Ooh, lovely road trip, won't you last forever?

Now we're leaving Rapid City to continue to Minneapolis where we're going to take the flight back to Sweden. We've had an amazing time that we'll never forget in our whole lives!
After this amazing and relaxing road trip we're going back to reality again. It's of course very sad to leave this amazing country but we're also looking forward to see our family and friends again!
But make sure that we're going to visit the United States many times in the future!

Travel with joy, Ahmed and Kristina

Fun facts and souvenir, Rapid City and Mount Rushmore!

• Rapid City is the second largest city in the United States but has only 68 000 inhabitants.
• The city was founded in 1876.
• The city features a steppe climate.
• The Mount Rushmore have an area of about 5,17 square kilometers.
• The Mount Rushmore was never fully completed. In October 1941, the carving of the final design stopped due to insufficent fundings.
• The Mount Rushmore attracts many visitors over the week of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Our souvenir from Rapid City!

Our lovely Mount Rushmore souvenir!
Looking forward to sleep on it! ;)

Just slowing it down in ”Fast city”!

The Prairie Edge Gallery in Rapid City. Not only has this city the Mount
Rushmore to offer, it does also hold a lot of art and culture!

The public discovery of gold in 1874 by the Custer Expedition brought a mass influx of settlers into the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Although the Black Hills became a popular tourist destination some years later, it was mostly the popularity of the automobile and construction of improved highways that brought tourists to the Black Hills in large numbers after World War I. Tourists continued to visit the city throughout the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Besides the loads of historical and natural wonders, Rapid City has a number of beautiful museums and art galleries. So, this city is perfect for vacation and has a lot to offer! Two of the most remarkable homes of art in Rapid City are The Prairie Edge Gallery and The Art Alley Gallery. In fact, we went to an exhibition at The Prairie Edge Art Gallery because of its wide collection of both Native American and local art.

A photo found on Google that we thought was a little funny!!

Gutzon Borglum, already a famous sculptor, began the work on Mount Rushmore in 1927 and his son continued the carving of the presidents' faces in rock after his father died in 1941. The massive sculpture was completed the same year. The visitors increased because of this. 

Four important men for the United States

Mount Rushmore! Finally here! This sculpture is amazing and big to! Many people maybe wonder who these four men carved in this mountain are. Well, it's George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincolm, four very important men in the United States history!

Due to its fame as a monument, Mount Rushmore is frequently discussed in media, film and popular culture. 

The large carved faces has also became a target for parodies and other symvolic alterations. It's for example very popular to replace the faces of the four presidents with other people or characters, or the addition of another face. 

The flora and fauna of Mount Rushmore is similar to the rest of the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Here we can find birds like turkey vulture and bald eagle. Other animals include mouses, chipmunks, squirrels and many others. Futhermore, several species of frogs and snakes can be found here!

Well, the flora and fauna of this region may be interesting but that's not what we came for!

Now we're going back to Rapid City for some rest, soon we're off to Sweden again. It's very miserable, we want to stay here forever!

Mount Rushmore, looks very interesting!

An example on how the Mount Rushmore is being used for parodies!

Bald eagle, a common bird in the regions of Mount Rushmore!
Looking gooood!

Food, food and food!

Finally in Rapid City, South Dakota, the last stop in our journey unfortunately..

As usual we got hungry after a long time driving the car so we decided to visit a restaurant and eat something before we go out and explore this city!

We decided to visit Firehouse Brewing Co, a restaurant offering many dishes. For example they have soups, salads, steaks, burgers, sandwiches, desserts, beverages, mexican food, italian food and different wine varieties.

For dinner we ate Chicken Fried Steak, a very typical dish in the south regions of the United States. The chicken was served with mashed potatoes and vegetables, delicious!

For dessert we decided to taste a real american cheesecake. Cheesecakes is very popular in the United States and there are many different recipes depending on the region in which the cake was baked. 

Mmm, yummy!!

Cheesecake with strawberries, very delicious!

Next stop, South Dakota!!

Now it's time to visit our 8:th and last state.. We've had a very good time here in The United States and it's going to be very hard to forget this experience.
Now we are on our way to Rapid City, the second largest city in the United States situated in South Dakota!
Our first stop here in South Dakota is of course Mount Rushmore, be sure to check out our coming posts! :)

Mount Rushmore, looks exciting!

Travel with joy, Ahmed and Kristina

Fun facts and souvenir, Grand Canyon!! :)

• 446 km long, 29 km wide and 1.83 km deep.
• 3000 different types of birds is found in Grand Canyon!
• The Grand Canyon was formed by erosion from the Colorado River.
• At the top of Grand Canyon you can find rocks that are 2 billion years old!!
• Took 3 to 6 million years to form!

As you can see, The Grand Canyon is a very special landmark!
Anyway, here is one of our souvenirs!