A Step Back In Time - Blogwise

I figured it out – I now have some Black Hills photos available to share on my blog. So, without further ado, and no more than a month after I've been there, I present my Black Hills Adventure blog.

I drove in past the Crazy Horse monument, but decided that since I could see it from the road, that was good enough. It really didn't look like a whole bunch of progress had been made since I was here back in the mid-nineties. I think what dissuaded me was that I read that the entrance fee was $30. Of course, I didn't read the fine print – that is per carload – it is only $12 per person. Oh well, I'll catch it next time.

I stayed right outside of Custer, which was centrally located for what I wanted to do. The big draw for me was the Custer State Park. Admission was $20, but that is good for 7 days. I guess I know where my price point is. There is an 18 mile Wildlife Loop that is rather picturesque. I am looking for Bison (Bison is what they really are, Buffalo was a misnomer – but now that I think about it, who cares – Buffalo just sounds better). I can tell I have found them when I see a whole bunch of cars stopped on the side of the road. There is a fairly good size herd, off in the distance. Buffalo can run up to 35 miles and hour, are extremely agile, able to turn quickly and can jump tall buildings (actually fences) in a single bound. Of course there are the idiot people who have to get really close to them. They wouldn't have a chance if the buffalo decided they did not like being intruded on. 

The next wildlife encounter were the Begging Burros. These donkeys were released into the wild when there was no more use for them as pack animals. They have quite the thriving community and earn their feed through begging from the tourists. 

This guy decided he liked my car and licked it from one end to the other.  Then he decided that my passenger side mirror was the most perfect scratching post. Let's just say that I had to make major mirror readjustments.

I didn't get too close to these guys because I didn't get the memo that today was a "wear white" day

The Needles Highway is a definite must-do in the area. It is a 14 mile long route that is named after granite “needles”. It has sharp turns, narrow roadway and two tiny, low, little tunnels. There is not a lot of traffic and there are a lot of turnouts that allow you to take a break from concentrating on the road and check out the scenery. 

Needles

And more needles

The Warning

The Tunnel

And the Tour Bus

Pretty amazing driving

No visit to the Black Hills would be complete without seeing Mount Rushmore. After each head was completed, there was a dedication ceremony which helped to keep the project in the public eye and help raise funds. Washington was done first, followed by Jefferson. One onlooker at the Jefferson dedication, evidently was a little confused about what he was looking at when he commented on the new head: Gee – I really don't think they are doing Martha Washington justice. She looks much better than that.

Flags from every state mark the Avenue of Flags

No matter where you go, George is watching

Two caves, one a National Park(with capital letters) and one a National Monument. 

Jewel Cave, the National Monument, is currently the third longest cave in the world. I got there late in the day so I could only take the short 20 minute tour called the Discovery Tour. Jewel Cave is called this because of two types of calcite crystals commonly named nailhead spar and dogtooth spar. They are all sparkly when you shine light on them. 

I found Wind Cave, the National Park, to be much more interesting. Maybe that is because the tour I took was a little bit longer and you wandered through more of the passageways. Wind Cave is the sixth largest cave in the world and is know for something called boxwork formations. Boxwork is a subtraction formation as opposed to an addition formation. Boxwork filled cracks in the rock before the cave formed. As the walls of the cave began to dissolve away, the crack fillings did not dissolve at the same rate leaving what looks like a bunch of little boxes. 

I finally got close to a real live Buffalo (in my car, of course) Yay Me!!!!