Not quite toes on the beach…
After driving north along the Iowa/Nebraska border, we arrived in Souix Falls, South Dakota, birthplace of my grandpa. It would have been wonderful to visit Murphy relatives (yes, Adam, I’m Irish) in Watertown, but instead we headed west on I-90 to the western side of South Dakota and Badlands National Park. We arrived just in time for Adam to catch a few pictures of a beautiful sunset, then headed to our remote campsite on 12 miles of gravel roads as the sun set, coyotes howled, and bison roamed around.
Adam barely missed stepping in a huge bison pie as we got dinner ready in the dark.
The beautiful next morning brought dozens more bison on the move, some stopping to check out our van as we made our way to Wall Drug in Wall, SD for 5cent coffee, free ice water, and a jackalope ride (see below). Heading back into Badlands NP we checked out the most interesting terrain, where the park gets its name. Slight rolling fields quickly turn into canyons with sharp peaks, looking much like I would imagine mountains on the moon. We did a hike up a steep cliff to the large, dry terrace above, then explored to find cacti, brisk wind, and luckily no rattlesnakes. At the visitors center we saw a photography exhibit by students in the Northwest Passage program out of Wisconsin, which aims to introduce potentially troublesome kids to nature photography which might capture their attention. Absolutely beautiful photographs and interesting perspectives to read from the kids.
Heading further into the Black Hills, we drove a loop that included plenty of time in Custer State Park, one of the most interesting and diverse state parks we’ve ever seen. Unusual rock formations captured Adam’s attention, and I think he photographed them til his fingers hurt, trying to distract himself from his impulse to climb them. We saw wildlife including mountain goats by the road, a reminder of the moment we got engaged in Glacier NP and a family of 3 mountain goats made their way down the path just behind us.
One of the loops in Custer has an archway that perfectly frames Mt. Rushmore. We had stopped to take a few pictures of the national monument earlier in the day, but then headed back that evening for the lighting ceremony, a program that features inspiring information about the 4 presidents and why the sculptor chose them for the monument. The end of the evening had all current US service members and veterans present on stage to lower the flag and tell their name and division of service.
Moneys on the Move 