Day Trip To Mount Rushmore

Hey guys! So while I'm here in Custer, South Dakota for aviation training, I decided to use my day off to do a little sight-seeing! My first two days of training were such a blast. For those of you who don't know, I am a wildlands firefighter. I am 20 years old and this is my third year on the job. This year I accrued a position in Glenrock, Wyoming on The Wyoming State Helitack Crew!! I am so ridiculously excited to get flying and firefighting this season! It should be a late fire season with intensity picking up around late July to early August. Anyway, here's a pic of the helicopter I'll be flying in this year :)

It's a Bell 206L (Long Ranger) L-4. Very high performance Type 3 helicopter which is fully capable of fire suppression and aerial ignition operations.

Tomorrow training picks up again, but today I was able to relax, do some sight-seeing here in Custer, work on some video editing, and best of all, I visited the heads of four dead presidents!!

......That came out wrong.

Maybe this will make more sense

That's right, I visited the great Mount Rushmore!

Well, to be honest, I expected it to be bigger for some reason.

I got some pretty choice pics tho, so lemme quick talkin so y'all can enjoy these slides boiiiii

This part of the country is totally gorgeous and completely stunning!! Especially to an outdoorsman like me. These black hills are full of elk, mule deer, bear, and wild turkey. If I were spending more time here, you better believe I'd be picking up a few tags and spending my weekends out in the hills. Unfortunately, training ends on Saturday, in which time I head back to the Helibase in Glenrock, Wyoming.

But fear not, my followers! There's plenty to do in Wyoming! I got stacks on stacks on stacks...

...of video ideas for the months to come!

You can expect to see the FX Impact come out again to take out some more prairie dogs, as well as a few walleye fishing trips out on the boat :)
And best of all, you're gonna get to see what I see from several hundred feet up in the helicopter :D

Come along with me as fire season kicks off and the weekends entertain with exhilerating outdoor trips.

-Mike Knipp