Threading the Needle: Twin Creeks RV Park, Buffalo, Wyoming 10/18/09

(Ned again.) We woke up to another sunny day in Custer State Park. Much to our amusement, everyone else in the campground seemed to be bundled up in their big down coats, along with wool caps and gloves. Meanwhile we were walking around in shirtsleeves, remarking about how nice the weather was. Even though our thermometer registered 49 degrees, apparently our experience of waking up to a frosty 23 degrees the morning before made us really appreciate today’s temperature. We also really liked the number of big horn sheep grazing inside the campground, along with lots of bison grazing just outside the gates. Our first destination was a campground further south, called Blue Belle. As we circled this handsome campground we met a nice woman with 2 friendly golden retrievers, camping in a Eurovan almost identical to ours. We spent at least 30 minutes comparing notes about our vans, and swapping stories about our favorite destinations. She’s from Colorado, and gave us a list of several “locals only” camping spots. From there we left to investigate the Needle Highway. After climbing multiple switchback turns and negotiating a short sweet tunnel, we got to the summit, which is called Needles Eye. Here we saw remarkable spiked formations of granite, and an impressive hundred foot long tunnel. (See today’s pick of Winnie emerging from the end.) At every turn along this road the view of the surrounding Black Hills was spectacular. Our next stop was a drive-by of the Crazy Horse Monument. This is a Native American version of Mount Rushmore, portraying the famous Indian Chief, although still a long way from completion. After having just witnessed the splendor of Needles Eye, and enduring all the hype the day before regarding Rushmore, I decided that I prefer stone mountain tops in their naturally occurring form, rather than dynamite-blasted to resemble humans. Heading north we made our way to Deadwood, which we assumed would be a historic mining town with lots of charm. Although this could probably be true, we were amazed to discover that, in its current form, it appears to be a small Reno, Nevada, disguising itself as a historic mining town. We were ready for lunch, and despite repeated efforts to find a place to eat, we were continually confronted instead with establishments filled with blinking and clinking slot machines. We finally found a place to eat, once we had waded past their phalanx of one-armed bandits. We decided that Deadwood must be one of the strangest towns that we had ever visited. Heading west, we entered Wyoming, where we enjoyed the huge, rolling landscape, with its magnificent cloud-filled big sky. As we approached the town of Buffalo, we marveled at the beauty of the snow-covered peaks of the Big Horn Mountains in the distance. We plan to cross the summit of those mountains tomorrow morning, and we’re hopeful that our good weather will continue.

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!