More Adventure in South Dakota

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday, June 18^th we left Spearfish, SD, and drove through Spearfish Canyon where we saw breathtaking views of sheer canyon walls hundreds of feet high and awe-inspiring drop-offs on either side of the road. We took a short hike through the canyon on a trail marked “Devil’s Bathtub”, but we had to turn around when we reached a point where we had to cross a creek that was swollen from recent rains. We drove through a heavy rainstorm through Lead and Deadwood, South Dakota on our way to Custer, SD. When we arrived at Hill City we stopped at the Prairie Berry Winery, and Mom and Dad had a wine tasting while I got to meet and greet many new people. It was fun.

We arrived at Custer, SD in the afternoon, located our motel where we will be staying for three days and went to a local store to get some groceries. It was a great place to stay. The owner of the Chalet Motel, Michelle Lamphere, was a wonderful host and she liked me right away. Smart and good instincts too!
 Mom received a call from one of the places we had reserved near Glacier National Park saying that the owner was going to have to cancel our reservation because of some legal issues with another guest staying there, so she spent nearly all evening trying to get another place to stay when we get there next week. Dad shucked corn and cut up carrots for dinner while Mom contacted VRBO and the owner to get a refund of our money. 

The next morning, June 19^th, we drove up the road a few miles to Custer State Park, a beautiful scenic area near Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. There we took a short, but nice hike around Legion Lake (1 mile). On the way to the lake, we saw two big bull Buffaloes walking in the road and stopping traffic. I tried to tell them to move, but they didn’t listen. 

Then we went to the visitor’s center where we took another hike up to the State Game Lodge and back to the parking lot (2 miles).

In the afternoon Dad and Mom drove 18 miles to Mt. Rushmore, while I stayed in our room and took a nap because cute puppies are not allowed to go there. Those fools! 

Once there they encountered a throng of visitors who came here to view the 60 ft sculptures of four of our greatest Presidents that are carved into the Granite cliff side. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln stare out across the Black Hills of South Dakota and remind us of what a great nation they helped to create.

On June 20^th, we got up early so we could go back to Custer State Park and drive down the Wildlife loop road. There we saw Mule deer, Whitetail deer, Pronghorn Antelope, the begging Burros, many Bison with some recently born calves, and Bighorn Sheep. The Begging Burros are burros that used to be used for kids to ride on, but when they became unpopular the park administration released them into the wild where they soon learned that visitors would feed them from their car windows. So now they surround cars that travel through the valley and beg for food through an open window.

Then we took another hike on the Stockade Lake loop trail (3 miles). 

After lunch, we drove twenty miles to Wind Cave National Park. There we hiked up and around the crest of the hill above the parking lot for entrance to the cave. We decided not to go into the caves because again, cute puppies are not allowed. I don’t know what is wrong with these people? I met lots of people and did my best to make them feel good, but they still wouldn’t let me in. 

  

So we left Wind Cave and drove back to Custer, then on the Crazy Horse Memorial to take some more pictures to share with you all. Crazy Horse was a war chief that led his warriors in the successful defeat of George Armstrong Custer and his notorious 7th cavalry at the battle of the Little Bighorn River in Montana, where they all perished to the last man. The memorial is not finished yet, so you can only see his head carved into the granite cliff. When it is finished, it will be the largest sculpture in the world.

Tomorrow we are driving to Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming. See you then😊.