Tatanka

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As you may know, we Boutelle's are very organized and quick. OK, so that is a big exaggeration. We needed to move our campsite at Rafter J Bar resort, and it took us almost 3 hours. Sigh. Someday, we will either move more quickly or I will adjust my expectations (probably the latter). We did end up with totally cool neighbors named Michael and Alana from Oregon were staying in a camper van lined with reflective bubble wrap panels.

We launched from the campsite at noon, and Ethan wanted to see a cave. So, we went to Jewel Cave National Monument. Surprise, the cave tours were sold out for 2 days. Who would have thought? So, then we decided to head toward the mediocrecave (as Ethan called it ) and Reptile Gardens, a huge tourist attraction. On our way there, we had to cut through Custer State Park. We decided to drive the wild life viewing loop and it was probably the best thing we could have done. Custer State Park is absolutely beautiful, with wide open spaces and lots of wildlife. We saw prong horned antelope, prairie dogs, deer, bison and some very friendly donkeys. There are signs everywhere saying not to feed the animals but amazingly the donkeys stuck their faces in car windows to get treats. The bison were really amazing animals. At times, we were about 5 feet away from bison in our car. We even saw two bison fighting.

After a few hours in Custer, we took off toward the Reptile Gardens determined to get our fix of cheesy tourist attractions in the Black Hills. However, getting out of Custer was much more difficult than we expected and we ended up on a road called Needles Highway. Once again we were lucky as Needles Highway is a remarkable drive through the rock formations and spires of the Black Hills. At times, you drive one lane tunnels through the rock and only hope that a car is not coming the other direction. There were lots of rock climbers. Ethan is now hooked on the idea that he wants to become a rock climber. I’m sure we will be able to find some of that in California.

In the end, we never made Reptile Gardens. We chose to go back to the campsite because it was getting late. The Needles Highway took much longer than we expected. I guess this will be a theme for this trip. We are very fortunate that our kids are flexible and can roll with changes in the plans.

We went back to the campsite, and the kids swam and Ethan hiked his favorite hill at Rafter J Bar Resort. Off to bed, as tomorrow is a long day in the car. We have been preparing the kids for the 7 hour drive to Cody Wyoming tomorrow.

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