Sure, it's big, but there you are in the Black Hills, which are really decent sized mountains, and from a distance, the sculpture is barely noticeable among the other bluffs and outcrops.

Also a little disappointing was the cost. The National Parks Pass, which, in theory, takes care of entry fees at all National Parks and Monuments, has a picture of Mount Rushmore on the card. Somehow, it's not accepted at Rushmore and it costs $10 to park. Oh well.

I continued on to Custer State Park (still in South Dakota), which felt a lot like what I imagine a game park would be like. There are pull-outs every couple hundred yards where people stop to gawk at the wildlife near (and sometimes on) the road.

Apparently, the bison can actually move pretty fast, and will occassionally gore some tourist who gets too close. Yipes.

There were also a fair number of pronghorn, which are similar to (but not related to) antelopes.

I also saw a lovely mountain bluebird.

Custer State Park is home to some impressive rock features, including the Needles.

I camped right near this beautiful (but chilly!) lake.

Just west of Custer State Park (just barely in South Dakota) is Jewel Cave, an astoundingly complex network of caves with beautiful underground landscapes.

Currently, it's ranked as the third longest cave system in the world with over 135 miles of passages.

They're still discovering more of the cave, and expect it'll top out somewhere near 190 miles.

They're quite careful about keeping people on the stainless steel walkways and preserving the amazing features found there. Definitely worth the visit.

From Jewel Cave, I drove to Cody, Wyoming and saw some of the most amazing scenery of the trip. Wyoming is rugged, beautiful, and not very populated at all. In fact as you're about to pass over the Bighorn mountains, there are signs warning you about the lack of civilization for the next 50 miles - no gas, no services, and pretty serious hills.

I chose the slightly less civilized route and was rewarded with some pretty spectacular views. This pass is around 9000 feet, and there's a sizeable peak right behind me still higher. I had to stop halfway down the mountains to let my brakes cool off.

After a night in Cody (and a visit to the wonderful Buffalo Bill Historical Center), I made my way to Yellowstone National Park. Now I had read some about Yellowstone, but I really wasn't prepared for the size - it's huge! The park itself is 300 or so square miles, and contains several small towns. It takes a good two hours to drive from the top of the park to the bottom, and the large geological feature there is a dormant volcano 30 or so miles across. It took years for people to figure out it was one big volcano and not just a bunch of mountains. It's big.

The size and nature of the park leads to a lot of driving around to see different sites. Old Faithful is actually pretty built-up, and the boardwalk from which you watch the eruptions is handicap accessible.

But, it is pretty impressive.

The first night I was there, I camped right by Yellowstone lake. Very scenic.

Here I am at an overlook about an hour before sunset.

I was treated to a nice sunset, including some alpenglow on the distant Tetons.

The combination of the volcanic activity and the glacial forces has created some amazing places within the park, including a huge canyon. You sneak up on it from the road, so you can't really see how big it is 'til you've walked right up to the edge. It's big.

It's beautiful country, even with the damage from the fire of several years ago.

Because of the volcanic activity, there are hot springs all over the park.

Minerals are brough up by the hot water and subsequently deposited at the edge of the pools, leaving some impressive colors (some of the colors are also caused by microorganisms, and I don't know which this is).

There are springs and mud-pots and steam vents everywhere.

There's also quite a number of animals in the park, including the very majestic elk.

It's easy to understand how bison were killed off - they so rarely do much more than graze and slowly wander the park. If you were in need of a lot of hides or meat, they'd make easy targets.

I saw a white crowned sparrow.

A day hike was a great way to escape the somewhat touristy feeling drive around the park. I walked about 3 miles in to Fairy Falls.

Just past the falls is a stream fed by a small geyser and hot spring. Whatever mineral is in the stream gets deposited on the bottom and comes out looking like this.

Can you imagine being the first person to discover this and trying to describe to other people the orange, steaming stream you found? Unreal.

Yellowstone really is an amazing place, but I felt overwhelmed by it. I'd love to go back there and spend more time exploring, and maybe do some backpacking to escape all the RV's.