We took a spectacular drive along the Needles Highway. This is certainly a special place to add to your “bucket list”. The drive twists and turns among the huge granite needles and is really something to behold.
This area is located in the Black Hills National Forest and Custer State Park. The eye of the needle area had some great trails we want to check out in the future. There were several people climbing the needles – something I don’t anticipate participating in anytime soon but it was fun to watch.
Tunnel leading to the eye of the needle
The tunnels on the Iron Mountain Road were designed to give you a view of Mount Rushmore as you drive through them. Cool!
Look carefully for view of Mount Rushmore…can you see it? 
View of Mount Rushmore in distance
We visited this area three years ago and noticed a big change in the pine forests. The pine beetle has attacked many of the trees in this area. The brown areas in the picture below show some of the devastation. The forest service has thinned some areas to try and decrease the destruction and sprayed some areas. There was much resistance to these efforts and in a year or two, once all these trees fall, most of this area will be barren for a long time.
Earlier in the day we stopped in Keystone to visit the Rushmore Borglum Museum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore.
Gutzon Borglum
It was a very interesting exhibit ($10/person) and you could view it at your own pace by using a audio headset. It was amazing to learn that he did not start this project until he was 60 years old.
One of his trial models
A close-up of how he sculpted the eyes
The work commenced in 1927 and was completed in 1941. Twenty five men usually worked at a time. His son, Lincoln, finished the last six months of the project after his fathers sudden death.
The museum was very interesting. It was a bit dated and worn but certainly very informative.
Man those pine beetles have really done a bunch of damage. It will be so sad to see this area barren of trees. Several summers ago we were camphost at a state park in Georgia that had to take down much of their wooded area due to pine beetle damage. It was so ugly when they were finished.
ReplyDeleteIt has been awhile since we were at Rushmore....brought back some great memories.
Pretty fantastic if you ask me!
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful area,brings many memories,thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWe love that drive and enjoyed the museum. Thanks for taking us back.
ReplyDeletethe Needles looks like a good place to add to our list of 'must see's..and Mount Rushmore too, of course!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the bucket list help. Always looking for those special places.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! We missed the museum when we were in the area. It looks like a good one. 60 years old…can you imagine starting a project when you get to be that age? I can't!
ReplyDeleteYour post and pics brought back some great memories for us as we visited their on our first big RV trip in 2007. I remember the Needles highway very, very well and especially that narrow tunnel. Thanks again for posting such great pics!
ReplyDeleteThat was a particularly interesting post. Love the Needles. One day, I hope to get back up that way. I was born in Rapid City but left when I was a baby, so of course I don't remember anything.
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