Our travel adventures continue! On Monday we drove to the Black Hills in South Dakota with a lunch stop in a motorcycle grill/bar Sturgis. We are staying at the beautiful Rafter J Bar Ranch campground and our site overlooks expansive lawns and many trees. While Mount Rushmore was the primary reason to come here, we saw a lot of other great places, too.
Custer State Park is an amazing space that rivals a National Park. It contains over 45,000 acres and has a road named “The Needle Highway” which goes to the top of the peak and culminates in a one-way tunnel only eight-feet wide. Here’s a fun, short, timelapse video of Custer State Park. The road ascends to the cathedral spires and presents views of the Black Hills that are unparalleled from other places. It is beautiful state park, and after stopping at the visitor center, we drove on the 20 mile wildlife loop road, and saw a herd of 400 bison in addition to many other animals. Wow!
We went to Mt. Rushmore on three separate occasions: sunrise, during an afternoon, and for the late evening program. We particularly enjoyed our time at sunrise. There were only four other people there at 6 am and the thirty second reflection of the sunrise on the faces was breathtaking. Click this to see a brief timelapse video of morning clouds above Mt Rushmore that Ted created. The monument is so impressive, as were the efforts that were expended to design and create it.
We drove to the Badlands National Park on Wednesday and took in the mandatory stop at Wall Drug, which is a huge and cheesy store in the middle of nowhere. We smiled remembering our visit to Wall Drug seventeen years ago when, uncharacteristically so, we gave each of our young sons $20 to spend as they wanted at Wall Drug. Without hesitation, they sprinted to the video game room and played video games to their hearts content. The badlands are beautifully barren and the scenic loop drive through the park is sufficient to see the amazing scenery.
Back in Hill City, we rode the George S. Mickelson bike way, which is a wonderful 109 mile railroad line converted for walkers, joggers, and bicyclists. We biked the five miles into town and did some wine-tasting. Yes. South Dakota has wineries. Grape juices are imported, some from California, and fermented here, and given marketing names of buffalo, motorcycles, and area scenic spots. And – wait for it – the wine tasting is free!
Click here to see Sue’s photos from Custer State Park; and
here for Mt. Rushmore photos.
We have thoroughly enjoyed our times in the Black Hills!
