Crazy Woman Canyon Drive

Monday the 29th

I have to admit, we've certainly had some nice weather the past two weeks. We slept in this morning, not getting up until almost 7:30 AM. It is simply gorgeous outside, a cloudless blue sky and headed for about 80 degrees this afternoon.

After an easy morning we decided to take a drive up into the mountains and back through Crazy Woman Canyon. This is about a forty mile round trip that should take about three hours to complete. Once the dogs had their breakfast and walk we grabbed some water and headed out Wy-16 towards the Big Horn Mountains. Getting into town we stopped at Subway and got a giant sub "for two" and a couple of chocolate chip cookies for our lunch.

About 4 miles outside town we stopped to help a stranded motorist. We had seen his radiator blow clouds of steam as we rounded a corner, seems his truck overheated going up the hill. Since we had a couple of gallons of water in the trunk we gave them to him and wished him well.

Another few miles further and we pulled off to get a picture of the mountains as we traveled the Cloud Peak Skyway. This is a beautiful scenic drive up into the mountains with many mountain meadows interspersed with large stands of forest. Along the way we pass lots of side roads leading to campgrounds, ranches and trail heads. With the sun out and few clouds in the sky it is a great day to be out for a drive.

Twenty-five miles out of town we came to our turn, WY-33 or "Crazy Woman Canyon Rd". It is another gravel road but looks okay. After making our turn we pull over to take a few photos. We are on a slight rise with huge flower filled meadows on both sides of the road. Filled with mountain flowers, the fields are covered with yellows, blues and purples along with the green of plants.

Along side the road are two signs - one says, "Steep Downhill Road Next Five Miles" and the other "Not For The Faint Of Heart" painted above a skull and crossbones. Just kidding!

With Tina behind the wheel we start up over the gentle rise and down the other side. It's a pretty good road, well graded and graveled, similar to others we have driven on in the Badlands. Of course at this point I'm not thinking about the fact that it's a mountain road just recently cleared of snow, running downhill alongside a raging mountain stream. Silly me!! But we have high expectations so off we go.

Just over the crown of the hill we make an emergency stop for a deer that decided to cross the road. Tina is quick with her camera and gets a quick photo. A few hundred yards on and we are going down a very steep, badly rutted one lane road with exposed boulders at about 2 mph. Using all her skill Tina weaves from side to side dancing lightly down the old wagon trail with nary a bump to the undercarriage. This is beginning to look like our famous British Columbia "Trip From Hell" but on that trip we were driving a beat up old Ford Econoline van with 15" of clearance. Our Malibu maybe has 6" clearance at best, but at least we have A/C in the Chevy.

Then it gets worse! We're on a nine or ten percent grade and just slip sliding down the hill -wheeee, we're off roadin now!!! Heh, heh! Eventually thins start to level out and the slope is averaging five to six degrees, but at least we can look around us at the scenery- high rock cliffs, rushing mountain streams, aspens with glowing white trunks, pines and lots of flowers growing out of the rocks. Just as we are getting used to the descent we come to a one lane bridge. It's almost flat, almost, but it does have railings on the sides. It looks safe, there is a Max Load sign with a nine ton limit on it so we should be okay. Tina eased us across and then we were back to the steep descent.

After traveling about an hour we spotted a really nice pullout where people have been camping next to a rushing stream coming down out of the mountains to join Crazy Woman Creek. Tina pulls in and circling around beneath towering pines and firs gets the car pointed back towards the "road". We grab our sandwiches and water and walk over to the stream where we can sit on some large boulders and eat our lunch. Ahhhh, so peaceful and quiet with the roar of falling water. It really is a beautiful spot and we enjoy the setting and the break from trying to keep from breaking an axle or putting a hole in the oil pan.

Returning to the car we head back down hill making room for a couple of jacked up ORV's and a little later a jacked up pickup truck. At least if we have a breakdown there is a chance of being helped. Eventually we reach a point I called the slot where the towering cliffs with a shear rock face my side are probably eighteen feet apart and the stream takes up about six feet of that. But we make it through with no problems. Just around the next bend are two 'Quads' with Mom and a sleeping baby on one and Dad and a young son on the other. This is just a walk in the park for them.

Continuing on down the road we get to the end of the canyon and roll out onto a high plateau. It only took a couple of hours to negotiate the first five miles. By my calculations we dropped from a little over 6,500 feet to around 5,000 feet in five miles leaving us about 750 feet to go over the next ten miles. The road is really well maintained from here on as we pass fields of cattle, antelope, horses, mule deer, more antelope, ranches and homes tucked away among the hills, ponds and fields being irrigated with big water sprinklers like you'd see in eastern Washington. Eventually we reach WY-198 and head back into town. We stop for a while to walk around downtown Buffalo stopping to buy some pottery at Margo's. Then we continued on our way back to the RV Park where we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing.

Later, we walked across the street to the Bozeman Trail Steak House and had dinner. I had Prime rib and it was the worst cut of beef I've ever eaten, tough and stringy - just terrible, but I choked it down with gusto along with a stuffed baked potato, mushrooms with grilled peppers and onions. While I was thoroughly not enjoying my dinner, Tina was working her way through a really nice sirloin steak. After dinner we watched a movie then called it a night.

To see all of todays photos, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Travel To Buffalo

Sunday the 28th

A beautiful day for a drive. Blue sky, no clouds and about 75 degrees with a light breeze. We took our time getting ready to leave but finally got on the road by 9:30 AM for the drive to Buffalo.

Not much to report on the drive, very light traffic and we pulled into Indian Campground in Buffalo by noon. No plans for the afternoon so we did some grocery shopping, house keeping and a good wash and wax for the front of the coach.

Distance for this leg, 134 miles.

Distance for the trip so far, 9,231 miles.

Hike Around Devils Tower

Saturday the 27th

Another gorgeous day. This time I was up at 5:45 AM to the sound of a car alarm going off. I managed to doze off for another fifteen minutes when it went off again. So I got up and took a shower, walked and fed the dogs and did a few chores while Tina made breakfast.

After a leisurely breakfast we took the kids out for another walk then headed for Devils Tower. The entrance to the park is only about 50 yards from the KOA so we only had to drive a few miles up to the Visitors Center.

After stopping at the Visitor Center we took our trail map and set out to circumnavigate the base of the tower on a 1.5 mile paved walking trail. We stopped numerous times to take photos. It is really an awesome sight with the wind blowing and the clouds changing the light which plays on the slopes.

We spent a couple of hours walking the trail before returning to the valley floor. Once again it is difficult to describe what we saw and the feelings such a special place evoke, but it is certainly a spectacular sight.

After returning to camp we gave the kids a bath, had lunch, did laundry and spent the rest of the day relaxing.

To see all of our photos, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Travel To Devils Tower

Friday the 26th

Today is a travel day. We got up at 7:00 AM with the “Punky Alarm”, had a quick breakfast, got everything set for the road and left the Mt Rushmore KOA. The sky is overcast and the temperature is in the mid-70’s. Since we are driving north through the mountains, I leave the dashboard A/C off and run the generator so we have A/C for the roof air conditioner.

It’s a pleasant drive through mountain canyons then up onto high plateaus followed by beautiful rolling valleys dotted with horse ranches and camping resorts. Seventy-five miles north of Hill City we pull into Deadwood which turns out to be a much bigger town than expected. Filled with large brick buildings it’s really very impressive and seems to be bustling with tourism and gambling.

A few miles on we reach I-90 and head west towards Sundance. Twelve miles later we leave South Dakota and enter Wyoming. There is construction on I-90 (much needed) but nothing eventful. Eventually we pull off I-90 and head up into the hills towards Devils Tower. We reach our destination, Devils Tower KOA at noon. Once settled in our site Tina fixed us lunch, then we went for a walk to explore the Trading Post across the street and also the camp store. Getting back to the coach, Tina and the kids took a nap while I updated the blog.

Later that evening we went to a small restaurant and had dinner then watched an outdoor movie, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. Tomorrow we plan to go into the park and hike around the tower.

To see all of our photos, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Distance for today, 115 miles. Total for the trip so far, 9,097 miles.

Black Hills Day Three

Thursday the 25th

A lazy day, sunny and 70 degrees at 7:00 AM. After a leisurely morning we decided to take the 1880 Steam Train from Hill City to Keystone City. After walking the kids and setting the A/C for them, off we went. On the way into Hill we wanted to find the Post Office and get the car washed before catching the train.

Arriving in Hill City we quickly parked at the depot and walked into the station to get our tickets. Surprise! The 10:30 AM boarding was all sold out. Bummer! Well that pretty much put the kibosh on a ride through the mountains pulled by a steam locomotive. I walked outside and got a couple of shots of the train pulling out of the station.

Since our train ride was scrubbed, we went to the P.O. and mailed our post cards, then went and found a brand new automated car wash. With all the traveling we’ve done and with the car sitting under trees so often, it really need the super duper wash. Since we had a few minutes while the car got washed we looked at the map and decided to make the drive over to Keystone along SD-353.

Fifteen minutes later we drove out with a clean (on the outside) car and started on our cross country trek. I wasn’t sure but I thought we might be following the same route as the train and sure enough, about five miles out of town we caught up with it. Quickly getting the camera out I took a couple of shots as Tina drove along side. Then we got stopped at a crossing. And another. And another. Either the road was really meandering or the train was, must be the road.

Eventually we got ahead of the train and made our way into Keystone, which calls itself “Home of Mt Rushmore. Driving from one end to the other covered about five blocks. The town is nestled up against a steep rock cliff on one side and rolling forest on the other, so there is only Main Street. We parked at the south end of town in front of the Borglum Museum, dedicated to the Mt Rushmore sculptor. Since we’d already been through the exhibits at Mt Rushmore we decided to wander through town and check out the shops.

Turns out there were about ten restaurants/eating places, fifteen jewelry/gift shops, three hotels, two real estate agencies several western wear shops and assorted miscellaneous businesses like lawyers offices and dentists. We checked out all the jewelry shops as they all were running sales on Black Hills Gold. I was looking for a pinky ring, Tina was looking for a dragonfly pendant. I found a ring that I liked but decided to wait until we got home before getting one. Tina finally found a pendant she liked and we got that.

Going up one side of the street and back along the other side we decided to have lunch at a sandwich shop. Mmmmmediocre, but, as my Dad always used to say, “ it’s only one meal.” Arriving back at the car we reversed our rout and returned to Hill City which is about ten blocks long and three blocks wide. Tina found a parking spot and we got out to go for a stroll, checking out the stores for presents. Unfortunately, the only presents we found were two chocolate ice cream cones – heheheh!

Leaving Hill city we returned to camp so I could try and catch up on the blog and Tina could take a nap. So went the rest of the afternoon.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Black Hills Day Two

Wednesday the 24th

We had a beautiful mountain night last night. I know this because around 3:15 AM, Wicket got me up and insisted on going for a walk around the campground. The temperature was probably around 68 with lots of stars, not that I could appreciate them as I was trying to make sure I didn’t walk too far from the coach. But hey, if one of your kids gets up in the middle of the night and asks for a glass of water, you’d get it for them wouldn’t you? Of Course you would. Well, all that aside we got another four hours sleep then got up for real – heh, heh.

Today we planned to do one of the many loop drives through the mountains. By 9:00 AM we have the kids in the car, cameras, water, leashes, maps and walking shoes so we head for Mt Rushmore to take a few photos in the morning light. With the sun rising in the east if shines full on all four of the presidents faces. We got parked and made the short hike up to the avenue of flags where we could take a couple of photos then we turned around and headed out on our drive.

We had decided to follow the Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway, a 71 mile loop named in honor of an early South Dakota governor. Norbeck is recognized for his efforts to create Custer State Park, the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve and Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The byway travels through the 1.2 million acre Black Hills National Forest, following the Iron Mountain Road, cutting through Custer State Park along the Needles Highway and including the 14 mile stretch of highway 244 which passes through the lands of the Mt Rushmore National Memorial.

Leaving Mt Rushmore we turn south along the Iron mountain Road (SD-16A) winding our way past Grizzly Campground and arriving at the Pigtail Bridges, a series of curved wooden bridges that form a corkscrew winding down through a deep ravine and through the first of five one lane tunnels on our route. This is a breath taking route with several pullouts where you can see Mt Rushmore in the distance. We stop frequently for pictures and to give the dogs a chance to get out and stretch. We pass through two more of the one lane tunnels on our way to Custer State Park.

Eventually we pass from mountainous terrain to large mountain valleys of rolling grasslands where we spot buffalo, wild burros, antelope, lots of horses and other wildlife. Entering Custer State Park we roll across large open mountain meadows and past the Custer Game Lodge which was the summer white house for President Calvin Coolidge in 1927. At the Needles Highway (SD-87) we turn north towards Sylvan Lake the most photographed lake in the Black Hills.
Along the way we pass through another one way tunnel where I get out and direct traffic so Tina can get through without a hassle.

Our next stop is Cathedral Spires another stunning outcropping of massively weathered granite. Back on our way we come to our final tunnel, the 8’4” wide, 80 foot long one way Needles tunnel. At this point traffic is picking up so once again I direct traffic for a couple of minutes as it comes toward us then I jog through the tunnel to the other end to let Tina pass through safely. Immediately after passing through the tunnel we found ourselves in a small parking lot where fifteen or twenty cars have stopped to take pictures of the “Needle Eye” spire and surrounding rock features. It is really spectacular and words are simply not enough to describe the beauty of nature that surrounds us.

From here we slowly wind our way down into the Sylvan Valley and Sylvan Lake. We pull off in expectation of a bite to eat. Leashing up the dogs we make our way over to the small store/restaurant combination. I keep the dogs outside on the deck where we can sit in the shade and children can stop by and pet the dogs. Eventually Tina came out and let me know it would be at least half an hour before we could get anything to eat so we decided to take a short walk along the lake, take some photos then head for Custer, where we could stop for lunch.

From Lake Sylvan to Custer is about eight miles and we have an easy drive down out of the mountains. Custer is a pretty big town and we pull into a parking spot outside a Bistro. With the dogs on their leashes we are able to walk into an enclosed area with tables. Tina ordered a couple of sandwiches so we had a nice lunch stop with a cool cement floor for the kids.

Leaving Custer we head up highway 16 north to the Crazy Horse Monument. Still being carved from the hillside 50 years after being started, the facility is quite large and bustling with visitors. Since we have the dogs with us we decided to take a few photos and come back tomorrow when we can leave the dogs in the coach with the air conditioning running. We checked at the entrance gate and the said it would be okay so we headed for home completing the drive around 2:30 PM, just in time for naps.

Since there was a really nice restaurant on site, Tina and I decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner out. So around 6:30 PM we left the kids and went over to the Ponderosa Restaurant. Tina had BBQ Ribs and I had Sirloin Smothered In Mushrooms - Yum!!. We enjoyed ourselves in the very rustic setting and by 8:00 PM were back at the coach where we spent some time reading before going to bed.

Black Hills And Mt Rushmore

Tuesday the 23rd

Looks like another nice day. Rained hard last night but the sun is out and it is warming up nicely. We got a slow start this morning so we went to the cook shack and got pancakes and sausage to go and took it back to the coach. After breakfast we got everything ready to go and left the Badlands KOA headed for the Mt Rushmore KOA.

We got on SD-44 and headed for Interior where we turned west to stay on SD-44 headed for Rapid City. The road is fairly good and we run along through the prairie with the Erosional Formations off to the north. We encounter several construction delays where we sat for some time waiting for a "Follow Me" car. Turns out there are several paving projects going on to repair spring washouts.

Eventually the prairie grasslands start to give way to rolling hills with trees, horse ranches and irrigated farming and as we say goodbye to the badlands. South of Rapid City we turn southwest on SD-16 through Rockerville and over to Hill City. Now we know we are in the mountains as the scenery looks like we've been transported into the east side of the North Cascades. Once we get through Hill City we continue south to SD-244 and head towards Mt Rushmore and our KOA destination for today (http://koa.com/where/sd/41125/).

We pull in to what turns out to be the second largest KOA in North America. It is simply huge with horse stables, a full scale restaurant, car rentals, etc. Turns out the largest is on the north end of Lake Okeechobee in Florida because it surrounds its own 18 hole golf course. Yup. You guessed it. We stayed there during the shuttle launch earlier this year. We got our site assignment and wound our way through the campground and up into the hills. After making a couple of wrong turns we made it into our site and got set up for the next three nights.

Since it was only 1:00 PM we had a quick lunch and decided to drive over to Mt Rushmore and see what we can as it's only about six miles up the road. Before we got there we pulled off the road along with about twenty other cars to see what all the excitement was about. Right behind us, through the trees and rocky cliffs you could see a perfectly framed profile of George Washington, the first president represented in the Mt Rushmore sculpture. It was very impressive and we were quite surprised at how smooth the rock appeared.

We knew we were close so we took a few photos and continued on to the actual monument. The facility is really well setup (http://www.nps.gov/moru). We drove into what looked like a toll plaza but was actually a way to control parking. We paid a $10 fee which allows us to park in any of the parking areas for as many times as we want to visit in the next year. Once parked, we walked up to the entrance walkway of the memorial. The design of the central promenade is really impressive with the avenue of flags, visitors center, concessions and amphitheater laid out to enhance the view of the Monument.

Our first stop was the Visitor Center where we learned about the history of the monument, the sculptor responsible for the design and construction, and how the memorial was actually carved out of the face of the mountain (http://www.ohranger.com/mount-rushmore/making-mount-rushmore). Then we went out onto the plaza and took several photos. Next we headed out on a half mile hike along the Presidents Trail taking photos as we went, finally making it over to the Sculptors Studio where we saw how the sculptor Gutzon Borglum worked with the various working models to ensure accuracy between the models and the actual carving.

Leaving the studio we made our way back to the main plaza and bought ice cream cones before walking back to the car. We decided we'd had a long enough day at this point so we drove back home to the coach and kids, had dinner and decided our plans for the following day. Oh yeah. Turns out our day wasn't over after all. There is a night lighting ceremony at the memorial which is quite a production. So about 7:45 we got back in the car and returned to Mt Rushmore. Parking in the lot we grabbed our seat cushions (the ones we got for the Swamp Buggy races) and headed up to the amphitheater to get a seat. We visited with one of the couples next to us, they are from New Zealand and traveling around the country.

The evening program opened with a presentation by a large group of kids from a youth camp, followed by a ranger who worked as an emcee and gave the packed audience a brief introduction to the four presidents in the sculpture. This was followed by a fourteen minute video presented on a huge outdoor video screen. At the end of the video several lights began to focus on the sculpture, lighting it up as the light faded from the sky. When fully lit, the emcee asked all active duty and military service veterans to join her on the stage for the closing ceremony. About a hundred men and women found their way to the stage where a Scout Troop performed the flag ceremony for retiring the flag. It was all very impressive.

We left shortly after the show ended and I'd estimate that there were over a thousand people in attendance. We drove home and by 10:00 PM called it a day and went to bed.

To see all of today's photos, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Distance traveled today, 94 miles. Total for the trip so far, 8,982 miles.