Custer State Park

My personal favorite of our time in South Dakota, Custer State Park. I want to return someday to camp and hike....or maybe just live in the middle of this incredible piece of ground. We were assured by the Rangers at the Badlands that we would see Bison in CSP, but WOW! We got up close with these beasts. We saw some along the main road, but hoping for a better view we turned down a gravel road. Not far beyond the first set of hills we came across a small herd crossing the road....they brought the van to a complete stop while they leisurely rambled across our path. One bull got close enough to lick the van and once he tasted the salt from the roads he must have used a secret buffalo language to tell his friends. Our van was surrounded by them and the sound of their big tongues smacking against the sides of the van. The kids and I were laughing, but Aaron wasn't quite as amused. When he tried to drive forward the first bull got upset and smacked his head against the van, we were surprised he didn't leave a big dent! We did finally inch forward and make a path for ourselves. I doubt we ever forget that afternoon! Another big event of the day was stopping in clearing for a picnic. A beautiful shallow stream ran along the edge and after lunch the kids wanted to wade in the water. It was like ice....in fact in the shadowed bend in the creek it was still ice. The boys thought it was pretty fun to stand on the icy patch until Isaiah got close to the edge that wasn't so solid. One leg went down into the water while the other was hung up on the ice. I knew I would sink the little berg so I asked Rebecca to grab him, and even her weight started to bring the ice down. Aaron came to the rescue, but with one foot on the bank and one on the now drifting ice, he narrowly missed a dunking himself. The water was only 12-18 inches deep, but Isaiah was pretty soaked. We got everyone into the van, into dry clothes and cranked up the heat. That afternoon a good nap was had!

Bighorn sheep inside Custer State Park

The game lodge where Calvin Coolidge spent several weeks of the summer of 1927, giving it the nickname 'The Summer Whitehouse'

First Buffalo sighting in the park and it just got better and better!

Yep, they are in.the.road.

Thats our rearview mirror.

it makes a nice scratching post apparently.

Checking out the kids in the back seat.

Aaron rolled his window up just in time.

Stopping to hike a little trail.

buffalo tongue marks

Before it was a state park it was a ranch and the family buried their baby here. ;(

Where the deer and the ANTELOPE roam!

Best picnic spot ever.

It was such cold water!

Hey ya'll check this out, we're standing on ice!

That part wasn't so solid was it buddy.

Daddy to the rescue.

a very good nap was had!

What do you do when the mountain is in the way of your road? Blast a hole in it! 

The Badlands

 I held my breath a bit as we took a day to drive out to the Badlands. As the trip planner I was hoping this was really worth our while. It turned out to be Aaron's favorite part of the trip and a highlight if not a favorite for the kids as well. We got to hike a really unique area. It felt so desolate and wild, and void of all guardrails and precautions. The biggest warning on this rather strenuous hike was a sign that read "dangerous cliff, keep right" and on the flip side "dangerous cliff, keep left". I read on the sign there were stairs up into the cliff. A more accurate description would have been a four by and four and cable ladder parallel to the canyon wall. LOL We felt very adventurous and quite accomplished when we returned safely to our vehicle. One metal note I made though was how hot it must be to do the same hike in the Summer. I can't even imagine, because we got pretty warm in the sunshine glaring off the almost snow white rocks. Two quick side trips this day took us to a decommissioned nuclear rocket silo and the famous Wall Drug. Both interesting if you're in the area, but the Badlands took the prize for the day!

I really wish my camera was better, but even the best couldn't really replicate this scene adequately.

The 'trail' was marked by t-post, sometimes you really had to turn a few corners and scout ahead to find the next post telling you, you were actually still on the path.

Levi of course scrambled up quickly, but us older wiser people took out time and made sure our footings.

You can't see the sign, but here we "kept right". About 30 inches to the left of Rebecca was a scary drop!

We thought it was a loop trail, but it was out and back...this was the end of the trail, very literally.....it was all downhill past here.

I feel like this picture calls for a western ballad being played in the background.....Bonanza or the Magnificent Seven?

Isaiah, found a rock snowman that he was impressed with. His little cheeks were so rosy, but he wouldn't part with his jacket.

Oh yeah, out and back trail meant we got to go down this cliff backwards on our return.

Rebecca chose to scoot down a water run instead of brave the ladder again.

Trips like these made possible by contributions to the workforce by this guy!

You know its windy when they build these over the picnic tables.

Good bye, until our sunset drive back through. 

This museum was open, but not quite up and running yet. Their displays were posters taped to the wall, but it looked like a promising museum for summer travelers. Who knew so many missiles were in the ground out here?! Decommissioned of course, but still it gave me goosebumps. 

Driving through a different section of the Badlands. It just amazed me how many cliffs and drop offs were unfenced. I kinda liked it....you know let's not waste money on posting the obvious, if you're dumb enough to go over, well.....

Big boy is Three!

This section of hills and buttes had the most amazing colors. Yellows, greens and even purples like the picture below.

All the Wall Drug Billboards are so retro!

Levi and Annie Oakley.

"Come out here pwarwie dawg!"

What I thought was an amazing view of a Buffalo.....I had no idea!

Mt. Rushmore

Our first day in South Dakota we visited Mt. Rushmore. We had decided to take picnics with us everyday and this day was our most memorable picnic. For one it was very cool at lunch time, and windy and since Mt. Rushmore doesn't really have picnic areas we threw down our blanket in the parking spot next to us in the parking garage. I think Aaron felt silly, but there were very few people to see our spectacle because, again, its was the off season and no one was around! I loved not fighting summer crowds...the children got to take in the monument at their speed, check out the museum and gift shop without getting lost and we got some great pictures without strangers photo bombing us!
 

The drive by view of Mt. Rushmore....just in case you're in a hurry.

Parking garage picnic....cause mama is cheap. :)

We couldn't have ordered a more perfect day.

The only snow we saw in South Dakota.

What a great year to get to visit some of our National Parks!

Obligatory family photo

A picture for each person's scrapbooks.

Not quite the way it looks in Noth by Northwest, but it is still the same cafeteria from the Hitchcock movie.

George's profile from the road that weaves behind the monument and through the state park.

First of many, many, many Prairie Dog sightings. I'll be the first to admit that although we saw thousands of prairie dogs my heart melted each and every time. They are so darn cute...too bad they carry the plague.

The discovery of this cave was this small hole from which the wind sometimes blows and sometimes sucks. The natives had many superstitions about the phenomenon, but some ranchers finally went down the hole to see what was there. 

Rebecca in the cave....it wasn't the prettiest cave we've seen, but it contains something like 90% of the worlds boxwork features.

All western towns out in the hills and the mountains have a similar look, but I love them each and every one! 

Just call me nostalgic.