Most of us can conjure an image of Mount Rushmore in our minds. However, seeing the carvings in person provides the context to appreciate how significant an artistic and engineering achievement it is. Originally conceived as a way to promote tourism in South Dakota, the carvings took 400 men and 14 years to complete. Mount Rushmore National Park now draws over two million visitors a year. Tragically this came at a great cost to the Lakota Sioux who where granted the land in the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868 and had it taken back by the United States in 1876. Unfortunately, Rushmore lies within land considered sacred to the Sioux and our emotions are mixed between awe and wonder, and sadness.

So what about the Whiskey and that great skeleton graphic?

Part of the joy of RV travel is visiting local and unique establishments. Harvest Hosts connects RV travelers looking for a place to stay overnight with with over 3,700 Wineries, Breweries, Farms and Museums. The overnight stay is free but there is an expectation that RVers will spend $20 at the establishment. After leaving Mount Rushmore we stayed overnight at a Harvest Host site, Pine Bluffs Distilling in Pine Bluffs, WY. This distillery sources all its ingredients locally: Grains are grown locally and malted on site.

We started with a sampler of 2 Bourbons and 2 Whiskeys.

Then we met the owner of the distillery and his wife AND the chief distiller and were treated to a sample of a special edition bourbon distilled especially for the owner’s recent birthday. A lovely pour!

We saw a marvelous sunset from our RV through the grain holding bins.

The landscape was flat and fairly dark and when Joe awoke early the next morning, he was greeted by a terrific view of the grand conjunction of 5 planets and the moon. Unfortunately he was not prepared – most likely due to the consumption of whiskey the night before – to take a good photograph of the conjunction. The best he could manage was a cell-phone photo from inside the van. Three of the 5 planets and the moon were easily visible by eye. Joe was only able to capture the the moon, Mars and Jupiter. You will need to look closely for Mars which is very faint red dot to the right of the moon and barely visible in this photo. Saturn was visible but didn’t make it into this photo.

We have three long travel days ahead of us before we meet up with Joe’s brother, Chris, in Hood River, OR for some dry camping and hiking. Unfortunately, we will be a bit behind on posts and hope to catch up when we reach Portland.