May 29 - Jun 1
Beautiful Badlands National Park in South Dakota
When we crossed the state line from Wyoming into South Dakota we really had no idea what to expect. The Badlands were always on our agenda, but beyond that we hadn't given much thought to South Dakota. So when we started looking at the map we were surprised at how many interesting sights this state offered within a quick drive of each other. We immediately knew that we would be visiting more than just the Badlands.
First up was a work in progress, the Crazy Horse Monument just outside Custer, SD. The story behind Crazy Horse is really interesting. In 1939 Chief Henry Standing Bear wrote to a sculptor named Korczac Zlolkowski to asking him to take part in a monumental project to carve a likeness of Crazy Horse into the Black Hills. As he said in his letter, he wanted "the white man to know the red man has great heroes too". Shockingly, Zlolkowski agreed to take on the project by himself and work began on the Crazy Horse Memorial in 1948. The entire project has been privately funded and for years the work was only done by Zlolkowski and his immediate family. Korczaz Zlolkowski died in 1982, but work on the massive sculpture continues, carried on by seven of his eleven children, who learned their craft at their father's side. The work is slow and the foundation won't give an estimate for a completion date, but if they do finally complete the monument, it will be the largest mountain sculpture in the world.
Crazy Horse as it looks now. This is from miles away at the visitor center.
And the model for how Crazy Horse Monument will look upon completion. I just hope they finish it in my lifetime!
Next we visited a more familiar sculpture, beautiful Mount Rushmore. After Crazy Horse, Mount Rushmore looked a little small, but we still enjoyed seeing this famous landmark in person. We learned a few things in the process too! For example, Mount Rushmore is actually an unfinished monument. The original team of sculptors, led by Gutson Borglum, had not completed the sculpture when they stopped work in 1939 due to conflicts over funding. (Lincoln, for example, was sculpted down to his coat in the early models of the monument) In 1941, while trying to raise more money for the project, Borglum died. His son inherited the task of completing the monument, but the work never restarted. With World War II looming and the chief sculptor deceased, it was decided that the work would be discontinued for good. The government declared the statue complete on October 31, 1941.
Mount Rushmore
Completed or not, the monument is a beautiful tribute to four of our greatest presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. The presidents were chosen for their important roles in the Birth (Washington) Expansion (Jefferson) Development (Roosevelt) and Preservation (Lincoln) of the United States. Standing there looking up at those great men left me feeling quite patriotic. Plus, after watching the Ken Burns "National Parks" documentary, I had developed a bit of a presidential crush on Teddy Roosevelt so it was extra fun to see him all larger than life!
That night we stayed in Custer at a KOA Campground. Custer is a charming little town with lots of shops and restaurants and a bunch of places to stay. We picked the KOA because they had a budget cabin available. The cabin was barebones but we were only there for one night so it did the trick. We cooked dinner over the fire and settled in for the evening.
If you ever find yourself in Custer, make sure to stop at the Purple Pie Place. We went there for lunch and the pie was ridiculously good!
The next day we got up early, packed up the car and headed to Wind Cave National Park. Wind Cave is less than an hour from Custer, so we made it there in time for the 9am tour. The tour was great, but I would avoid it if you are claustrophobic! We started by walking down a very steep, very narrow passageway which comes to steep, narrow stairways. There are about 300 stairs on this tour, almost all of them taking you down further into the cave. The ranger who did our tour kept things interesting, talking about the history and the geology of the cave. The real draw of the cave is the Boxwork that decorates large sections of the the ceiling. It's formed from thin blades of calcite and it takes on a honeycomb pattern that looks quite lovely in the low light.
Arriving at Windcave National Park
This was originally the only entrance to Wind Cave. It was named for the crazy winds that used to blow out of this hole.
Shaun at the bottom of one of the stairways in the cave
The Boxwork was so delicate it would crumble if people touched it. The Ranger reminded us often to be careful not to touch anything.
When we left Wind Cave we looked at the map and realized that we were right on the outskirts of Custer State Park, one of the largest State Parks in the US. After some quick research we decided to pay the entrance fee and take a drive on Custer's famous Wildlife Loop. We were so glad we did!! The eighteen mile drive wound through grasslands and prairies and up into the Black Hills, which made the scenery alone worth the trip. But I guess you can figure out the real reason people drive the Wildlife Loop! The drive sure lived up to it's name. We saw prairie dogs and elk, pronghorn and bison everywhere. And just when we thought the adventure was over, we came upon their famous wild burro's at the exit to the park. It was an excellent detour!
Just a few pics from the Wildlife Loop. First up, Prairie Dogs
Pronghorn
Burros, mama and baby
The burros come up to the cars looking for food. Shaun rolled up the window which just made this guy lick the window instead!
On our drive to Badlands we took my parents advice and stopped at Wall Drug just off I-90 in Wall, SD. It is quite a scene! We wandered around the shops and had a 5 cent cup of coffee and a homemade donut to tide us over!
After a quick picnic lunch and a 90 minute drive, we arrived in Interior, South Dakota, just outside Badlands National Park. There is a really cute KOA campground in Interior just beside the White River. After weeks of cold weather and grizzly sightings, we were really excited to start camping again so we stopped by the KOA first. We checked in, bought firewood and set up the tent. It was only mid-afternoon when we finished up at the KOA, so we set out for our first day of Badlands adventure.
Arrival at Badlands National Park
If you look up anything on the Badlands, you will hear words like "harsh", "stark" and "otherworldly". In fact, General Custer described the Badlands as "Hell with the fires burned out", so we were expecting something strange, but desolate. What we found instead was a place teeming with life and bursting with color. Springtime in the Badlands is just beautiful! In fact, when I think back on the Badlands, I will think of Yellow. It was such a prominent color in the landscape. Everywhere we looked we saw little yellow flowers, sometimes whole fields of them. The cactus were in bloom while we visited and those flowers were yellow as well. Even the Pierre Shale that made up the strange hills throughout the park had that tint. They called them the Yellow Mounds.
The Yellow Mounds
The car in the distance gives you a sense of the scope of the landscape
It was just so beautiful
We made a friend on that first evening while hiking
The evening light over Badlands
We spent most of our time exploring. You have to drive a lot to get a feel for the scope of the park, but there are also incredible hikes. We were thrilled to put our hiking boots and get to know Badlands from the inside. The big hike we did there was Castle Trail and Medicine Root Trail. The distance came in at just under seven miles and for most of that time we were only accompanied by the thousands of birds who make their home among the dunes. We brought our lunch along and plenty of water, and just enjoyed our hike at our own pace.
Hiking through the yellow fields. The red markers led the way.
It was so cool to be able to hike through these dunes
The proximity of the campground to the park meant we could come and go at our leisure, so one night we came back in at dusk to watch the light change in the hills as the sun set. As we came around a corner there was a wide meadow with long prairie grass as far as you could see. There, in the middle of the meadow, was a beautiful white coyote. As we watched he crouched in the grass and then pounced on whatever unfortunate little creature he had been stalking. It was incredible to see. Later that same evening we came across a whole herd of mountain goats way up on the side of a butte. We watched in wonder as they jumped around on the sides of the cliffs.
One of my favorite wildlife moments of the whole trip
The mountain goats watching us from high above
Night falls in the Badlands
Finally we came to our last morning in Badlands. We were starting a cross-country drive to Tennessee that day, which normally entails a need to get moving as early as possible. We did pack up quickly that morning, but when it came time to drive away, we were in no hurry. We were definitely under the spell of this magical place. We wound our way back through the park, stopping many times along the way to soak up our last few moments in the Badlands.
I will always think of Yellow when I think of the Badlands
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