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.