Saturday, May 27-Wednesday, May 31                                                                                   The Black Hills of South Dakota

We decided to stay in Wind Cave instead of Badlands NP because of the proximity to other sites we wanted to visit.  We liked the Elk Mountain campground, which was not crowded and had large sites on grassy hills.  Once we had moved our picnic table off the anthill, it was a very pleasant place.

We also learned to look for a level spot to place our chairs.

The drive from Wyoming to South Dakota was beautiful.  I couldn’t stop taking pictures from the car; the mountains, the beautiful colors of the landscape, and that sky!!

We did a lot of sightseeing in South Dakota.

Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota is an active paleontological dig. Sometime in the 1960’s this site was discovered when a developer began grading in preparation for a residential project.  The bulldozer uncovered some large bones, the developer called in some paleontologists from a nearby university, and the bones were determined to be those of wooly and Columbian mammoths.  The owner halted his plans, excavation of the bones began, and the work still continues. This is the largest concentration of mammoth remains in the world.  Most of the findings have been left in situ, and there are ramps and walkways around and over the site so that tourists can see the work in progress.

26,000 years ago, there was a hot springs here.  The warmth of the water encouraged plants to grow around the springs, which were lined with shale. Mammoths and other animals, attracted to the vegetation and the warmth of the water, went into the springs and then were unable to climb the slippery shale to get out.

This place is way cool.

We drove to Mt. Rushmore.  This is what we saw on the way.

We arrived just in time for a thunderstorm.  It was one of the few days that we were restricted by rain, and the storm passed over in about 20 minutes.  This gave us time to examine the gift shop.  Our collection of pins, walking stick medallions, and bumper stickers is growing.

We watched a video about the creation of this monument.  Pretty amazing engineering and artistry.  The rain made their noses run.

We spent a day in Badlands National Park.

On the way there, we passed through Scenic, South Dakota.  The buildings were all long abandoned, although many of them had new American flags flying above them. I was excited by the tumbleweed that rolled across the road while we were taking pictures.  It was kind of like a movie set.

There are many cool things about Badlands NP, and one of the coolest is the prairie dog town.  These guys are so cute!  Sometimes they’ll jump straight into the air like something is shooting them out of their holes.  They talk all the time, and it’s been discovered that their language is extremely sophisticated.  They are endlessly amusing to me; like watching a giant wack-a-mole game.

We went on a hike that featured scrambling over rocks and climbing up hills, and also led us through the prairie dog town (yay!).

While we were hiking we met a little boy and his dad coming toward us.  The little boy said, “better turn around, there’s a rattle snake back there!” I looked at the dad, who nodded to confirm this report.  I wanted to see it, so we kept going, but never saw the snake or heard a rattle.  Dang.

I didn’t see anything bad about the Badlands!

We visited Crazy Horse Monument.  When completed, this will be the largest sculpture in the world.  The sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, was commissioned by the Lakota Nation and began work here in 1948.  The family still continues his mission, with 4 of his 10 children and several grandchildren involved in the daily operation.  The family has never accepted public funding and the work is entirely financed by donations and admission funds.  There is a large visitor center with a gift shop and restaurant.  The center is also home to a Native American museum that houses a tremendous collection of artifacts from tribes all over North America.

The face of Crazy Horse is complete, and the work now focuses on his outstretched hand, which points to the land where his people are buried.  We are grateful to have had a chance to see this place and learn about the vision behind it.  Andy and I agree with Mike and Tricia, who were more impressed with this monument than with Mt. Rushmore.

We liked the nearby town of Custer, South Dakota.  It still has a feel of the old west, with saloons, trading posts, and a variety of shops.

There is a great trading post in Custer; bins full of bear claws, buttons and beads made from various types of bone and horn, bags made from bison testicles (!), skulls of every description, Native American artifacts and jewelry, and all manner of other things.   I neglected to get a picture of it, unfortunately. We bought a deer skull to hang somewhere on our house or fence.  Every garden needs one, right?

In Hill City, we took a ride through the Black Hills on a restored steam engine train.

I loved this outbuilding that utilized an immense boulder as part of the wall.

Resourceful architecture!

South Dakota is beautiful, and from what we saw, largely unspoiled.  It felt like the “real” west.  Mikey was on my mind during our stay here; he and Tricia spent quite a bit of time in this part of the country.  Now I can see why they recommended that we visit here.  Next stop, Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, North Dakota.