Day 6: Mt Rushmore and Custer State Park

We woke up around 7:30 after not the best night of sleep. But we'd gone to bed early and mysteriously gained an hour at some point on the drive, so we were still feeling pretty good, despite still being sick. After some sudafed, vitamin c, and bagels, we packed up camp and headed out to hit some trails in the Badlands.

Brian was determined to be off the trails by 10am to avoid the heat so we headed over to the trailheads around 8:30. We were feeling daring so we chose a 1.5 mile round trip hike that was supposed to be "moderate to strenuous". This particular trail was estimated to take 2 hours to complete. I'm not entirely sure where they got that number from. Especially after doing the hike. The only "strenuous" part of the hike was a very cool ladder made out of logs that was 40 or 50 ft tall. And I daresay it was only strenuous because neither of us can take a deep breath at the moment since we're all kinds of congested.

Still, it was quite the adventure. Particularly because of all the signs warning about rattlesnakes. Those were Brian's favorite.

The view from the top was awesome and we got some good photos. The trail kind of ended without warning at which point we could "explore at our own risk", but we decided to head back. 40 minutes later, we were back at the car. We must be such pro hikers that a 2 hour hike takes us less than half the time. I'm sure the hiking boots I got Brian for graduation helped, too.

Since it was still so early, we decided to try out a few of the other "trails". I use "trails" loosely because they were boardwalks. One was 0.25 mile round trip. That's more of a scenic outlook than a trail, isn't it? The guidebook estimated 20 minutes to make the walk. We decided we were up to the challenge and 3 minutes later were at the end of the Window Trail. It was a cool gap in the rocks that let you look out over the badlands. 3 minutes well spent. We sat down to rest for a few minutes before making the trip back to the car.

Before too long we were on the road again. We had a short drive over to Mount Rushmore and our campsite at Custer State Park. I slept for a lot of the trip, but Brian somehow made it there without my help. We swung by our campsite first to make sure we approved of the location. It was situated on a babbling brook and there were showers, so we weren't complaining. 

We headed off to check out the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mt Rushmore next. There were some nice roads through the park so the ride was enjoyable. We pulled up to Crazy Horse first. Crazy Horse was a Native American tribe leader in South Dakota in the 19th century. From what I can tell he's most known for going to war with the U.S. government to protect his land and people. A member of his tribe commissioned a massive sculpture of him (way bigger than Mt Rushmore) and construction began in 1948. But not much has been done since. Apparently there have been some financial setbacks. Brian saw the memorial 12 years ago and it looks the same today; the face is finished and that's about it. It's kind of sad, really.

The Crazy Horse Memorial. Hasn't aged a bit.

We pulled up to the gate of the memorial and were quoted $20 for an entrance fee. That seemed a little steep for a very unfinished statue that we could see plain as day from the road so we decided to move on. Given that the construction is mostly funded by visitor entrance fees, they should probably rethink that.

On the way to Mt. Rushmore we came across a Black Hills National Forest information building so we decided to stop. Brian's been itching to go off-roading in the Jeep and he wanted a map of the service roads and trails in the area so we could go exploring. We got just what we needed and decided to find a few old logging roads that the ranger pointed out to us.

And boy did we find some.

Bonus points if you can find the logging "road" in this picture.

Turns out, the "old" logging roads we found weren't so old. There were plenty of cows around and one in particular had a fondness for standing in the road in front of us while Brian tried to coax it out of the way. When we were leaving the little guy came right back out into the road when it saw us approaching.

Our little cow friend on the way back to the road. This time his mom came to shoo him across.

When we got back into the more rugged parts of the road there was fresh cut wood stacked along the road and a tractor with chains on the wheels and the door still open. Guess the workers were out to lunch or something. We decided to explore anyway and Brian found a nice hill to try out his 4 Wheel Drive on. We turned around when the hill got a bit steeper than we were prepared for. 

There were several roads that branched off of one another so we continued on in search of a good view of the hills. We didn't find anything too great, but at one point we got off the road to check out a promising overlook. Brian was able to turn the Jeep around after we'd gotten to the top of the hill, but coming back down proved a little more difficult. There was a sizable tree on the ground that the loggers had chopped down. Sizable, but the Jeep could totally take it. Or so we thought. The first attempt to get over it wasn't so successful so Brian backed up a few times to try again. Turns out that might not have been the best idea.

Oops.
(That's not the offending tree, by the way. It was much bigger. We just ran over that one.)

We finally got out of the Jeep to move the tree out of the way when we discovered that we'd broken off a plastic cover that was bolted under the car. Oops. Totally replaceable, but off-roading with something hanging off the bottom of your car isn't the best idea ever. So, avoiding the cow pies that were all over the place, Brian attempted to screw the plastic thing back on. When that didn't work, out came the duct tape and the job was done in no time. We stopped for a quick picture, of course, and then went on our merry way.

Emergency Surgery

Brian took it a little easier after that and before too long we decided to head for Mt. Rushmore. 

When we got to Mt. Rushmore, I stopped to take pictures of the memorial almost right away. I'm pretty much a professional tourist at this point. We walked down the hall of flags or whatever they call it and stopped again at an outlook to get more pictures. A citizenship ceremony was taking place in the amphitheater right below us, with a live choir singing patriotic songs and everything. Then some middle schoolers got up to read (what I can only assume were) their award-winning essays about what being an American citizen means to them. That was fun and all…for about 5 minutes. So I said hi to a cute baby behind us and then we left to check out the "strenuous" Presidential Trail.

The fellas

The trail consisted of a lot of stairs going down with a few stopping points to read about the presidents and get a better look at them through holes cut in the trees. It was also shady so Brian was a fan of the trail. We quickly figured out that the strenuous part was going to be coming back up the stairs on the other side, but we kept going anyway.

When we got to the bottom of the stairs, we stopped by the original sculpture studio which now houses a cool exhibit and we also saw one of the original compressor houses and compressors that were used to run the jackhammers used to do the carving. We were just in time for the 3:30 Park Ranger talk about how the carving was done so we found a seat and waited for that. The family on the bench next to us were in the process of moving from Fairbanks, Alaska to Maryland, so Brian decided they must be Air Force. The kid really knew his history, too, and he couldn't have been more than 6.

Another view of the same thing

We learned that the majority of the carving was done using dynamite and the workers could get within an inch of the final product using the dynamite. That blew my mind (pun intended). The rest was finished using jackhammers and the details were filled in with chisels, both used by men hanging from the side of the mountain on bosun chairs. No one was killed during construction, despite the hazards. We also learned that the workers couldn't start making money for the day until they had reached the top of the mountain so some of them could climb the 700+ steps up the mountain with all their tools is 6 minutes flat. Let's just say it took Brian and I longer than 6 minutes to climb the ~450 steps back up the other side of the trail. 

After that we headed back toward the campsite. We stopped to pick up something to cook for dinner as well as some firewood, but Keystone, SD, the only town nearby, was lacking. We did find a grocery store that would be heaven for anyone who loved Chef Boyardee, ramen, and grits. But it did have one redeeming quality: the place had Neccos. Neccos were a staple of all my family car trips growing up and I'd been looking for them everywhere we stopped. This tiny backcountry grocery store saved the day. We also left with some mac and cheese and firewood for good measure.

I have no pictures of the grocery store, so here's a cow.

Since we'd had some combination of cheese and pasta for two nights running we decided to partake in Keystone's other speciality: pizza. Because when you're sick of cheese and pasta, the clear alternative is cheese and bread. Of all the restaurants in Keystone, every single one of them advertised their menu as "Pizza, Beer, Icecream." Okay, there was one Subway, but there was so. much. pizza. So we stopped for pizza (and salad!). And we didn't regret the decision. 

We left the pizza joint and decided to take the front part of the roof off the Jeep for the drive back. We didn't regret that either.

In the parking lot of the pizza place, complete with duct taped bumper and cow poop.

No, that's not mud.

The drive back into the park was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, we didn't notice the go pro was turned off so we didn't get pictures of the drive, but it was very cool. Winding mountain roads, one-lane tunnels, a great view of Mt Rushmore through the trees, and the biggest donkey I'd ever seen. Aside from a really terrible driver we were stuck behind for a good chunk of the trip, it was a great ride back.

When we got back to the campsite, we set up the camp like usual. We're pros at this point. After some hot showers we settled in with some painkillers and our books to read by the campfire. Brian declared, "We are such a cute couple." 

Brian reading a book about submarines. Wonder where he got that idea?

He's also sporting this year's hottest fashion, the bug-repellant anklet.

After it got too dark to read, we got out our computers and I wrote for the blog and uploaded photos while Brian moved the 20 GB of go pro photos from yesterday onto his hard drive. I'm sure you all can't wait for the time-lapse videos. 

We let the fire burn down for a bit and packed up camp before heading to bed. The next day was a long drive to Yellowstone so we had to be up early.

Day 5: Wall Drug and the Badlands

This post brought to you by Wall Drug.

Sorry for the late post. I have no good excuse really, though being sick has really taken it out of me. But I'm on the upswing now. Which reminds me: Brian's ox-like immune system is reminiscent of the immune system of a baby ox pulling a wagon on the Oregon Trail who's on the verge of  dying of dehydration. (For any of my international friends reading this who haven't played the computer game Oregon Trail, you're really missing out. ) Okay, he's not going to die. But he definitely caught my cold. Now we're BOTH on a regimen of sudafed and vitamin c.

Tuesday night brought some pretty awesome thunderstorms to our part of South Dakota. What we thought would be scattered thunderstorms and showers after midnight turned into an all-night drenching that lasted well into the morning. Clearly we had no option but to sleep in. When the rain finally let up and we emerged from the tent, we were happy that we packed everything up the night before. The tent held up pretty well to the rain, but everything was still pretty wet and dirty. We loaded it up anyway and decided to set it up as soon as we got a campsite for the night to let it dry out.

We finally hit the road around noon for a long drive across South Dakota to the badlands. The drive was just as pretty as Minnesota and the fields were even bigger. I kept going on about the hugeness of it all and how we had just been sitting in a massive combine in Chicago while they now looked like specks sitting out in the fields. Brian pointed out that THAT'S why they need GPS (this was a bit confusing to us at the museum on Monday).

Brian drove the whole way which was awesome because I got to kick back. I spent the day taking photos of billboards along the road. There were a TON of signs along the road. But if there was such a thing as an advertising mecca in South Dakota, it would be Wall Drug.

We had started to hear about Wall Drug from the Coopers and that made Brian remember that we just HAD to stop there. I was massively confused but it seemed like a pretty big deal so I was anxious to see it. Sure enough, more than 250 miles away from Wall, South Dakota on Route 90 (again…) we started seeing billboards advertising free ice water at Wall Drug. As we got closer, more signs started cropping up for all varieties of goods at Wall Drug. They were simple, small signs set out in farmer's fields along the highway, but they were plentiful. 

We finally arrived in Wall to much fanfare (okay, none at all) and pulled off the highway into the tiny town of Wall which is right next to Badlands National Park. I kept pointing to buildings and saying "Is that it? Is it that one?" and Brian kept telling me it was bigger. Finally we turned around a corner and here is a village straight out of a very gaudy western movie. And there was Wall Drug. We went inside and it was equally touristy inside. Brian was on a quest for ice-cream and wouldn't let me take his picture, of course, but it was pretty exciting. And yes, they had free ice water, 5 cent coffee, and a dinosaur. Can't beat that. 

I should point out that Wall Drug is no longer a drug store. Well, maybe one of the shops sells some aspirin or something, but it's now the definition of a tourist attraction. It's like Disney for western culture. There was gold mining for kids and plenty of photo ops with fake people. There were trinkets galore but also higher end merchandise like sheepskin throws and things like that. 

 


And of course, the dinosaur. This was the most bizarre part, probably. The whole place was western themed except for this guy hanging out at the end of a hallway.

Before we left Wall I had to get a picture of the massive silos sitting next door. We had seen them sitting out in the fields and they looked smaller but you could still tell they were huge from the cars passing on the ranch roads. Finally we were up close so I snapped a pic to capture the moment. 

Enormous silos. Check out the truck in the foreground for scale. Not a small truck, either.

Then we were off again to the Badlands. Camping in the park is on a first come, first served basis, so Brian was slightly worried that we wouldn't get a campsite. There were two options, primitive camping and slightly less primitive camping. We headed out for the primitive camping, thinking it would be less popular. Plus, it had an interesting looking dirt road that Brian couldn't resist. So off we went along this nifty road along the rim of the canyon. And oh boy was it awesome.

The go pro camera has really come in handy on this trip.

So first was the badlands. I'd never been before but they were awesome. Expansive protusions of rock in the middle of the prairie. Some of the rocks looked like a sunset with the reds and yellows. Then there was the wildlife. So many prairie dogs! And they really do sit up on their mounds checking out the place like you see in all the pictures. Then there were herds of big-horned sheep. 

And then there they were. Bison. Buffalo? If anyone knows the difference, let me know.

I'd never seen a bison in person. Sure, I'd shot some in Oregon Trail to feed my people and make sure they survived the trip. But I'd never actually seen one. And man, were they huge. On the way back we got a close-up of a guy hanging out by the road. So. cool. 

The rim road we were on was also very cool. Brian drove a little over the speed limit because he was so worried the sites would be full when we got back there, but it was a fun time with all the great views of the land below. When we got back to the campground we were a little disappointed. There was some shade and a pit toilet and nothing else. A few other brave souls were set up there, but it was mostly just hot and seemed like not a lot of fun. It was miles and miles back to the main road so there weren't even any trails around.

So Brian called the other campground to see if there were sites open and we headed that direction. 35 miles and a few slow drivers later, we had a campsite for the night and set up camp. Everything was still wet from the night before, but we put things out in the sun and steady breeze and it was only a few minutes before everything was dry.

Us setting up camp in the wind at Cedar Pass Campground

Then came dinner. The plan was cheddar and broccoli for dinner. And to make a long story short, that's what we ended up having. But because this blog is about spewing details, I'll make the story long again. We had a tad bit of trouble with the stove for boiling the water. First, the problem was the wind. The steady breeze was making lighting anything a little more challenging than normal. The other problem was our incompetence. The fire just didn't seem to be as fiery as it was the night before. In other words, we couldn't even boil water. Here we were, huddled around the stove sitting on the ground in between everyone else's fancy RV's and lawn chairs trying to keep the thing lit. We pumped and pumped but nothing improved the flame.

Finally, it was almost time for the sunset so we decided to blow it out and let it cool down. One thought Brian had was that maybe there was too much fuel in it, since he had just filled it up. Maybe leaving a little more space for the gas would make it burn better. So we turned it off and let it cool down while Brian situated the go pro for a good view of the sunset. We grabbed some painkillers (which are practically the same with the pina colada mix!) and headed to the 9pm Ranger program. 

Sunset from our campground

If I had to sum up my impression of the ranger in one word, it would be: awkward. She was not the best presenter. And her powerpoint was not the best. And I had to pee. And about 15 minutes in Brian leaned over to me and whispered, "She used the bounce transition. Rookie mistake." Needless to say, it was time to leave.

We bailed and headed back. And then, a small miracle happened. Brian figured out the stove. This is the part where I hope my dad hasn't been reading the blog. Turns out we never tried too hard to turn the valve to the open position. It's a little screw that you're supposed to turn to open and then pump and then turn to close. It turned a little bit but then seemed to stop. We had thought the small range of motion a little odd but had thought the wind or the full tank of fuel were the culprit so hadn't really tried turning the screw harder. Woops.

After that, dinner was ready in about 15 minutes. Brian did a lovely job preparing it while I took a nap (my cold was really taking a toll). In fact, after eating a bit I proceeded to lay down on the picnic table bench for another nap. Dinner is a taxing activity. Brian blew up the air mattress for me and I hit the sack. He ended up cleaning up everything for the night which was awesome, too. Then he came to bed.

That night was a doozy. We'd overheard some neighbors mention scattered thunderstorms overnight but nothing too big. After the night before, a little rain didn't faze us. But it didn't rain. And it didn't thunderstorm. Instead, it gusted like a mofo. The wind woke us both up about 2am because it was so strong. Our tent is awesome, as I've mentioned. But it's high profile in the sense that it doesn't play nicely with wind. The top of the tent was pretty much on top of us at points during the night. And of course we hadn't tied down the tent. It's not like it was supposed to storm like it had the night before.

So our tent was just blowing in the wind all night long. I poked Brian to tell him the poles were about to snap and our tent was about to collapse in on us and his response was just "I'm not dead yet." So we went back to sleep and I planned to blame him if we died.

Spoiler alert: we didn't die. And the poles didn't snap. But our tent does have an interesting new shape.