South Dakota Adventures

We flew to Rapid City, South Dakota via Denver and Oklahoma City to discover National Monuments, Mountain Trails, Beautiful Vistas, welcoming B&B's, and Great Plains animals like Buffalo, Great Horn Sheep, Prairie Dogs, and Deer.  We were not disappointed!  

Upon arriving  in Rapid City we drove our rental car south to Custer State Park, purchased our park pass  and followed the twisty Iron Mountain Road, part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, northwest. The road affords views of Mount Rushmore framed by one lane tunnels before checking into our B&B, Peregrine Pointe,  nestled in a forest seven miles west of Rapid City. Our room had a comfortable queen size bed with a jetted spa tub.  The host provided us with delicious breakfasts on both days complete with both fresh fruit and vegetables.     

 We drove into Rapid City for dinner at the Firehouse. Deer bounded across the gravel road leading to the B&B.  Back at the B&B turkeys foraged right outside our room. 

After breakfast, we drove back down south to Mount Rushmore and then along the Needles Highway, also part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway,  to Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park.  Check out the YouTube video by A+K Adventures.

Iconic Mount Rushmore

There were plenty of tourists at the memorial, but it didn't seem too crowded.  After reading about it for so many years, it was a great feeling to see it up close.

  

We hiked around Sylvan Lake and I (Richard) stuck my nose into Sunday Gulch.  We hiked the short but strenuous Cathedral Spires trail gaining 500 ft of elevation by the end of the trail. Joanne made it most of the way up although some of the rock scrambles were pretty difficult.  The reward at the end is the bases of the granite spires formations.  Pretty amazing! See A+K's drone photography of the Needles and more:  Hiking at Custer State Park... 

At Sylvan Lake

Along the Sylvan Lake Trail

We followed the Needles Highway into Custer State Park and then into the town of Custer for we thought hamburgers at the famous Burger and Bun.  They were closed so we waited for the  Sage Restaurant to open. They opened exactly at 5 PM and within less than a minute all the tables were taken with people waiting outside. Dinner was excellent. 

Cathedral Spires Trail

The next morning we drove back down to Custer State Park to loop the Wildlife Loop, eighteen miles of open range and forests, prairie dogs, donkeys, hundreds of buffalo and big horn sheep.

Ever Watchful

A hot day, over 90 F.

According to Tom (1899 Inn), Buffalo were much larger in the 1800s, so this is a small one.

Lots of Babies

Posing Just Outside Our Car

After we snapped hundreds of photos along the loop, the time arrived for Burger and Bun.  Not so fast. The restaurant was packed and the waiting time was two hours! We opted for takeout, waiting about one hour partly at the rock shop next door where we bought a souvenir . We walked our takeout to a park a few blocks away to enjoy our delicious burgers. 

From the Black Hills Burger & Bun, Recommended by A+K

Our Souvenir, A Rock Buffalo

We stopped at the Crazy Horse Memorial, a work in progress. on our way to the 1899 Inn B&B in Deadwood.  Work began on it in 1948 and it is still under construction.  We enjoyed the movie which explained how and why it is being built and touring the Indian museum.

The 1899 Inn, a restored home, is located away from the noise of the gambling tables, but just a 5-minute walk to all the historic sites. Tom Griffith and his wife, Nyla, operate the inn. Extroverted Tom, the author of many books, is a wealth of information.  Tipped off by Tom, we detoured slightly on our way over Devils Tower to pass through  Aladdin, WY, population 15 to take-in an old time general store.  Before heading that way we had a night to look over Deadwood and a day to travel through the scenic Spearfish Canyon Byway. 

Dinner at the Social Club

Joanne Listens to Wild Bill at Saloon #10 While We Wait for Dinner at the Social Club

The Roughlock Falls Trail is an easy hike with peaceful views of a stream meandering through a meadow filled with wildflowers. It was Joanne's kind of hike. 

Joanne Hugs a Ponderosa Pine 

Roughlock Falls & Cascade

Crystal Clear Water Just Below the Roughlock Cascade

Spearfish Canyon

We had been blessed with sunny skies although the on day of the Wildlife Loop, the temperature climbed into the nineties. Light rain began to fall as we exited Spearfish and continued off and on until for the next, our last, day in South Dakota.

Visiting the Devils Tower and the Badlands in one day makes for a lot of driving, over three hundred miles, ending at the Rapid City Airport for a midnight flight home. 

Deadwood - Aladdin - Devils Tower - Badlands

The General Store in Aladdin, WY

If you can't find it here, you probably don't need it.  An old timer sat at the bar (Yes, a bar that can accommodate about two thirds of the town.) drink in hand looking like he been glued in place.  

Inside the General Store

Devils Tower, WY on a Rainy Morning

Devils Tower, our nation's first national monument, is sacred to 23 Indian tribes and they leave "prayer bundles" to remind us that this place is special. It is 867 feet high and many rock climbers scale it every year.   We spent a few minutes or so walking around in the drizzle and snapping photos before heading East for the Badlands. A long drive later we stopped at the much billboard advertised Wall Drug for a bathroom break on our way down to a wet Badlands. 

Badlands

A cloudy sky in the late afternoon and early evening made for some dramatic photos.

Badlands

Bighorn Sheep at a Distance

Evening Sky Clearing over Badlands

Wall Drug in the Afternoon Before Visiting the Badlands

We stopped at Wall Drug for Buffalo Burgers before returning to the airport about 9 PM.  Our journey had come to an end.  We dropped off our rental car and took an Allegiant midnight flight straight into our home town of Punta Gorda, 3 hrs. 40 minutes away.  

What a wonderful trip into our nation's heartland!