The Lows and Highs of our Day in the Black Hills

Thursday, September 30, 2021

With our last visit only a year ago AND extending our trip a few days this year we were able to be more relaxed and not feel the pressure to be on the go all of the time. Today I gave myself permission to not set an alarm and have a more leisurely morning enjoying my coffee. Bob (as usual) decided the morning gave him the time to hike up the hill by our cabin. On his hike he had a "small world" moment when he ran into a couple who had originally lived not too far from our home but retired and bought the house right across the road from the AirBnB where we were staying. (Stay tuned for an even "smaller world" moment coming up tomorrow!)

There were no concrete plans today so after a bit of a discussion, we decided to drive into Wind Cave National Park. Our AirBnB is right on the border of the park so we had been on the back roads on our wildlife quest but had not yet entered the park "officially". This time we went through at the park entrance, but used our America the Beautiful pass so there was no fee. 

From our son's experience and reading reviews online, I knew taking a cave tour meant showing up at the crack of dawn to get a ticket. So when we stopped at the visitor center at 10:40 am we expected to just go through quickly and look at the exhibits. Besides, taking a cave tour with a group of people was exactly the opposite of what I wanted to be doing in a pandemic.

BUT...as we entered I heard the guy behind the counter saying that they still had a couple of tickets left for the 11 am tour. A little voice in one ear was saying "no way...why would you want to be in such a confined place with a bunch of strangers!" while the other ear was hearing "go for it...you know how much Bob loves caves!" 

Long Lost Memories in Custer State Park

 Wednesday, September 29, 2021

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday's blue skies and warm temps were gone and we woke up to a windy overcast day with highs only in the mid-50's. Definitely a jeans and jacket sort of day.

The goal for the day was to explore in Custer State Park, specifically Needles Highway and a couple of other spots that our son had suggested after their recent Black Hills trip. 

Going north on route 385 provides a pretty good view of the Crazy Horse Monument. Visiting the monument was on our tentative itinerary but we never made it so I was glad I took some photos as we were driving past. (Something to look forward to on a future visit!) I was using a pretty long zoom, but the highway view isn't too bad even with the naked eye.

The large truck parked on the arm gives some perspective on just how huge this sculpture is!

Heads in the Mud

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Many years ago we did a family camping trip to the Black Hills and hit most of the major tourist sites with our 2 boys (son #3 hadn't come along yet.) The youngest at the time was about 3 years old and didn't quite grasp the idea of a sculpture so he referred to the four presidents carved into Mt. Rushmore as the "heads in the mud". Hence the title of this blog post. 

The AirBnb apartment where we were staying was an efficiency built above a large garage next to the owner's home. The upstairs space had been quite warm when we arrived the previous afternoon so when we went to bed I had left the windows open and the ceiling fans running. As the temperatures dropped during the night the apartment became cooler and cooler and by the time we woke up both Bob and I were freezing! 

Last year we didn't make it to Mt. Rushmore so this year it became a priority on our to-do list. We got an early start and as we were pulling out of the driveway our car showed an outside temperature of 47º in the valley. When we arrived at the Mt. Rushmore National Monument 45 minutes later the temp had risen to 67º!

Admission to the monument is free, but there is a fee for the parking garage. It was a bit confusing trying to figure out how to use the automated kiosk to get a parking pass. The regular fee is $10 (good for a whole year!) but the senior citizen rate is half of that...$5. It was unclear how we were to prove we were "old folks", but at one point a question popped up on the screen asking if we were 62 or older. There was no human interaction at any point in the process so I'm assuming it must be on the honor system. The machine spit out a parking pass which we would show as we pulled out of the garage. I doubt we get back to Mt. Rushmore anytime in the next year but if we do, our parking pass will still be valid!

At 8:30 am, the monument was already quite busy. After walking through the Avenue of Flags, we took the obligatory selfie from the viewing terrace. 

Spearfish Canyon is Golden

 Monday, September 27, 2021

Our plans didn't require getting up early, but regardless I was up by 6:15 am. It wasn't long before Bob was also awake so we (meaning mostly Bob!) packed up the car. After a quick breakfast we were on the road. A flock of wild turkeys was there to say goodbye as we pulled out of the Turtle House driveway. Barely a mile down the road we had to brake to avoid hitting a couple of deer. (So many deer in the Spearfish area!!!) In less than 3 miles, we turned onto the Spearfish Canyon Highway.

Wild turkeys.

Spearfish Canyon is (in my opinion) one of the most beautiful drives you can find. Tall bluffs line the sides of the highway which follows along Spearfish Canyon Creek. That time of the morning, the sun was just beginning to climb above the bluffs lighting up the golden colored trees.

Devil's Tower and Termespheres!

Sunday, September 26, 2021

You might recognize these 5 musical notes from the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." And if you have seen the movie, you would also recognize Devils Tower...our destination for the day. 

One of the main reasons we decided to add on a two-night stay to our trip in the northern part of the Black Hills was to put us closer to Devil's Tower National Monument...something we didn't include in last year's itinerary. It's not like we haven't been there before. Bob estimates that he has climbed Devil's Tower 10 times...or at least that is his guess because he has actually lost count. But it has been some time since he has been here and much longer since I visited.

Bob rappelling down from the top of Devils Tower in 2005.

Bob and two of our sons on top of Devils Tower (2005).

A climber's view.

Badlands to Black Hills

Saturday, September 25, 2021

Slow and relaxed mornings are what I have loved most about retirement. No alarm clock, spending up to an hour drinking my cup (or two) of coffee and generally just not getting in a hurry for anything. Bob knows my routine, so he knew his best option would be to go out hiking while I took my time showering and getting ready for the day. He headed out walking towards some of the peaks near the cabin.

Bob's morning hike took him to the peak in the distance.

A summit selfie. 😀

Westward Ho

Please check out my blogs from our 2020 Black Hills & Badlands trip for more information on what to do in this area!

With less than 6 hours of travel to reach the Badlands (our first destination) there wasn't any need to rush to get out of the house. Normally we have a whole checklist of things to do when we leave on a trip, but this time our son, his wife and youngest son were arriving later in the afternoon to spend the weekend in our home. They were dropping off their older son at a church camp retreat nearby and would stay until Sunday when they would pick him up and go home. I left a detailed note explaining what all they needed to do when they left (turn off the water, empty the garbage, etc.) This son is very responsible but I still felt the need to do a FaceTime call while we were driving just to make SURE everything was handled correctly.

The change from summer to fall was quite apparent as we drove. The corn and soybean fields were turning from green to gold and fields of sunflowers were now almost unrecognizable. What had been a blanket of yellow flowers was now just dried brown stems. A sure sign of autumn was a truck passing by pulling a trailer loaded with pumpkins.

Black Hills 2.0

If you received an email alert for this blog post, be aware that the Feed Burner mail service that I used previously is being discontinued. If you would like to make sure you are notified of any future posts, please sign up on the right side of this page for my new service with Follow.It. More information can be found in the previous blog post. Thanks a bunch!

Like many people, when the word "pandemic" started popping up, I thought life might change for oh...maybe a month or two tops. Never did I imagine that a year and a half later my travel plans would be formed based on the ability to be outside or stay social distant. But that is exactly what pushed us to plan a return trip to the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota.

A couple of weeks after our 2nd Covid vaccine in March I was ready to go SOMEWHERE. When I noticed on the AirBnB website that the Black Hills apartment we rented last year was available for the same time this year it seemed like a sign. The fact that the reservation could be cancelled up until the day before made it easy to commit without really being committed. Five nights in late September...booked.

I Need Your Help

Hello Readers...

For now there won't be any travel blog posts from exotic locations, but we are planning a short road trip soon. If you have signed up to follow this blog via email, then I need your help to make sure you continue to get notified when a new post is published.

The email service I used previously to alert readers of a new post has been discontinued and will no longer work. I have added a new service called "follow.it" that will alert you whenever a new blog post is added. All you have to do is provide your email address in the box on the right hand side of the blog to subscribe. There is no cost and your address will not be shared nor will you be bombarded with SPAM. You will also be able to unsubscribe easily should you decide you don't want to be notified.

Once you enter your email in the box, you will be asked to confirm you are not a robot. Immediately you should receive an email asking you to confirm your request. If the confirmation email doesn't show up, check your spam folder to see if the email is there. The email sender will be listed as: follow.it. 

Technology advancements have managed to outpace my computer skills, so I would welcome any comments on how this is working...or not working! I would also love it if any of my current subscribers would sign up (again) and be even more happy if new subscribers join!

Thanks a bunch. Let's hope that REAL travel gets back to normal and we will have many more adventures to share!!

Mary