We set up our trailer at Custer’s Gulch Campground, situated in the actual valley that Custer used for his camp in 1874, two years before Little Big Horn.
Our first tourist excursion was to Crazy Horse. It’s an impressive sculpture, but I can’t help thinking it will never be finished. It’s taken over 60 years to sculpt the face and the plan calls for the entire man and horse.
Mount Rushmore via Iron Mountain Road was next. Hairpin turns, one lane tunnels and huge drops on the side of the road. The tunnels framed Mount Rushmore (look closely).
Ray would like me to add one picture here. As the driver, he felt he had our lives in his hands. More than once our demise flashed through his mind. He could even see “the light at the end of the tunnel”. ☺
Mount Rushmore was really impressive and we managed to get a picture of the two of us together!
The following day we did Needles Highway-- more white-knuckle driving (hairpin turns one-lane tunnels and huge drops) and more spectacular scenery. Ray did a great job.
Our next drive was the wildlife loop in Custer State Park. We saw prairie dogs and two kinds of deer, but we interacted with burros and buffalo.
Our last major drive was to Hot Springs. On the way we had our best sighting yet of a prairie dog. He was about a yard away from the car.
Our destination was the Mammoth Site, a paleontologist’s dream. Fifty-nine creatures have been found, captured for all time in a sink hole. The ice age animal remains are left in situ for everyone to see.
On the way home, we stopped at the Wind Cave. The one and a half hour tour (300+ steps) showed lots of “boxwork”, an odd form of stalactite.
On our last full day in Custer, we visited the Custer County Museum which holds many wonders. There was a great display of Custer photographs and the taxidermy room showed the difference between animals stuffed now vs those stuffed 100 years ago. Compare the cats--both are mountain lions.
We would recommend the Black Hills to anyone. We barely touched the surface, not having the chance to visit the Deadwood area because motorcyclists are already filling the area campgrounds in preparation for the Sturgis rally. The rally has not yet begun, but we already see the effects over 70 miles away.
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