John-15

Mount Rushmore is one of the main things that Americans should see in their lifetime.  It is one of the National Monuments that is well known and is popular to see.  Mount Rushmore holds four of Americas great leaders heads carved in stone.  When you get there, you might have to wait a while to get into the actual park since there could be a long line of cars to get in. The cost for a vehicle is eleven dollars (RVs and motorcycles as well). From the entrance you can park in four main parking garages, each one of them named after the four presidents.  From the garage, you get out of your car and can walk up to the the main path that takes you to the visitors center, book store, and gift store. While you are walking the main strip to the visitors center (not a long walk), you can see the four President’s heads. While on the path you are greeted by all of the state and territorial flags of the United States of America.  Once you get to the visitor’s center, you can watch a short clip on how they designed and created Mount Rushmore, I would recommend watching the clip since it is free and gives you a more in-depth perspective on how it was created and who the creator was.  I would also recommend going around and looking at the different info. they have on Mount Rushmore.  I would recommend going to Mount Rushmore since it is a cheap and easy stop on a road trip.  You can stay for only 20 minutes or much longer if you are interested.  If you are in the area, you should see and view Mount Rushmore.

Hadley- 13

When you are first driving up to Mount Rushmore (if you came the way we did) you get some really good pictures.  We were able to see Mount Rushmore through some really neat arches carved in mountainsides that were created for the road to wind through.  When you arrive, you have to pay your car fee which is $11.  This is the same for motorcycles and RV’s.  When you find a parking spot – it shouldn’t be that hard – you will walk up and see the entrance.  You can walk up and take a picture with the flags, and then I recommend going down the stair, and going to the visitor center.  Here you will get information about how Mount Rushmore was constructed and how everything was carved out.  You can also go see a short, 15-minute movie.  It tells mainly about the presidents and the guy who constructed the monument.  In my opinion, the movie might not be worth it if you have to wait the 15 minutes for a new movie to start.  Then you can hike up and see it closer.  We had already been horseback riding and had gone on a jeep tour at Custer State Park that day so we didn’t do the hike all the way up to the base.  Visitors can also go into the gift shop there and buy T-shirts and more.  Kids can also get their junior ranger booklet and complete it to get your badge for little kids.  If you are ever near Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, I definitely recommend seeing one of America’s iconic monuments.

Hadley- 13

When we were at Yellowstone National Park we decided that to get around the easiest was to go by bike. At the gift shop in the Snow Lodge is where you rent bikes. The guy who helped us get our bikes and helmets was very nice and knew what he was doing. We first started out by getting our bikes, and then we started biking on the trail that goes to the left when you face Old Faithful(Upper Geyser Basin Trail).  We got to see a lot of geysers and a lot of hot springs. We even got to see Grotto Geyser and Castle Geyser erupt!  We also went to Morning Glory Pool. This isn’t a pool by the way.  It was amazing.  It is very colorful and looks like a huge puddle of rainbow colored water.  The bad part is people throw in coins and other trash – that ruins the pool – so please don’t throw coins or trash in the pools. Then, we biked out to Biscuit Geyser Basin.  There is a half mile loop where you get to see many more geysers and pools.  You can also hike to an observation point or Mystic Falls.  We didn’t do either of those because we had our bicycles with us.  The best part of our trip though was when we biked the 2.5 miles out to Biscuit Basin, we saw a Bison just eating grass.  We stayed our distance because we knew how dangerous they were.  We were about a hundred feet away from it.  We sat for a long time and just watched it.  After we got back, we biked a little more and turned our bikes back in.  Prices for bikes are $8 an hour, $25 for a half-day (which is 4 hours) and full-days are $35 for adults,  $6 an hour, $15 half-day, and full-days are $22.50 for kids. Bike trainers are $5 hour, $12 half-day, and $16 full day.  If you are ever going to look at geysers and pools this is the way to do it! You get around much easier and get to enjoy it even more.  I would definitely recommend renting bikes.

Barnett-10

When my family went to Yellowstone National Park one day, instead of walking we biked the park. This was fun and exercising.  We went to Snow Lodge and rented bikes from the gift shop. When we started, the guy we rented bikes from gave us rules – like stand 7 yards away from bison.  When we started, we headed on the boardwalk and went to Castle Geyser.  It was only steaming though, and it didn’t go off.  Then we biked to Morning Glory Pool, but it has faded its color because people threw trash in it over all the years.  When we got back on our bikes and headed to Daisy Geyser.  Riding bikes is my mom’s favorite activity.  Everyone else complains about having to go, but really it is fun.  We got to see a lot of geysers.  Some of them were going off and some of them were not.  We also saw a bison.  We did not get even 7 yards away from it because it looked really big and my parents were afraid that we would get hurt.  I think everyone that goes to Yellowstone should rent bikes.  It is a fun thing to do.