Moving Day

 Friday, September 29, 2023

Our original plans had us leaving for home today but back in June we started talking and decided to extend our stay by a few days. This would give us a chance to spend some time in the northern Black Hills and allow us to attend the Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup "if" we wanted. 

The roundup is a very popular event and knowing that over 20,000 people would be attending helped us make the decision that we would NOT be going. We did watch part of the roundup live online and the announcer commented that cars started lining up at 4 am and the line extended two miles by the time the gates opened. Too peoply for me! 

Photo from a previous roundup. This is one of two viewing areas and the crowd is much further away from the action than what this photo makes it appear.
Credit:  Dakota News Now

Back in June (when we decided to add on some extra days to the trip) I searched for an AirBnB in the Spearfish area but not much was available. I did find a condo that looked suitable in Lead (pronounced LEED) and made a reservation. The condo was located right in town which was convenient, but it lacked the charm of the rural geodesic dome that we had stayed in on our last trip. 

After cleaning up the apartment and loading the car, we pulled out of the driveway at 10 am. Google estimated the travel time to get to Lead was about an hour and a half. The earliest we could check in was 3:00 so that gave us plenty of time to get there.

We had driven through the town of Custer numerous times, but never stopped. I decided maybe today would be a good time to walk down Main Street. The businesses consisted of t-shirt stores, rock shops, etc. and we mainly window shopped without making any purchases. While I stopped in at the visitor center (to use the restroom) Bob walked over to the city park and visited with a couple on a tandem bicycle who had ridden the whole 109 miles of the Mickelson Trail. 

Along the way we also stopped at Dahl's Chainsaw Art in Hill City. There are several of the Dahl's shops in the Black Hills and each has a VERY large wooden carving. Hill City sported Smokey the Bear.

Continuing on, we drove to the beautiful Pactola Lake where we walked the Veteran's Point Trail.  We put some sandwiches in Bob's backpack and had a picnic at a table along the trail overlooking the lake.

Pactola Lake from the highway.

Lunch with a view.

When we reached the end of the trail we stopped to just sit and look out over the water. While we were there, a lady walked up and we had the nicest conversation about traveling and some of our personal experiences. While talking, I mentioned that Bob would like to ride his bike on the Mickelson Trail and she commented that her brother was an engineer who had worked on the trail and they were able to have one of the bridges named for their family. I asked her what her name was so that "if" we were ever on the trail we would know which bridge it was. She spelled out her name N-O-E-M. I jokingly asked if she was related to the South Dakota governor, Kristi Noem and she said...yes...her nephew was married to Kristi!

Pactola Lake

As we have been traveling around the Black Hills we have been listening to the commentary from my Guide Along tour guide app with my phone plugged into the car audio system. As we were getting close to Lead, the commentator suggested we drive through Deadwood first...so we did! We were still too early to check into the condo and this was something to do while we waited. Deadwood is very commercialized and many tourist shops and casinos line the main street. Bob also remembered a small waterfall between Deadwood and Lead and we stopped there briefly.

Entering the city of Lead.

To occupy the last little bit of time, we stopped at the Sanford Underground Research Lab visitor center. The lab is located underground in the former Homestake Gold Mine. Until the mine closed in 2002 it was the largest and deepest gold mine in North America. The mining pit that is left (basically in the center of town) is a half mile across and a quarter of a mile deep. And that is nothing compared to the shafts which extend over a mile underground and house the Sanford Research Lab. The deepest underground laboratory in the United States, it houses multiple experiments in areas such as dark matter and neutrino physics research, biology, geology and engineering. 

Homestake Gold Mine Pit

Bob at the Sanford Underground Research Lab Visitor Center

Sanford Underground Research Lab Visitor Center

The condo was just a short distance from the Sanford Lab and we got moved into the second floor unit. The food supply I brought from home was starting to dwindle so I suggested that we go out for dinner. In my research I had come across the Cheyenne Crossing restaurant. The notebook of recommendations in the condo also had Cheyenne Crossing as the #1 choice in restaurants.

The restaurant was about 8 miles away and the drive there was beautiful with the late afternoon sun illuminating the golden trees on the hills. Their specialty was Indian Tacos (taco toppings on Indian Fry Bread) and Bob and I each ordered the "snack size". Luckily the folks sitting near us tipped us off about the huge portion sizes or we probably would have ordered the large taco. As it was, the snack size meal was ENORMOUS! Bob did manage to finish his meal but I only ate half and asked for a box to bring the leftovers back to the condo. The restaurant is also know for their carrot cake which Bob also ordered. (I HAD to try a couple of bites...😉) Besides the delicious food, the employees at the restaurant were so friendly. We will make sure to return on our next trip!

Cheyenne Crossing Restaurant & Gift Shop

If this is the "snack size" can you imagine how big the large order would be!!!

It was fun to shop in the attached gift shop after we finished eating. Bob purchased a small piece of "peacock ore" to take home to one of our grandsons who is into rock collecting. 

From the balcony of our condo we watched as the full moon rose over the city of Lead.
You can see the Homestake Mine in the distance and I think perhaps I caught a shooting star in this photo! (Or maybe just a jet...😏)