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!!!!

Badlands Ain't So Bad

I found this incredible boondocking site, overlooking the Badlands. it was in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland.  With my solar, my full water tank and my empty waste tanks, I was all set to be out in the wild. There was lots to explore in the area and Nomad View Dispersed area was a perfect home base. I was six miles south of Wall South Dakota so if I decided to go to Wall Drug, one of the most touristy tourist traps there is - I didn't go.  I was a mile north of the Pinnacles entrance to the Badlands National Park. 

My nearest neighbor when I first arrived

And there I am on the edge

The wind was always blowing, one evening they said it was about 50-60 mph.  Thanks goodness it was always blowing away from the cliff.  If it had been blowing toward the cliff I might have been a little worried about going over the edge.

There was a herd of Big Horn Sheep who hung out in them thar hills.  They would spend the day down on the rocks and then come up to graze in the grassland. They were evidently very used to people. At one point, my car was about 5 feet away from them.. 

You Lookin' At Me?

There were plenty of other wildlife sightings in the Grassland.

This guy evidently thought my lawn chair was his kind

The one day there was no wind, there was a swarm of flying ants who hung out right outside my front window.  

They swarmed and then were gone after about an hour.  

Of course it was cocktail hour and I had to stay inside to protect the wine in my glass.

I did go to the Minuteman Missile National Site, but I found that it just didn't really interest me.  They had some old movies showing how they taught all of us to Duck and Cover under our desks, like that was going to keep us safe in the case of a nuclear attack. There were also maps showing how far the effects of a nuclear blast would radiate out. After looking at the maps, I can definitely say we are all just goners. They did have a disarmed Minuteman missile in a silo that you could go look at. 

An actual Minuteman Missile - not a good photo op if I do say so myself

I drove through the Badlands. I had been thru them before and I guess I really didn't see them before. I always thought I preferred the North Dakota Badlands to South Dakota's. Boy, was I mistaken. There were some amazing rock formations around every curve and turn.  My pictures just don't do them justice.

Doesn't this look like an RV commercial?

Just chilling

And then there are the obligatory sunset pictures

I think this camping site I had was one of the best ones that I have found so far.  I loved, loved, loved being out there in the wide open prairie.  It did my heart good.

Sculptures R Us

About 40 minutes west of Sioux Falls, right off of I90, is the most amazing Porter Sculpture Park. The Sculpture Park sits on 10 acres. You have to cross a couple of cattle guards to get to it and sometimes, as I did, you have to wait for the cattle to clear the road before you can pass.

Wayne Porter has never taken an art class. He learned basic blacksmithing from his father and any art skills he has are entirely self-taught. He also loves dogs and Miko was allowed to run free through the park. There are over 50 sculptures here and I took a zillion pictures. Following are the pictures of the sculptures that really grabbed and/or amused either Miko or me.

Perhaps not the most flattering picture of Miko

That road is I90 so you can see how close the interstate is

These guys were about 12 feet tall and sort of creepy cool

Scattered thru the property were Wayne's poems

The centerpiece of the park was the Bull's Head.  The Bull's Head was 60 feet tall which is as tall as the Mount Rushmore heads.  It is massive and took Wayne three years to make.

You can walk inside the Bull's Head and after dodging all the rubber hanging spiders, coiled snakes and sleeping bats, you look up and see this:

Creeped me out big time but also made me laugh.  Very very cool.

After exploring the sculpture park, I continued on my way to the next piece of sculpture that I had really been looking forward to.  This sculpture is called Dignity and was in, of all places,  the Chamberlain, SD rest stop overlooking the Missouri River.  It is 50 feet tall was put in place in 2016.  The artist is Dale Claude Lamphere.  I have to say, although it is a lovely sculpture and impressive in it's own right, after going thru the Porter Sculpture Park, Dignity seemed a little sterile.  

I visited the Atka-Lakota Museum, which had a Wounded Knee exhibit. There was also a lot of beaded articles- clothes, weapons, horse tack.  Those Sioux must have had incredible eyesight because the beadwork was so intricate and tiny.  I had thought I had heard that Sioux was not a PC term anymore, but evidently it is.  I  learned that Sioux is sort of an umbrella term and that there are three different bands - the Lakota, the Dakota and the Nokota.


I found a place to camp that was right on the Missouri River.  It was actually a boat ramp and best of all, it was free.  The waves were big and Miko had a blast trying to catch them all.

View out my door

The Falls In Sioux Falls

I spent the morning lounging, walking the dog and cleaning out my black and gray tanks. I had a big drive ahead of me – a whole 56 minutes to the great metropolis of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I was on my way to try to pass as a sociable person – to practice trying to carry on an actual conversation. It is good to practice new skills.

I was actually going to visit an old work buddy and his wife who recently moved to Sioux Falls. I've known Dave for probably about twenty years. He has helped me several times when things on the RV have broken because I have fallen afoul of the RV gods. Dave and Sandie graciously offered their place to moochdock (park the RV). After fixing me dinner, they took Miko and me down to Falls Park to see the falls from where Sioux Falls got their name. I had planned on going during the day but there was something magical about going after dark. It was quite stunning.

This is what I thought the falls might look like - lovely falls but not all that stuepndous

Little did I know that there were many waterfalls in Falls Park

Sandie and Dave - Thanks for the hospitality