Blogs from South Dakota, United States, North America - page 59

We drove to the Badlands with the intention of camping overnight there. After driving through the park, we stopped at the local store to get some water and Gatorade. We were both so frightened by the people inside that we decided it would be best not to spend the night there! Instead, we drove over to Mount Rushmore…. we got there just before the sun was about to set…the weather had cooled off and the crowds were gone. We walked around the area and took some pictures. From there we drove over to Rapid City to spend the night. We got a tent site at the campgrounds and then drove into town to eat dinner. We went to Rapid City brewing company and had their red ale with dinner. We were seated outside, so we listened ... read more

Another day another state. Lunch in Cody Wyoming, dinner in Keystone South Dakota! Sunday we made the obligatory pilgrimage to Mount Rushmore. It is impressive but once you've gone to the main viewing area and taken your pictures (10 minutes) that's it. On our way out a random man directed us to nearby Custer State Park that you can drive through and at one of the tunnels actually get a picture of Mount Rushmore framed in the distance. At that point we decided to check out the park which also has a buffalo herd. Another great find. The buffalo here are vaccinated and culled so the herd remains at a constant number. The roundup is October 7th and you can actually watch. We also ran into a burro jam. The herd, mostly mothers and babies were ... read more

After Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, Shazza and I headed north through the Big Horn Mountains, which were covered in the smoke haze from the ongoing forest fires. We took a detour west to visit the Battle of Little Bighorn National Memorial, better known as "Custer's Last Stand". It was where up to 2000 Sioux warriors defeated the U.S. 7th Cavalry and killed close to 300 soldiers and Crow scouts as they tried to force the Sioux Indians back into the reservations. It would be the last victory for the Plains Indians, led by Sitting Bull and the legendary Crazy Horse. The native ranger gave a passionate presentation of the events leading up to and including the battle, incorporating quotes from those present on both sides. One description upon seeing the Sioux's 20,000 strong herd ... read more

We got an early start from our campsite in Custer State Park and headed for the Willife Loop Road - there are over 1600 Buffalo here in the park. The scenery was spectacular and we saw lots of wildlife - but no buffalo. We saw plenty of deer and wild turkeys and burros. We then headed for the Crazy Horse Monument. We spent several hours exploring the museum's artifacts and pictures. We then drove through the Needles Scenic Highway. What a truly awesome experience. The road has spires climbing up the sides of the road and the one land tunnels are very interesting. We decided to go back and try to find the buffalos and we encountered them blocking the highway. The herd had about 80-90 bison in it. Two motorcycles approached the Bison and as ... read more

We started out this morning meeting with an old friend, Troy for breakfast just outside of our campground. We met Megan, his lovely girlfriend. We caught up with the last nine years of his life before saying goodbye and heading on west on 90. We hit periods of rain again today. We saw a lightning bolt hit in one of the cornfields we were passing. It is really flat here. Dave drove another almost 500 miles today, but we finally made it to the Badlands of South Dakota. We were awestruck with the uniqueness of this beautiful land. We camped in the Park and watched a beautiful sunset.... read more