Autumn Road Trip Part III - Giant Presidents Heads, Badlands, Last Stands, Cowboy Towns, and one Massive Indian.

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Day 10 – Little Big Horn and to Gillette



With Yellowstone now behind us, the second part of our adventure began – the drive back through Montana and Wyoming and into the Black Hills of South Dakota. The first significant stop on our drive was the Little Bighorn Battlefield where the infamous George Custer made his supposed last stand. Fortunately the battlefield was literally on our route towards the Black Hills, and was conveniently situated just off Interstate 90 which made it really easy to access.



We arrived at the battlefield and into the relatively small visitors centre which had a small number of displays and some basic information on the battlefield. There was a short video which outlined the events leading up to the confrontation, and an explanation of how the battle unfolded and the significance of its outcomes. Unfortunately little Nicky fell asleep on Fiona’s lap which changed our plans somewhat. After the movie, we strapped Nicky back into the car and enjoyed a picnic while Nick snored his little head off. We then grabbed the Junior Ranger booklets and worked through those with Paddy while we passed some time in the hope that Nicholas might wake up. Unfortunately he did not, so we strapped Paddy back into the car and drove the five miles to the beginning of the self-guided battlefield tour. Unfortunately Patrick also fell asleep on this drive – clearly the early morning had taken its toll on the boys.



The self-guided tour was really well laid out and clearly explained how the battle had unfolded and how the terrain had impacted events of the day. Fortunately, Little Bighorn is one of the few battlefields where the terrain has not changed in any significant manner, so it still looks much the same as it did in 1876 when the battle took place. The battlefield itself was dotted with small white and brown markers, each one signifying to location where a member of the 7^th Cavalry (white), or a Native American (brown) had fallen in battle. Whilst this was saddening to see, it certainly helped to understand how the battle had unfolded. As we moved closer to ‘Last Stand Hill’, the density of the markers increased, signifying how the Native Americans used their numerical supremacy to out-maneuver Custer and leave him stranded atop the largest and most dominant feature in the area. The cluster of white headstones atop Last Stand Hill was a sobering sight made all the more emotive when you saw the proximity of the markers for George, Thomas and Boston Custer – all within a few feet of each other.



Touring the battlefield left us with mixed emotions – the Native Americans were fighting for a just cause, the liberty of their people, and the freedom to live the lifestyle their ancestors had enjoyed for thousands of years beforehand. Layered on top of this was the impact of the 250-odd white markers which dotted the ridgeline, speaking to the leadership failures of Custer and the human waste of war. Finally, it was difficult to form an opinion on how Custer had managed the battle (and if you allow me to indulge a little). He clearly had a plan, and executed it with excellent use of the terrain. He simply underestimated the sheer size of the force he faced, and for this folly, his men paid with their lives. However, he certainly was not the boob that contemporary opinion seems to suggest. Putting aside all considerations for right and wrong, the story of Little Bighorn is a sad one – it was the last great victory of the Indian resistance, and represented the inevitable collapse of their way of life. But the grievous loss of life suffered by the 7^th Cavalry, and particularly the Custer family also demonstrated the hardship, not glory, of warfare. It was a very compelling experience, and Fiona even commented on how much she enjoyed it. That’s saying a lot for a battlefield tour!



Having spent much longer at the battlefield than we anticipated, we hit the road again, making our way to Gillette, Wyoming. We crossed over the border with Montana and finally arrived at our hotel in the early evening. We checked into the hotel and were lucky enough to be upgraded to a beautifully spacious suite. It couldn’t have come at a better time either, as we’d clocked up well over 2000 miles in the car and had just been driving for around 12 hours (with a few stops). The reason we’d actually booked this hotel was that it had a big indoor water park, but unfortunately the pumps that pushed the water up to the top of the slide had broken so they were out of commission. This was pretty disappointing, but we put the kids in their togs, and they still had a cracker of a time running around in the various pools that were still usable. Mum had an enjoyable but brief time in the hot tub before it was time to call it a night.



Day 11 – Gillette to Rapid City



We enjoyed the complimentary breakfast offered by the hotel, but once again felt compelled to bring our own slightly more sugar free options for cereal. When they finished eating the boys decided that rolling around on the floor and wrestling each was a good idea. With a relatively empty dining room, we decided to leave them to it!



We loaded the car and headed east on Interstate 90 for only an hour before reaching our first destination – the first national monument in the United States- The Devil’s Tower. The Tower is an impressive pillar of rock which rises 1267 feet above the surrounding countryside and can be seen for miles in any direction. We first spotted the Tower an impressive 15 miles away which highlights just how much it dominates the local environment.



To explain Devil’s Tower, I have leaned on the most dependable resource available – Wikipedia. Devils Tower did not visibly protrude out of the landscape until the overlying sedimentary rocks eroded away. As the elements wore down the softer sandstones and shale, the more resistant igneous rock making up the tower survived the erosional forces. As a result, the gray columns of Devils Tower began to appear as an isolated mass above the landscape. Portions, or even entire columns, of rock at Devils Tower are continually breaking off and falling. Piles of broken columns, boulders, small rocks, and stones — or scree — lie at the base of the tower, indicating that it was once wider than it is today.



However, Kiowa and Lakota Indian tribes describe the existence of the tower by explaining that some girls went out to play they were chased by a giant bear. In an effort to escape the bear, the girls climbed atop a rock, fell to their knees, and prayed to the Great Spirit to save them. Hearing their prayers, the Great Spirit made the rock rise from the ground towards the heavens so that the bear could not reach the girls. The bear, in an effort to climb the rock, left deep claw marks in the sides, which had become too steep to climb. Those are the marks which appear today on the sides of Devils Tower.



After a brief tour of the visitors centre we set out on a short 2 km hike through the Ponderosa Pine forest which surrounded the base of the Tower. The kids had a great time climbing all the boulders on the ground which are the remains of shattered columns which have broken from the tower and fallen to the ground. We stopped and enjoyed a picnic in the shadow of the tower and watched a number of different climbers scaling cracked sides of the immense pillar. It was a very peaceful and enjoyable hike, and the Tower reminded us a lot of Uluru.



After the hike we returned to the visitors centre and completed the Devil’s Tower Junior Ranger books with the boys earning themselves another badge and patch. We then jumped in the car and headed for our next stop – the infamous western town of Deadwood.



Deadwood is a small town located in the Black Hills which began illegally after gold was discovered on what was land granted to Native Americans as part of the Great Sioux Reservation. Deadwood’s notoriety came from being a lawless town, and the stomping ground and resting place of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Hickok was murdered in the Deadwood Saloon while playing a game of poker – the hand he was holding at the time of his death (black aces and black eights) became known as the ‘Dead Mans Hand’.



We parked the car a short distance from the main street and were immediately struck by how small the town was. Deadwood was located in a deep ravine, or gulch in the Black Mountains which limited how much the town could be developed. As a result, it was spread along the length of the ravine and therefore had not expanded a great deal into an ‘urban sprawl’ which has often grown around other ‘Old West’ towns. The main street was pretty much as it had been in the day, although there was now a paved road rather than dirt, and many of the shop fronts were either tourist traps or casinos. Still, the town retained its western charm and was pleasing to walk around.



We jumped on the local trolley expecting it to be a narrated tourist guide, only to find that it was actually a bus that drove a loop circuit of the town. Nonetheless, it was still a great way to see the entirety of the town rather than just the main strip. After our loop, we stopped off at the top of the main street and made our way back to the car. We perused the cheesy tourist souvenir shops, picking up some good quality kitsch. We then bought the kids impressive ice-creams before stepping into the ‘Original Number 10 Saloon’, completed with saw-dust covered floors to soak up booze and god only knows what else. We also passed by the original saloon where Hickok was murdered, but unfortunately it was closed at the time.



We enjoyed our brief stop at Deadwood, but time was against us, as we wanted to make it to our next stop before shops closed. Only a short drive away was another infamous Black Hills town – Sturgis, the home of the largest biker rally in the world. Not being bikers, we had no real expectations of Sturgis, but we wanted to grab some memorabilia for some biker friends, and Sturgis is truly a place of infamy for those who like to get around on two wheels. The rally started back in 1941 with a small group of 12 guys who drove from Sturgis down to Custer State Park via some very scenic roads. Fast Forward 75 years, and the rally in 2015 attracted some 739,000 visitors and an estimated $800 million to the otherwise sleepy and small town.



We once again visited the local tourist traps and picked up some souvenirs, before heading off to our home base in the Black Hills, Rapid City. We arrived right on 7pm and checked into our hotel. Fortunately there was a happy hour on in the lobby which included free beer and wine, so we got the kids up to the room and started cooking dinner while Fiona and I tag-teamed the bar staff in the lobby and enjoyed more than our share of free drinkies! We put the kids to bed and enjoyed watching a little TV before calling it a night.



Day 12 – Rapid City



We woke up a little late on the morning of day 12, and enjoyed a sluggish start to the morning. We had plans to head an hour south to the town of Hot Springs to look at a Mammoth excavation site. However, the weather was pretty ordinary and the boys were pretty keen for a break from the car and were beautifully entertaining themselves playing Sorry, so we decided for a relaxed day at the hotel.



Once again we’d run out of clothes, so Fiona dropped the clothes off at the hotel laundry and we spent the afternoon playing with the kids and generally relaxing. Fiona had come down with a head cold, so wasn’t feeling the best, but I managed to get a work out in, our first exercise on the trip!



When 4pm rolled around the uber impressive waterpark attached to the hotel opened so we decided to take the kids over there to blow off some steam. It proved to be a great decision as it was an outstanding water park which let the boys ride on everything, as long as we accompanied them on the larger rides. But most importantly they served beer and cocktails to the adults! So Fiona and I enjoyed a cheeky little drink while the boys ran themselves ragged on the slides. We managed to drag the kids away from the slides for 10 minutes to have a fairly rubbish meal that served its purpose. Fiona and I even managed to get a bit of time in the hot tub by ourselves before the boys came and dragged us back onto the big slides. At about 8:30pm we called it a night and took the kids home to bed. The poor little things pretty much passed out as soon as their heads hit the pillow – mission accomplished!



Day 13 – Black Hills



The weather had cleared the next morning, so we got out on the road to visit the main reason most people visit the Black Hills – Mount Rushmore. In order to sequence the day most appropriately, we decided to first visit the in progress mountain carving of Native American Crazy Horse which was only a short drive from Mount Rushmore. We figured that it would be better to see this first so that we would be underwhelmed by a partially finished sculpture if we had seen Mount Rushmore first.



We arrived at the monument and were anything but underwhelmed by the astounding endevour that the Crazy Horse monument is. The sheer scale of sculpture was difficult to comprehend. Once completed it will be nothing short of a colossus. It was commenced in 1948, and the original sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, passed away in the mid-1980’s. His vision and work is now being pursued by seven of his ten children who are unlikely to see it completed in their lifetime. In contrast, Mount Rushmore was completed in 14 years.



At this stage the face of the Crazy Horse Monument has been completed, and a massive volume of the mountain has been removed (blown away) to take the basic shape of the final structure. However the scope of the undertaking was mindblowing – it took the sculptor 4 years just to remove the segments of the mountain around what would eventually become Crazy Horse’s arm. We’ve included photos of the current project behind the sculpted model of the envisaged final product to try and illustrate just how massive the effort is. It was truly awe-inspiring.



We left Crazy Horse extremely glad that we had made the effort and decided to head to the north entrance of Custer State Park which is famous for its huge Bison herds, second only to Yellowstone in size. Unfortunately we had arrived shortly after the September Round Up, where the Park Rangers herd the Bison in for winter and sell off 20% of the herd to raise funds for the park. It would have been a spectacle worth seeing!



Our first stop in the park was the ‘Eye of the Needle’ which was a huge rock formation which had formed a giant eye which was relatively unique. Unfortunately many of the roads were closed (for some undisclosed reason), so we had to retrace our steps, leave the park and return through the eastern entrance where the renowned ‘Wild Life Loop’ started.



Despite the Bison Roundup, shortly after entering the park we encountered a number of Bison, grazing in pairs on the grasslands of the park. We also saw mule deer and more Pronghorn Deer in various parts of the park. However the show stealer was easily the burros, or donkeys, which inhabit parts of the park. An introduced species, these donkeys are now considered feral, but were quite tame. They had rightly earned the name ‘begging burros’ as they descended on the car en masse, licking the windows and sticking their noses into the car searching for food at any opportunity. The kids thought this was absolutely hilarious and were laughing raucously the entire time these bloody panhandling donkeys harassed us. They seemed to have developed a method whereby the youngest donkeys stood in front of the car preventing it from moving, and the elders harassed the occupants into submission whereby they would pass out whatever food they had just to get moving again – it was modern day highway robbery! We finally pushed passed the bloody things with our car covered in donkey spittle and lick marks – quite the keepsakes!



We completed the wildlife loop and then drove the scenic ‘Ironstone Highway’ from Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore. This had been the original route followed in the early days of the Sturgis Rally. The road itself was an amazing feat of engineering, and the scenery just as stunning. The road cut through the mountains in a series of hairpin switchbacks, before coming to a single lane tunnel cut through solid rock which framed sweeping views the carved faces of the presidents on Mount Rushmore. Superb!



After the scenic drive we arrived at the imposing Mount Rushmore monument where the carved faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln stand to signify the achievements of the United States. Despite being on a much smaller scale than Crazy Horse, they were still very commanding and created a sense of awe at the immense undertaking to achieve such an amazing feat. Unfortunately we arrived much later than intended, and had only a short time to explore the visitor’s centre before it shut. However, there was an excellent video, which provided background on the monument in a kid friendly format. We then spent 10 minutes racing around the displays before we were kicked out into the cold to complete the President’s Walk, a short 800m hike along the base of the mountain and to the sculptor’s studio.



Displays along the walk provided an excellent overview of the achievements of each President, demonstrated why they deserved their place in this immense monument. The path also provided differing views of the sculpture, which, along with the changing light of the late afternoon, provided a different perspective for us. We completed the hike and visited the souvenir shop, which pretty much had everything you could imagine with the monument glued, printed, carved or engraved on it. We still had about an hour to kill before the light show began, so we drove to nearby Keystone for dinner.



With most of the eateries closed, we settled on a charismatic place known as Ruby House – as it turned out, it had previously been a brothel servicing the area, and quite an infamous one at that! The meal was pretty ordinary, but the surrounds and ambience were excellent, so we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We then headed back to Rushmore to take in the light show. It proved to be a little underwhelming as much of the detail of the sculptors work was lost in the bright lights – they really ‘washed out’ the detail in many regards, so we didn’t stay for long before heading back to hotel.



Day 14 – Drive to Sioux Falls



The next morning we packed everything up in preparation for our five-hour drive east to Sioux Falls. Unfortunately we were delayed for some time as during a brief morning wrestling match, Patrick hit his head on the folding mechanism of the sofa couch which split it open beautifully. The poor little man had bloody seeping out of his head which was really obvious against his blonde hair – didn’t Dad feel like a douche!



With that emergency under control, and breakfast in our bellies, we jumped in the car and headed for our first stop – The Wall Drug Store. Thanks to over 500 billboards within the Great Plains region, Wall Drug had created its own fame. Established in 1931, it has been continually growing and now boasts a full city block of some of the greatest kitsch you have ever seen. In fact, I would go as far to say that it is Ground Zero for Kitsch!



The place had singing animatronic robots, roaring T-Rex’s, a giant readable Jackalope (Google it), a fake Mount Rushmore, re-creations of Wild Bill Hickok’s murder, a western art gallery, donut factory, soda fountain, a travellers chapel, and much, much, more. In fact, the only thing it didn’t seem to have was a pharmacy of any description. The place was so kitschy and massive that it was simply overwhelming – it was teeming with people, noise and neon – the kids loved it, but Fiona and I just wanted to leave.



We finally escaped, and headed off for a far more rewarding stop – The Badlands National Park. This aptly named natural phenomenon was an amazing site to see. Formed by a shallow sea 35 million years ago, incredible rock formations simply rise out of grassland prairie with no obvious reason or indication that they are there. The rock formations are a stunning array of colours from grey, red, yellow and green, all created by the previous shapes and forms of the landscape. It had an ‘other-worldly’ feel to it, and looked like it would be much more at home in the rugged deserts of Utah or Arizona, than in the grasslands of the Great Plains.



Fortunately, much of the park can be viewed from a central loop road which links at either end to Interstate 90, so it didn’t seem like much of a detour from our principal route. However, once we got into the park, we spent much more time than we anticipated exploring the amazing formations that this park has to offer. It was the last major attraction along our 15-day journey, and it certainly was not an anti-climax. Although vastly different from the other parks we had visited, it had its own rugged beauty, and we could have stayed there for much, much longer.



However, with time running out, we put the foot down and powered towards our overnight destination of Sioux Falls. We enjoyed a beautiful meal in a Cambodian restaurant of all things and then returned to the hotel and watched Shrek with the boys before getting them to bed for probably their latest night ever at about 10:30pm.



Day 15 – Drive Home to Fort Leavenworth



Fortunately we were in no rush on the last day of our holiday as we only had a relatively short 5-hour leg to get home. We fed the kids and then took them down to the hotel’s indoor waterpark. With both kids coughing so much they sounded like barking dogs, both Fiona and I were a little apprehensive, but once they got down in the water they were good to go.



The kids ran around like crazy for a few hours with Nicky dominating the ‘Jolly Roger’ pirate ship, and Paddy just going up and down the stairs of the large waterslide. Soon enough it was time to hit the road and we started the last five hours of our journey south to Fort Leavenworth.



Ironically, the driving we had done to this point had been relatively easy, however these last five hours became an absolute chore. Both Fiona and I were pretty much over driving – but we think it’s because we didn’t really have anything to look forward to (from a travel perspective) or anything to read about along the way. Coupled with this, Patrick needed to stop every hour to pee, so our five-hour trip took six hours even though we had no real scheduled stops.



So at 7pm we eventually drove into the front gate of the post, to what was now well and truly home for us. Over the whole trip we’d covered 3250 miles (5200 km), which was a pretty epic trip. For our US friends, it’s the equivalent of travelling from San Diego, CA to Bangor, ME. For our Aussie friends it’s the same as travelling Brisbane to Sydney, Melbourne and then onto Perth.



It was an absolutely epic trip – probably the best road trip we have ever done, and that includes some pretty special trips in both Australia and the US. We saw 3 national parks, 1 state park, 3 national monuments, and one hell of a mountain carving, all within the space of 15 days. All of us were struck by the stunning beauty of the landscape, and captivated by the diversity and majesty of the wildlife. The ambitious undertakings of the monuments in the Black Hills were also a humbling experience. If you haven’t considered a visit to the parks and monuments of the Great Plains, then you should certainly put it on your ‘to do’ list.



Our keepsakes from the trip are a series of kitschy coffee mugs so that we can remember this amazing holiday while enjoying a coffee in the morning. If you come and join us for a coffee any time, you might find yourself drinking from a cup with four carved presidents heads, or a bison staring right back at you. We can then bore you senseless with more stories and photos from our amazing journey.

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Photos

Mount Rushmore
Carved in the beautiful Black Hills in the middle of nowhere!

Last Stand Hill
The view from the top of last stand hill down towards where the Indian encampment was. George Custer's fallen marker is the dark one in the centre of the shot.

Custer Brothers
These stones indicate where two of the Custer brothers (George and Thomas) fell. Thomas, the more decorated of the two (two Medal's of Honour) is buried here at Fort Leavenworth.

Prairie Dog!
There was a 'town' of these little guys at the base of the Devil's Tower.

The Devil's Tower
America's first National Monument

Deadwood
Standing out the front of the Saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was murdered.

Bunch of asses!
Horsing around in Deadwood

Sturgis
Had to get a photo of Sturgis Harley Davidson!

Beer in the Waterpark!
Best waterpark in the world my friends!

Crazy Horse
This carving will be so big that the whole Mount Rushmore monument can fit in the cleared area behind Crazy Horse's Face.

The present and the future
What the monument will eventually look like - it's an amazing undertaking.

Panhandling Donkeys!
The kids loved them - haven't heard giggles like that in a long long time!

Mount Rushmore Selfie!
Nicky looking real happy to be here - we'd just woken him up from a nap!

Mount Rushmore Avenue of Flags
The whole family in front of the avenue of flags.

7 Heads!
Nicky is a bit more excited after a short stroll.

The Jackelope!
The boys enjoying the Wall Drug Store kitsch!

Badlands National Park
Entering the park on a stunning day - just looks like grasslands, but wait until you see what was in the park.

Badlands Craziness
From grasslands to these amazing rock formations.

Badlands Magic
The colours in this place were amazing.

Paddy enjoying his photography
Paddy capturing a few photos using the iPhone

The Amazing Colours of the Badlands
These amazing colours have been formed by millions of years of sediment from oceans and rain forests piling up on itself.