Custer South Dakota

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Our next destination is Custer SD for a ten night stop. The drive shouldn’t be too bad at 125 miles. Rather than driving back up through the National Park to take I-90, we plan on taking state route 44 from Interior to Rapid City and then down into Custer. We had driven part of the route when we did the drive to Sheep Mountain and knew it was a good road. What we hadn’t counted on was in the intervening 3 days, they had started to do road work on SR44 putting down fresh tar and gravel. We got to the flagger woman and were told it would be at least 15 minutes until the pilot car returned. We turned off the coach and chilled while we waited. When we finally got moving, we discovered we had a 17 mile stretch of work to go through with our side having been coated the day or two before. There didn’t seem to be much dust coming from the rig so we didn’t think much about it. 

When we got to Rapid City, we headed to Cabelas. We had a few items we wanted to get and figured it would make for a good stop to kill a little time so we don’t get in too early before our check-in time. When I park and do my walk around, I notice two things. The extra cable run between the motorhome and Jeep to keep its battery charged must have dragged along the ground at some point because the connector is gone and just the two sides of the cable are present. The bigger problem is the Jeep is covered in tar and small gravel! We spend 20 minutes just pulling off some of the gravel and getting our fingers covered in tar. We would spend many, many hours during our stay trying to clean off the mess. Lesson learned - don’t be towing the car thru long stretches of fresh tar and gravel!

We found a burger joint next to Cabelas and decided that we deserved lunch. Sickies Garage is an interesting place with an automotive theme plus good food. A beer would have been nice, but I still had some driving to do to get to camp. I headed across the street to find a suitable replacement connector at Tractor Supply just across the street while Chris walked up to the visitor center about a block or two away for some information. I replaced the connector and then we went into Cabelas for a little shopping. Our stop was definitely longer than planned but things were convenient and the RV parking spot worked out well. We had just gotten out of Rapid City when our check engine light came one with a low coolant message. Fortunately there was a big parking lot at Reptile Garden and we pulled in to diagnose our problem. It turned out the coolant was truly a little low but the jug the prior owner had left us wasn’t the correct stuff so I spend 90 minutes driving the Jeep around Rapid City until I found what was needed which happened to be back at the Tractor Supply store I had been at earlier.

The rest of the drive was okay and we pulled into Bismarck Lake Campground well past our check-in time but well before dark. This is a US Forest Service campground with only 23 sites. There are nearly no facilities - no electric, no dump station, a few water spigots scattered around the park but not with threaded ends, and couple of vault toilets but no showers. It costs just under $27 per night so you might say it’s expensive for what you get but the location is ideal. Just a few miles from the town of Custer and right on the border with Custer State Park. It should work out as a good base for the next 10 nights as we explore the area. We have a lengthy chat with the camp hosts who are also in a Newmar Dutch Star. 

We had just about finished setting up when a solo woman with a Jeep and a small trailer was trying to back into the site across from us. I wasn’t paying close attention because I usually don’t want to make other drivers nervous. The site she was trying to get in was rather wide and deep, so it really shouldn’t have been too much trouble but after multiple failed attempts, Chris and I go over to at least give directions as she tries again. Even with our help she wasn’t having any luck and she asked if I could back it in for her. It’s been six years since we had our travel trailer and this one was much shorter but I still managed to get it situated without issue.

For our first full day in the area, we decided to simply drive around some of the state park and surrounding area to get a lay of the land. That way we could figure out how we may want to spend our time here. We concentrate our drive to the northern portion of Custer SP and the sights to the northwest of the park. Our first stop was the Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center. It’s a beautiful stone building that was built in 1937 by the CCC. Over the years, it has been a museum and visitor center before taking on its present role. We love the look of these types of buildings. Some of the stones for the lower portion of the walls are quite large. The inside is nice as well and has all sorts of hands on displays for children’s groups that come through. 

Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center

Mountain Lion

We proceed east and north on US 16a before taking a slight detour to an old ghost town. This wasn’t a spot found on any of the tourist information we had picked up, but with a few geocaches to lead the way, we found the old town of Spokane. It was formed around the mine of the same name in the 1890’s. We weren’t the only ones here so non-geocachers knew of its existence. We spend about 45 minutes exploring but decide to move on to get back with our goal.

Fixer-Upper at Spokane

Car Needs TLC Too

Inside Ghost Town House

Continuing on our drive we start to get glimpses of Mount Rushmore. At the first pullout where we see it, I stop to get a long distance shot. Next come a few of the tunnels on Iron Mountain Road. They are constructed perfectly to line up with Mt Rushmore as you drive through. Make sure you’re driving the road from the south to be facing Mt Rushmore as you go thru. Pretty neat but honestly it appeals to my engineering side more than anything else. There are other stops along the way with parking and a walkway to additional viewing points. Another neat feature along the way is a “pigtail” bridge - basically one that spirals on itself. I stop at a pullout just before the bridge and climb up some rocks to get a view from above. I even timed the shot to get a tour bus that somehow made it around the bridge. We decide to skip going into Mt Rushmore but we do stop at the Washington profile parking area to get some photos.

Mt Rushmore from Miles Away

Mt Rushmore Thru Tunnel

Closer Viewing Point

Another Tunnel View

Overlooking Pigtail Bridge

Washington Profile

We still had plenty of daylight so we take a turn onto Highway 87 - the Needles Highway. This is a very scenic drive to an area that doesn’t really seem like a road should even be feasible. It was somewhat crowded but we got a parking spot so we could explore a bit. The rock features up here are quite remarkable. The one the road is named for looks to be like the eye of a needle other than it’s 40 feet tall. There are some paths that get up above where a single lane tunnel goes through the rock and I even found a small crevice I could fit thru to get a nice view of the other side. A storm was starting to roll in so we headed back to camp for dinner and had our neighbor stop by with a bottle of wine as thanks for helping her backup her trailer.

Needle's Eye

Car Heads Thru Tunnel

View Along Needles Highway

Storm Clouds Rolling In

Empty Tunnel at Needle 

The next day we drive the south side of the park along the Wildlife Loop Road. Our first stop is to Mt Coolidge Lookout. A windy road takes you up to the fire tower which is still in use today. It would have been a nice view if not for the low hanging clouds plus all the guy wires used for the nearby communications tower.  There are some nice bridges along the way. Maybe not quite like the ones in Acadia Maine but nice nonetheless. As we come around a curve in the road, we see a group of cars pulled over up ahead. They had spotted a small herd of bison grazing in a field as they were working their way up a valley. We got there just in time to catch the activity. 

Mt Coolidge Lookout

View from Lookout with Low Clouds

Stone Bridge along Wildlife Loop

Big Guy with Some Youngsters

Herd Moves On

We wanted to get at least a little hiking in so we stopped at the pullout for the Prairie Trail. It’s a 3 mile loop and with the word prairie in the name, we expected a reasonably flat walk. Well it is rated as moderate for a reason. This prairie is not at all flat, but it was a pretty walk with lots of wildflowers along the way. At one point near a high point in the trail, we spotted more bison on the adjacent hillside. We didn’t realize that our route would take us very near them. A few minutes later we came across another couple stopped in the trail looking at something. Sure enough, we had gotten within 150 feet of the herd of 30 or so bison. A few of them were standing at attention and were keeping a close eye on us - or at least that’s our take. There were several water crossings that didn’t have bridges or stepping stones to get across. From the looks of things, the water seemed higher than may be normal but we managed to cross the multiple times without getting too wet in the process. 

Bison Spotted on Distant Hill

Bison Watching Us

Distant View on Prairie Trail

Submerged Water Crossing

Chris Does Balancing Act

With a good hike under our belts, we continue along the wildlife loop. It’s a pretty drive and it did live up to its name. At one point we spotted a handful of wild burros. It was at a point with a fence, so they were not begging up at vehicles but plenty of people had stopped to check them out and feed them. Just a bit further down the road was a pronghorn making its way through the field. The Wildlife Station Visitor Center is a very pretty building that used to be a herdsman house before being converted to another visitor center. There are massive stones that make up the lower part of a timber frame building. There is a large fireplace with a mounted 12 point elk head looking over the room. Even the old stable building has been nicely converted to fit the current use.

Red Rock Cliff

Wild Burros

Pronghorn

Wildlife Station Visitor Center

Elk on Fireplace

Stable Building

As we continue north on the Wildlife Loop, a few more pronghorn are attempting to cross the road, so we stop for a couple pictures. In barely another mile, we were greeted with a large herd of bison - between 100 and 200. They were on the left side of the road, the right side of the road and in the middle of the road. I pull off the side of the road with the other dozen vehicles to just take the sight in. I had my long telephoto lens on the Nikon but could have used a shorter lens given how close and how big these things are! Getting to my other lens would have required me to get out of the car to access the back seat and I felt we needed the safety of the vehicles. 

Another Pronghorn Crosses Road

The ones on our side of the road were slowly working their way towards us, grazing along the way. One went to the right of the car and another one came up into the road in order to “pass” me on the left. As it went by the front side of the car, it tilted its head towards the car and I decided it might be best to bring up the window before it got to me. Later that evening I noticed there was an odd smudge mark on the front fender that I suspect was left when the bison licked the car. Better the car than my face! There were several young (but not small) bison in with the herd. One of them had taken a liking to an orange safety cone and was licking it. 

Taking a Liking to a Safety Cone

 Every now and then, I would move the car forward to check out other bison. At one point, I headed across the road to an official pullout in order to get a good shot of one grazing 30 feet away. As soon as I pulled in and brought up my camera, this guy started towards the car. I took a shot before I realized he was approaching at a good pace and he didn’t look happy for us to be there. I handed the camera to Chris and pulled out just before it reached the side of the car. Fortunately nothing was in front of me and I could make a quick exit. I saw him in my rear view mirror watching us pull away - Bison 1, Jack 0. It's amazing how exciting a 20 minute encounter with a herd of bison can be.

Staring Us Down and Chasing Us Away

The following day, we went out to do a hike at Bismarck Lake. It was a beautiful morning to explore. The original plan was to take a trail around the lake but after a mile or so the trail seemed to peter out. Or maybe we got distracted by some of the geocaches in the park and simply lost the path. We ended up working our way back to the campground and got in a nice 3 mile hike in the process.

Bismarck Lake

Spillway at Bismarck Lake

After lunch we drove over to the Crazy Horse Memorial. This place is a very popular destination when people visit this area of South Dakota so we figured we should check it out. Basically it is (or will be) a huge statue carved into the side of a mountain of the Lakota warrior Crazy Horse on a horse. It was started in 1948, but only the face has been completed in those 70 plus years. As an engineer, I don’t like to extrapolate, but I suspect this won’t be completed in my lifetime! There is a large mock-up of the statue on the grounds to give current visitors an idea of what it will look like. Currently, the arm, hand and fingers are being worked on. Although being a Sunday, no work was taking place.

Crazy Horse Monument

Face at Crazy Horse

What Crazy Horse Will Look Like

Water Feature at Crazy Horse

There are a handful of buildings on the property with a museum, restaurant and cultural center. So there is more to see than the 87 foot tall face! We watch the movie, tour the museum and watch a native woman doing traditional Indian dances. I was most interested in the room that included some of the tools used to create the carving. It also included a TV playing a video of the construction taking taking place. I find it fascinating at how people working so close to such large features are able to determine where to blast and chisel in order to get the desired result. It was a good stop but one that we likely won’t feel the need to repeat in the future.

Indian Cucina Dolls

Tipi

Decorative Horse

Painted Skull

Native Dancer

Old Stage Coach

Crazy Horse Equipment

Wildlife Gate at Crazy Horse

Fighting Stallions at Crazy Horse

Since we were in the mode of looking at stone carved statues, we had one more famous stop not far away. Mt Rushmore National Monument is one of those iconic locations that people are drawn to. We figured if we came in the late afternoon, we could stick around for the nighttime lighting of the monument and kill two birds with one stone. The setting sun doesn’t do wonders for the four presidents featured on the side of the mountain. We had watched some documentary about the making of Mt Rushmore so we had some ideas on what the history was and it was pretty neat to see in person. We did the walk along the nature trail as well as the loop that takes you up closer to the front of the monument. There are some interesting viewpoints along the trail but admittedly all of them have you looking up the president’s noses. 

Heading In

Chris Poses at Avenue of Flags

There is some construction work being done so the visitor center and amphitheater are closed but we found a spot before sunset to sit down for the lighting ceremony. The ceremony itself was nice but given the crowd, we really could only hear it, not see it. The lighting of the monument was sort of anticlimactic. I’m not sure what I was expecting. I knew it wasn’t a laser light show but I guess I was expecting more. We got some pictures while the crowd started to thin out and then walked through the Avenue of Flags on the way out which was pretty neat to see all lit up at night. That night we got down to 38 degrees and here we thought we were done using our furnace for the summer!

Mt Rushmore Lite

Nearing Dark

Avenue of Flags at Night

Looking Back at Mt Rushmore

More from Custer in next post!