these areas, it was the first time I had seen anything like this attached to ancient living areas.
So, the trek back, especially up the wall required more than a few stops to take in the breathless (literally) views. At about 500 ft. some movement caught my attention, but then nothing. Before the next rest, out came the goats. Heart pounding from exertion, the first shots were horrible. However, they decided to stay in sight for their climb, allowing me to wedge my arms and legs into tripod mode.
Sometimes I get lucky.

Circa 1873


Today, at least last May


Just eye candy




I've been discovered


Some PP


From the isle of Kalymno


The end. Or, was it?

Different afternoon.

The story of the capture has more holes in it than the critter.


I'll raise your gator with a crock.


Probably a lesson in here somewhere.

Or, The Great Puffin Race.

Not all of the same feather.

Thanks for stopping by,folks. The Pigtail Bridges Patriot66 asked for I do not have photographically. To do them justice would require road closures, an army of lighting people and a much better photo person than I.

Love that area, especially the in season fruit along the road.

This is the only way we visit Rushmore now. Maybe it's age, maybe it is never quite getting out of an
Alt. back roads lifestyle.

Ah yes, Aztec, a City named for a people, none of which got close to visiting the area, let alone participating in a 500 year run of building and re defining. Such is the stuff of legends.