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Pronghorn Antelope grazing by Road
After setting up camp, we decided to drive the South Wildlife Loop drive because we just hadn’t seen enough wildlife yet. We saw more pronghorn and literally herds of bison, everywhere. It was glorious. We had seen one or two bison before, but never in large groups. While they can be dangerous these were contentedly grazing and wandering back and forth across the roads as if the hoards of people watching them were just not there. They seemed so contented and peaceful and were fun to watch going about their daily business. We also came upon the park’s wild donkeys, also known as the “Begging Burros.” They are a leftover from the time when donkeys took park visitors to the top of Harney Peak, the highest point in South Dakota. They are not bashful and will stick their head into your car if the window is open, begging for anything to eat.
Bison Herd at Custer State Park
Custer State Park "Begging Burros"
We then drove to Mount Rushmore by way of Iron Mountain Road, a must drive because of the beautiful woodland scenery and the road is thought to be an engineering marvel. This drive has three pigtail bridges and three tunnels, each framing some part of the Rushmore sculpture. How they managed that I will never understand but it was stunning. Along the road we also stopped at the Norbeck Memorial with its gorgeous views of Mount Rushmore. Peter Norbeck was the one who laid out the Iron Mountain Road even though everyone told him it couldn’t be done. I guess he showed the naysayers. At Mount Rushmore we hiked the half mile Presidential Trail down to the Sculptor’s Studio and sat in on the Ranger program, “Unusual Times, Unusual Men.” He covered some of the natural and cultural history of the area and how the sculptor chose the four presidents on the monument. It was very interesting and it was evident the ranger loved his topic. We went through the museum and watched two videos: one on the carving of Mt. Rushmore and the other on the plant and animal life of the area. We had dinner at the café and headed back to camp, encountering several bison on the road once we got back into the park.
Mt. RushmoreThe next day we went to Jewel Cave National Monument. Jewel Cave is the second longest cave in the world. We took the Scenic Tour. The cave is known for its gypsum and calcite crystals and it is from these crystals the cave got its name. These crystals created formations called popcorn, draperies, flowstone, soda straws and frostwork- really pretty. The 723 stairs are a whole other story.
After Jewel Cave we went to the Crazy Horse Memorial and were blown away by the scope of this project. We were able to watch men hanging off the face of the mountain chiseling away at the granite. These men looked like tiny dots against the face of the cliff; this project will definitely will not be finished in our lifetime. They have been working on the carving for 61 years and are not yet ¼ of the way finished. Just the feather on top of Crazy Horse’s head will be 44 feet tall, and all of the Mount Rushmore sculpture could fit within the space of the horse’s mane. There is quite a large development at the base of the mountain that includes a visitor center, museum, restaurant, and a 1/34th scale model of the sculpture that weighs 16 tons. Are you getting an idea of the scope of this project yet?
After Jewel Cave we went to the Crazy Horse Memorial and were blown away by the scope of this project. We were able to watch men hanging off the face of the mountain chiseling away at the granite. These men looked like tiny dots against the face of the cliff; this project will definitely will not be finished in our lifetime. They have been working on the carving for 61 years and are not yet ¼ of the way finished. Just the feather on top of Crazy Horse’s head will be 44 feet tall, and all of the Mount Rushmore sculpture could fit within the space of the horse’s mane. There is quite a large development at the base of the mountain that includes a visitor center, museum, restaurant, and a 1/34th scale model of the sculpture that weighs 16 tons. Are you getting an idea of the scope of this project yet?
Crazy Horse Memorial
The next day was our day to tour Wind Cave National Park. The cave is only a small part of this park, but is very interesting. The currently-discovered passageways make this the fifth longest cave in the world. There are two very interesting points about this fact: 1. All of these passageways are included within one square mile (stacked layer upon layer). 2. Barometric wind studies indicate that only about 5% of the volume of the cave has been discovered within the first 100 years of exploration. We took the Natural Entrance tour (the only tour running this late in the year). The natural entrance to the cave is about 18 inches in diameter, and wind has been clocked coming out of that opening at over 70 mph. On the day of our tour, the wind exiting the opening was only about 9 or 10 mph. The wind through the opening will either exit or enter the opening, depending on the change in barometric pressure outside of the cave. We won’t spoil the surprise by telling you how we entered the cave. The most interesting feature of the cave, to us, was the very delicate formation called boxwork found throughout the tour. It turns out that 95% of this type of formation found in the world is found in Wind Cave. 
The next day we planned to do things in the Hot Springs area: the Mammoth Site, the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, and Evan’s Plunge in Hot Springs. At the Mammoth Site, they are continuing to unearth mammoth bones from an ancient sink hole that trapped the unwary animals trying to get some water. No one is sure why all of the mammoth bones found so far are male (“Here, hold my beer and watch this.”) These are actual, in-situ bones, not fossils, and they estimate, by core sample that they have at least 70 more feet to dig to hit the bottom of the sink hole. We then took the two-hour tour of the Wild Horse Sanctuary, covering a lot of the 13,000 acres of the ranch. There are about 700 horses on the property, and we got up close and personal with several of the herds. The driver said that since we could drive right through the herd in our old, dilapidated, short school bus and get out without causing the horses to stampede we might think that they’re not really wild. “Just try putting a bridle on one”, he said. They were in the process of implementing birth control, because the ranch is at capacity, and people are not buying many horses in the current economy. Also included in the ranch tour were an overlook on a reproduction of Fort Robinson used in Ted Turner’s production of the movie “Crazy Horse” and a section of the old stagecoach trail that passes by some petroglyphs and the old building used as a mail drop in those days. As we came back to Hot Springs, SD and Evan’s Plunge, we decided that we were both too tired to do that. It didn’t look too exciting from the outside, anyway.
Another “must-do” item in the area of Custer State Park is to drive the Needles Highway. This road goes around the state park and passes by some very interesting rock formations, including Needle’s Eye. It also includes two VERY narrow tunnels (one is 8’ 4”). This drive brought us to the north end of the park at Sylvan Lake. This lake is really pretty, set among large boulders. We hiked down one side of the lake and back, taking in the scenery as we went. This was the same day that we attempted the hike at Wind Cave but got rained out. 
The next day, we were going to hike to Harney Peak, the highest point in South Dakota before coming back to camp and getting ready for our chuckwagon dinner. However, it was still rainy and cold and windy, so we wimped out on that hike, too (besides, it’s about 7.5 miles long with a long climb). We just chilled at camp, and any of you who know BYK know that this is pretty rare (having fun is hard work). Because of the crummy weather, the wagons for the hayride part of the chuckwagon dinner were covered and had “clear” plastic curtains on the sides and ends. Also, the weather seemed to keep the animals in hiding, so we didn’t see very many along the way. But it was still fun; Cowboy Keith kept us entertained for the whole trip. The wagons brought us back to Bluebell Lodge and their banquet room for dinner, instead of the outside feast normally provided. Cowboy Keith was joined by some others and provided good entertainment during the delicious steak dinner. All-in-all, it was a fun time, and we met some people from Columbus, GA who we could talk with and share some Columbus memories.
Historic Entrance to Wind Cave
Boxwork on Ceiling in Wind Cave
But the national park includes 28,295 acres, so the cave is just part of the experience. There is a main, paved loop drive and several unpaved roads leading through the park, not to mention many miles of hiking trails. On our first day, after the cave tour, we drove the loop down to the south entrance of the park, hoping to see some elk, as our ranger-grilling indicated that we might. We did not, but we did see lots of other animals; many buffalo, prong horn, lots and lots of prairie dogs, and deer. For hiking, the ranger suggested taking the Lookout Point Trail out to the intersection with the Centennial Trail, which loops back to the trailhead. We wound up starting this hike a couple of days later, but did not finish due to some really nasty weather that cropped up. On the way back to camp, we stopped at the Bluebell Lodge in Custer State Park and signed up for the Chuckwagon Dinner that was scheduled for two days later.
The next day we planned to do things in the Hot Springs area: the Mammoth Site, the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, and Evan’s Plunge in Hot Springs. At the Mammoth Site, they are continuing to unearth mammoth bones from an ancient sink hole that trapped the unwary animals trying to get some water. No one is sure why all of the mammoth bones found so far are male (“Here, hold my beer and watch this.”) These are actual, in-situ bones, not fossils, and they estimate, by core sample that they have at least 70 more feet to dig to hit the bottom of the sink hole. We then took the two-hour tour of the Wild Horse Sanctuary, covering a lot of the 13,000 acres of the ranch. There are about 700 horses on the property, and we got up close and personal with several of the herds. The driver said that since we could drive right through the herd in our old, dilapidated, short school bus and get out without causing the horses to stampede we might think that they’re not really wild. “Just try putting a bridle on one”, he said. They were in the process of implementing birth control, because the ranch is at capacity, and people are not buying many horses in the current economy. Also included in the ranch tour were an overlook on a reproduction of Fort Robinson used in Ted Turner’s production of the movie “Crazy Horse” and a section of the old stagecoach trail that passes by some petroglyphs and the old building used as a mail drop in those days. As we came back to Hot Springs, SD and Evan’s Plunge, we decided that we were both too tired to do that. It didn’t look too exciting from the outside, anyway.
Mammoth Backbone and Ribs
Spanish Mare and Foal
Another “must-do” item in the area of Custer State Park is to drive the Needles Highway. This road goes around the state park and passes by some very interesting rock formations, including Needle’s Eye. It also includes two VERY narrow tunnels (one is 8’ 4”). This drive brought us to the north end of the park at Sylvan Lake. This lake is really pretty, set among large boulders. We hiked down one side of the lake and back, taking in the scenery as we went. This was the same day that we attempted the hike at Wind Cave but got rained out.
Needle's Eye on Needles Highway
The next day, we were going to hike to Harney Peak, the highest point in South Dakota before coming back to camp and getting ready for our chuckwagon dinner. However, it was still rainy and cold and windy, so we wimped out on that hike, too (besides, it’s about 7.5 miles long with a long climb). We just chilled at camp, and any of you who know BYK know that this is pretty rare (having fun is hard work). Because of the crummy weather, the wagons for the hayride part of the chuckwagon dinner were covered and had “clear” plastic curtains on the sides and ends. Also, the weather seemed to keep the animals in hiding, so we didn’t see very many along the way. But it was still fun; Cowboy Keith kept us entertained for the whole trip. The wagons brought us back to Bluebell Lodge and their banquet room for dinner, instead of the outside feast normally provided. Cowboy Keith was joined by some others and provided good entertainment during the delicious steak dinner. All-in-all, it was a fun time, and we met some people from Columbus, GA who we could talk with and share some Columbus memories.
Cowboy Keith Entertains on HayrideThere was still more to do in the area around Custer State Park (we picked a good place to plant ourselves for six nights), but we needed to move on to Rocky Mountain National Park and new adventures.
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