On the Road to Mount Rushmore

We had breakfast in the Jackson Lake Lodge this morning.  Our waitress told us that a grizzly bear had been seen recently just North of the lodge.  Our route to Mount Rushmore was South from the lodge.  So, we decided to go North anyway on the chance that we might see a grizzly on our last day at the park.  Boy were we happy when just North of the lodge we saw what appeared to be a bear jam.  We parked along the side of the road and sure enough, there was a grizzly in a meadow.  We took some pictures and watched the bear dig for food.  It was about 40 yards from us and very visible.  It was quite exciting.  We learned from a local bear watcher that this bear was named Blondie because of it's blond fur.  We have been on bear watch for the past six days.  We probably will no longer need to pack our bear spray when we hike.

We got back into the car and turned around for our eight hour 475 mile drive to Custer, South Dakota.  We had pizza at a local resturant and got comfortable for the evening.  We will visit Mount Rushmore and the Badlands tomorrow before heading home.

More later . . .