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Back in Black Hills

Posted on October 23, 2019October 23, 2019 by Analise Zocher

Analise here. We’ve made it to Grand Rapids, Michigan — 1,000+ miles, 5 state lines, and two time zones covered in two days! There’s lots of pics from last week, so let’s get to the visual aids.

Custer State Park

When we planned our route east, South Dakota was a good halfway place to stop for a week. But it turned out to have so much to offer, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We stayed in Sturgis which appears to have been designed as a Harley Davidson tribute town. In the summer, it’s home to one of the biggest motorcycle rallies in the country.

Since we bookended our trip with two full weekends of driving, weekday mornings were the best time to sightsee. A neighboring RVer back in Montana had told us about Custer State Park which has a scenic drive called the Wildlife Loop Road full of bison and other plains fauna. The animals are most active early and late in the day, so we got up to see them at sunrise before work. The only animal we saw but couldn’t snag a snap of was the coyote loitering around Prairie Dog Town; he was indeed wily.

Click the pic for a bigger pic

Hopping out for a photo
Custer State Park at sunrise
Deer -- white-tailed maybe?
First view of bison at a distance
Bison a bit closer
Happy with how close that was
Elk herd
Sunrise grazing
Big bull elk and herd of cows
Moon over bison
Pronghorn crossing the road
Bison and feral donkeys
Descednants of the park's pack animals turned wild
Going up the hills as the sun goes up
Wild turkeys
Doe and post-spot fawn
No joke -- this area was called Prairie Dog Town
As physically close to a wild bison as I've ever been
Ever had a bison turn to look at you?
Close up on this beauty during his breakfast
I know where I'm parking Rexy next time we visit

Deadwood

Near Sturgis is the South Dakota gold rush frontier town of Deadwood, immortalized in that cultural icon of TV history: the Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 8 western holodeck romp A Fistful of Datas.

Worf knows: it’s good to be the sheriff.

There was also that HBO show. We were out of season for the western reenactments, but the old town was still fun to walk. Many buildings are designed like and named after original Deadwood staples (the town has been rebuilt several times after fires) like the Gem and the Bullock. We got burgers surrounded by antique photos and taxidermy at Saloon No. 10 and wandered the shops/casinos on the main road.

Wild Bill Hickok looking over Mark's shoulder
Decor acknowledging Deadwood's gold rush heyday
Deadwood Distillery
Looking super cheerful outside the bar where Wild Bill was shot in 1876

Iron Mountain and Mount Rushmore

The Iron Mountain Road scenic drive stretches from Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The drive takes you through prairies and the Black Hills, and is meant to be taken slowly. Instead of switchbacks to change elevation quickly, this drive features “Pigtail Bridges” where the road loops under itself. One-lane tunnels are carved out of house-sized boulders, and several lookouts are positioned to give you a view of Mount Rushmore on your approach.

This post’s title is accurate for Mark as he’d been through this region as a kid with his grandparents, but it was new to me. I marveled at the engineering and scale of the sculpture but couldn’t identify with the occasion for its construction. It’s the most impressive monument that no one would probably ask for today. We had the viewing area almost to ourselves just before the sun disappeared for the day. As we left, crowds were already gathering in the plaza — just some of the 2 million people that visit the site every year.

Got up early to see the park at sunrise
First glimpse of Mount Rushmore
Sunrise over South Dakota
One of the Pigtail Bridges from the road
Presidents through the tunnel
The sun stayed just long enough for our visit
My favorite president -- Teddy Roosevelt
Can you see it, Mark?
Stonework selfie

RV checkup

Rexy’s holding together as we add conveniences and become more experienced, but the maintenance continues:

  • Mark got the combo washer/dryer unit back in position and replaced some old hoses. But something is leaking at the back, so we’re taking advantage of our campsites’ laundry facilities while we work on a fix.
  • The dinette table leg separated from its bracket, so we’re not setting heavy things on the table at the moment.

But improvements continue, too:

  • Mark installed a sliding garbage can to fit under the sink.
  • We’ve been to the truck wash for the first time! There are car washes big enough to handle semi-trailers. Rexy’s now free of clay and dust from the last 2,000 miles.

Lilly watch

Lilly the cat on a bench under a chair
Cat tax: Lilly likes to hide when we’re packing in the rig to drive, but her sneaking skills could use some work.

Up next

We’re in the Grand Rapids area for two weeks. This part of Michigan has come up a few times as a place we want to look more closely at, so more details to come.

If you have any suggestions for things to see in west Michigan or questions about RV life and our travels, let us know in the comments.

Share Rexy's adventure
Posted in DestinationTagged Animals, Mount Rushmore, National Parks, rv li, South Dakota, State Parks

3 thoughts on “Back in Black Hills”

  1. Wild Jer Hickok says:
    October 28, 2019 at 12:08 am

    Did you go to Wall Drug?

    Reply
    1. Analise Zocher says:
      October 28, 2019 at 7:43 am

      Despite what felt like a thousand miles of roadside signage and billboards, we resisted the temptation of free ice water.

      Reply
      1. Jerbot12096 says:
        November 2, 2019 at 1:01 am

        Whaaat? Not that it was anything special. But after hours of ads, we had to go. Heh.

        Reply

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