More Hikes and Chores

Sunday we did one more hike in Custer State Park. This time we drove along 16A to Stockade Lake and hiked the 1.5 mile trail there. It was supposed to be moderate with views of the lake and mountains.The trees were so dense there were limited views, and I guess we were tired, because as we huffed and puffed our way up to the ridgeline, we both gave it a difficult rating. The Sylvan Lake area is much more scenic.

Along the same road is the State Game Lodge, one of the several lodges in the park. We stopped in to see the lobby, since President Coolidge used the lodge as his summer White House in 1927. It was rustic but elegant, and the original fireplaces made with the local rocks were beautiful. Custer State Park is very impressive, reminding us more of a national park than most other state parks we’ve visited.

Monday Jim drained and flushed the hot water heater and we finished washing and polishing the rig. Glad to have that out of the way.

We wanted to go biking along the Mickelson trail yesterday, but winds were 25mph and it looked like rain. Instead we drove back up the road going to Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills National Forest and hiked at Horsethief Lake. There is a very nice campground there, and we enjoyed the trail. We turned off and walked a couple miles or so on the 111 mile Centennial Trail, the longest trail in the Black Hills National Forest. We walked along a creek, under the cool shade of pines and aspens, and admired lots of rocks.

     

As we were getting in the car yesterday, we spotted this rabbit laying in front of the wheel. Don’t know if he was trying to commit suicide, but he finally ran off when Jim started the car. He’s been hanging around our site the whole time we’ve been here and is obviously used to people. What a cutie.

Cathedral Spires Trail, Custer State Park

This is another beautiful trail in Custer State Park. The Cathedral Spires are a group of granite pillars located in the Needles area that have been designated a National Natural Landmark. Besides lots of interesting rock formations, we got to watch a few climbers along the way.

The trail map said this one was 1.5 miles and strenuous, but it seemed shorter. There were some difficult, steep, rocky areas, but it wasn’t as bad as the Little Devil’s Tower trail. There were no majestic views at the end, as the trail brings you to the base of the Cathedral Spires, but we enjoyed the rocks and other scenery.

  

We had to go back through the narrow tunnel on our way home, and this time the tour bus was in front of us. Yes, he made it slowly through, again with a big audience. Cheap entertainment!

We passed right by Sylvan Lake, so I asked Jim if he would mind trying to find a parking place so we could walk around the mile long lake trail. I bribed him by letting him get an ice cream cone. Also the tour bus was in the parking lot and he wanted to speak to the driver. He said the bus is 96” wide and the tunnel is 100”. At the narrowest point the mirrors touch the sides. They make this run daily so it’s no big deal to the drivers. Must be fun for the passengers, though.

This has got to be one of the prettiest lakes we’ve seen, with all the huge rocks in and around it. And it was fun climbing up on them along the way.

 

We’ve got one more day left on our Custer State Park pass, so today we are planning a hike in a different section of the park. Because of the elevation here, temperatures have been quite pleasant, unlike much of the country. And no mosquitoes. We did have severe thunderstorms several evenings, along with some small hail, but we survived unscathed.

Little Devils Tower Trail, Custer State Park

These are not very good photos today, as our resident photographer forgot to bring the camera (and I forgot to remind him). We did have the cell phone, so he got a few shots but they aren’t great.

The trail description said this was a difficult hike up to the top of Little Devils Tower, and they weren’t kidding. It was only 1.5 miles but since we gained 1000 feet in altitude, it was pretty steep the entire way, especially near the top where we had to do a lot of rock scrambling. Aside from that, it was our favorite hike so far in the park.

This is part of the actual trail.

You can see the blue blaze painted on the rocks to the right. Had it not been for these, we wouldn’t have found our way up..

We had beautiful views all the way up the trail, and spectacular scenery from the top.. Even better than Harney Peak.

The Cathedral Spires in the background. Our next hike.

When we finished, we decided to drive a little farther down the road, along Needles Highway. There are these huge pointed rocks jutting up along the road. This is the Eye of the Needle.

We did get some cheap entertainment watching an RV and a tour bus slowly drive through this tunnel in the rock. They had quite an audience, and both appeared to make it without scraping the sides, but it sure looked close. The bus driver got a big round of applause.

Custer State Park Wildlife Loop

We got the front and back of the Lazy Daze washed and polished yesterday, and last night decided to take a drive along the 17 mile Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park. We saw tons of deer, both white tail and mule deer, several pronghorns,  prairie dogs, and then the fun stuff.
We had read about the “begging burros”, descendants of pack animals that used to take people and supplies up to Harney Peak, and were hoping to see them on our drive. We came upon a few off the road, and watched this guy trying to feed them. The burros weren’t the ones begging. He practically had to shove the food in their faces.

Then a short distance down the road, we got to see the beggars in action. Of course they caused quite a traffic jam.
 
These two were heading our way and we didn’t bring any carrots.

They weren’t shy about poking their heads in the car to be sure.

I was looking at the one in Jim’s window and turned my head to see one in mine. When he realized there was no food to be had, he took a little break from  mooching to scratch an itch.

They were really cute, and the park does not forbid people from feeding them, as they do with all the other wild animals.

When we were finally able to get away, we encountered several other traffic jams due to all the bison in the road. The park is home to a herd of over 1,500 bison, many of which were completely oblivious to all the cars trying to get by them. It was actually a bit frightening at times, since they are so huge when you see them that close.
 
This picture is out of focus but we did get to see several of them playing or fighting, not sure which. The scary thing was when they were done they would run out into the road.

It was a beautiful drive through the park, and an entertaining way to spend a couple hours.

Harney Peak Trail, Custer, SD

It was a cool day so we decided to make the climb to Harney Peak. At 7,242 feet it is the highest point east of the Rockies and west of the Pyrenees. The trailhead starts at the Sylvan Lake picnic area in Custer State Park, a beautiful spot, but crawling with people. We drove around the parking area several times before finding a spot, almost at Jim’s limit for waiting.

 

The trail is 3.5 miles one way to the peak, and since the starting elevation is 6,100, it is only 1,100 feet of climbing, which is not too bad. It was a nice steady climb through the woods with intermittent views of the mountains.

We were amazed at the number of people on the trail, especially families with young kids, and lots of overweight adults who didn’t look like they could walk one mile, let alone seven. Had to give them credit for trying, though, as we passed several who turned around long before the summit. The most uphill part came near the end, where the CCC built a fire tower in 1938, complete with stairs to reach it.

It was a great view from the tower. Too hazy for good photos, as it usually is.

The backside of Mount Rushmore is in the far center. There are lots of dead pine trees from the mountain pine beetle infestation. Spoils the scenery and we’ve heard it is even worse in some parts of Colorado.

It was a pretty quick trip back down the trail, but we forgot there was going to be a long stretch of uphill on the way down. We were tired and ready to sit down at the end. Can’t imagine how some of those other people felt.

Last night we went to the Buglin’ Bull Sports Bar (smoke-free!) and watched the Tour de France, which we’ve been missing the past couple of weeks. At least Lance was in the breakaway but he just couldn’t win the stage. I’m guessing he wishes he would have stayed retired from bike racing.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, SD

 

Mount Rushmore is the number one tourist attraction in South Dakota, so after I visited a local dentist for a lingering toothache yesterday morning, we took a drive there. (Good news, he couldn’t find anything wrong with the tooth, other than I am probably clenching or grinding my teeth at night.)

We stopped at an overlook along the way, not knowing what there was to see. It was surprising to look up and discover George’s profile.

We then continued on to the huge parking garage and lot, for a $10 spot. There is no fee to get in the park, but there is no free parking anywhere close it. There were lots of people but it could have been worse.

We were there just in time for a guided ranger walk along the Presidents Trail. It wasn’t the best ranger talk we’ve heard, but he gave some interesting history about how the project got started and a little biography of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln. We then went into the sculptor’s studio, where they had some good photos and information on how the work was actually done. It was quite a task. Since the rock is granite, erosion is only taking place at about an inch every 10,000 years, so South Dakota’s tourist industry is safe for awhile.

  

We decided to drive back the long way on Iron Mountain Road through the Black Hills National Forest and Custer State Park. It’s quite a steep, twisty road with several one lane tunnels. We were shocked to come upon a truck towing a 5th wheel with a good sized boat behind the camper winding it’s way up the switchbacks. It was preceded by a truck with it’s lights flashing, and as it passed us we realized the first truck had a chain attached to it and the second truck. Strange. We also couldn’t believe the 5th wheel would clear the 12’2” tunnel height, but we were past the tunnels by then so didn’t get to see what happened.

We stopped at an overlook and saw this cute little fawn. We see lots of deer but rarely see the fawns. Of course mama was close by.

Since we had to pay the $12 fee (good for a week) just to drive the road through Custer State Park, that’s where we will be hiking this week.

Broken Arrow RV Park, Custer, SD

We made it to Custer this afternoon and got settled in at our new digs for the next 2 weeks, Broken Arrow RV. Picked this place because we wanted hookups for a change and I overheard someone on the Zion National Park shuttle talk about how much they liked it here. We were able to reserve an end site so at least we don’t have anyone on one side of us. It is a nice enough RV park, the bathrooms are great, the Wi-Fi is fast and there is laundry. Stay a week and pay for 6 nights, so we have water and electric for about $22/night. What a luxury after dry camping most of the time the past three months. Also they have a nightly ice cream social.

After we arrived, I defrosted the refrigerator and vacuumed, while Jim changed the oil in the rig. They said we could wash the rig here, so we are planning to do that and wax it also sometime over the next two weeks. And we plan to rent a carpet cleaner while we’re here and Jim wants to flush the water heater. We have been playing tourist too much this summer and have been neglecting things.

So with all the local attractions and chores, we should have a busy couple of weeks coming up.