A Month on the Move: South Dakota's Black Hills

So far, we have covered well over 2400 miles, we left June 29th. On Wednesday July 10th, we packed up and hit the road for our longest travel day so far, from Iowa to our campsite at Hell Canyon Horse Camp and RV Resort in Custer, South Dakota.  Most of the travel was on I-90 after finishing a few hours on I-29, which for anyone who's done the badlands before, it's not exactly dramatic. 

I visited Mount Rushmore during a cross country drive once when the girls where little, and I thought it was beautiful.  I drove up from Rapid City on I-90, and went back down the way we came after we saw the mountain.  If only I knew what beauty lay just beyond.  

The pictures will never do this place justice, and I don't claim to be a good photographer.  Just know, it's far beyond what these photos show, and everyone should explore Custer State Park and the Black Hills. After a few hours of mountain climbing with the trucks on highway 16 after leaving I-90, we finally made it to Hell Canyon.  The staff and volunteers were so helpful, and the horses were settled into their stalls in no time at all.

We ran back into Custer for dinner, at The Custer Wolf for a great meal after eating gas station food all day.  The town feels like there should be a ski lodge nearby, but the closest hill is over an hour and a half away, and tourism is really slow in the winter from what I hear.  Lots of great shops and restaurants, and adventure (side by sides, etc) rentals on every other corner. It's also home to the oldest building in South Dakota.  Not as old as some things out East, of course, but still cool!

Downtown is really beautiful, the buildings even utilize petrified wood.

However, the real beauty to this area has nothing to do with the sites in town.  It's the Black Hills themselves.  Thursday I spent mostly working in camp, Rob went on a wheel ride, and I gave the horses the day off after the long haul.  Then, on Friday morning, the girls and I ventured out in the USFS lands behind camp.  

I've ridden a lot of country, and this was by far the most breathtaking ride I've done in my memory.

There were trails worn you could follow, but no map, or marked trails. I used All Trails to track our ride, and that way I could work my way back to camp at least. 

We saw 7 deer, and lots of birds in the early morning hours, and we made a good climb up a rocky hill for a breath taking view.

The girls and I came back into camp before it got hot, and went on our next adventure of the day (there were a lot!) We drove to Wind Cave, which was really interesting.  The natural opening was blowing cold air, which we all thought was amazing. 

We headed into town and grabbed sandwiches at a great little deli, and then went to the Crazy Horse Memorial and it was really interesting.  Highly recommend. The girls loved it, too.

 The cave tours were down back at Wind Cave because of elevator maintenance, so we drove over to Jewel Cave trying to get a tour.  They were booked for the day, but we walked around the park in Hell Canyon. 

After stopping to feed and water horses and dogs, we then embarked to drive the Wildlife Loop road in Custer State Park, because our camp neighbors said you could see Bison in the evenings.  One of the prettiest drives I've ever done, with the cherry on top of this epic experience.  BISON. EVERYWHERE.

They caused quite the traffic jam, we were stopped for a long time next to some bikers, who utilized the bed of our truck for safety as we became surrounded.  One rubbed it's self on the cattle guard of my truck, and we were just in awe for a solid hour.  That's how long it took the hundreds of Bison to move past us on the road.  Needless to say, by this time on Friday, we aren't ready to leave South Dakota. I mean, I HAD to ride again, and Rob really wanted to see Jewel Cave. So, we decided to stay one more day.  

The girls and I tacked up, and had another amazing ride through the hills. We saw deer, a huge group of turkeys, and other birds.

Rob got up early, and sat with a camp chair in line at Jewel Cave to get us tickets for today.  When we showed up at 10 for our tour, the ranger said "hey, it's chair guy!" and I'm really glad he made the effort, because the hour and half cave tour was one of the coolest things we've done on this trip. I suggest a reservation if you don't want to get up at 6 am.

Over 700 steps, and over 200 feet below ground, it was amazing on so many levels.  The day only got better, as we stopped in Custer for the most amazing pizza at Black Hills Sauce & Dough and then we drove Needles Hwy in Custer State Park for one of the most scenic drive I've done.  I've done Hwy 1, and a lot of others, and this was top tier.

Around every bed we had our breath taken away.

We were all enjoying the beauty around us, and again, pictures do not do it justice.  It's the kind of drive that makes me want to buy a motorcycle (don't worry, Mom, lol).  

There were some really narrow tunnels, and I'm not sure the dully would have fit, we had to fold in our mirrors, but it only added to the adventure.  One of the many amazing things we got to do in the last few days.  I think we've found a new vacation destination favorite, and I can't wait to come back.  Off to Great Falls, Montana tomorrow to see family for a few days. 552 miles on Highways, no Interstate, and it's gonna be hot.  Say prayers for us and the ponies for tomorrow!