Blogs from Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota, United States, North America - page 4

Well, we have a 9 hour drive ahead today, so we get an early start. Another grey day, but perfect for travelling. I try to cover up the tired bags under my eyes with makeup, and Steve jokes "I'll just eat my muffin while you're coloring." I call him a bad name. The park had big forest fires in the 1980's. Lodgepole pine makes up 80 percent of the trees here - they are the ones that have the cones that only burst open to release their seeds in the heat caused by fire. As the charred wood decomposes, it releases much needed carbon into the poor soil. You can see some tall older dead trees poking up through the carpet of thick new growth all through the park, which illustrates the natural reforestation process. Close ... read more

Hello! Welcome to our first official entry. First 3 days were driving in the rain. We didn't pick up any hitchhikers so there isn't much to type about. We arrived in South Dakota the end of the 3rd day. Day 4 (the 14th) we stopped in the 1880 town. Apparently it's a shrine to Dances with Wolves and there were a lot of movie props/references that we didn't get. Then we stopped in Badlands N.P. The scenery was unbelievable. Rather than describe it, just check the photos. There were herds of buffalo there too but you couldn't get close enough for a good picture. We ate in the town of Wall. The billboards advertising Wall started 322 miles away and we saw them repeatedly about every 10 miles. There wasn't much to see there. One of ... read more

We started off the day with horseback riding at the Rafter J Ranch (thanks again to the Grimes for recommending this campground...it is great!). Emma, Rachel and I went...they didn't have enough horses for Shawn to go so he stayed back. Rachel didn't want to wear a helmet because it would mess up her hair. However, I kept having visions of Christopher Reeve, so I made her wear it. It was a nice way to see part of the National Forrest and we enjoyed it. After horseback riding, we headed to Mt. Rushmore. It was very impressive. We took the walking tour, which gave us lots of different views of the monument. It also included the sculptor's workshop, with a presentation from a ranger about how the work was completed. Emma voluntered to demonstrate how they ... read more

Whilst heading into the Black Hills of Dakota, we decided to visit Mount Rushmore, The Crazy Horse Memorial, Bedrock and Four Mile Town. Black Hills National Forest The Black Hills area has a rich, diverse cultural heritage. Archaeological evidence suggests the earliest known use of the area occurred about 10,000 years ago. Later Native Americans, such as the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Lakota, came to the Black Hills to seek visions and to purify themselves. The Black Hills was also a sanctuary where tribes at war could meet in peace. (Sky-piercing granite peaks and forested mountains dominate the skyline of western South Dakota. America's oldest mountains rose above the surrounding flatlands 60 million years ago, at about the time the dinosaurs disappeared. Even after eons of erosion their granite peaks still soar as high... read more

We stayed at the 15th largest campground in the world, played a few rounds of mini-golf, made tie-dye shirts and never walked the whole thing. We should have rented a golf cart.... read more