Good Times in the Badlands: Custer SP, South Dakota 10/17/09

We had an amazing day! Woke up to 23 degrees, but it warmed up to mid 70’s today. This was the first warm and dry day we’ve had in awhile, so it was especially appreciated. We drove into the Badlands and practically had the entire park to ourselves. After spending some time at the Visitor’s Center, we decided to take the Badlands Loop Road and the gravel 35 mile Sage Creek Rim Road. The light on the pinnacles, mounds, grasslands and rock formations was fantastic from every height and angle. (See today’s pic. It was really hard to pick just one picture today, we had so many great photo opps). We stopped several times to take the short fossil walk or just take in the scenery. Fortunately for us we picked up another hour today, which gave us that little extra time to explore Rapid City, Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. There’s a skyline drive that overlooks Rapid City, but the real attraction here is the Dinosaur Park, built by the WPA in 1936. These concrete dinosaurs are pretty cheesy, but Ned and I had a blast crawling all over them and taking silly pictures of each other in compromising positions. Ah the beauty of visiting attractions in the off season! Next, we drove into the Black Hills heading for Mount Rushmore. At first we were a little discouraged (or should I say appalled?) at all the tourista shops, billboards and kitch as we drove into Keystone, the gateway to Mount Rushmore. However, the minute we actually entered the park calmness reigned and you were actually able to take in the beauty of the natural area. Mount Rushmore was fun to see, but what we particularly enjoyed was the “Presidential Trail” that allowed us to walk below the Rushmore Monument and view the sculptures from different angles. We were also able to get some great views of the Black Hills from this walk. Early evening came upon us as we took the Peter Norbeck Iron Mountain Highway. For me, this was the true highlight as we drove through “PigTail Bridges” and one lane tunnels as we spiraled up the mountain. Peter Norbeck built the highway so that you can view Mt. Rushmore from all different angles. A particular stunner was coming out of a tunnel with a straight on view of Mt. Rushmore in the distance framed by the Black Hills – breathtaking! As we drove further into the wildlife preserver to camp at Custer State Park we were surprised by all the Bison grazing by the side of the road. I appreciated Ned’s calmness as we waited on more than one occasion for a wandering Bison to clear the roadway. Over our home-cooked meal in the winniemobile tonight, we took a tally of all the animals we had seen in the Badlands and Black Hills: Big Horn Sheep, Bison, Antelope, Prairie Dogs, a Badger, Mule Deer, Wild Turkeys and a bunny. Pretty amazing day!