The Awesomeness that is South Dakota

Wind Cave & Badlands National Park, South Dakota
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

Cloudy with a Chance of Grizzly

Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks, Wyoming
May 22- 28

This post is dedicated to my Mom, who has always wanted to visit Jackson, Wyoming.  Hope you get to Jackson soon Mom!!

Shaun in downtown Jackson, Wyoming

The drive from Browning, Montana to Jackson, Wyoming was one of the prettiest drives of the trip.  The journey, which took about eight hours, was actually shorter than many of our recent drives.  We were still listening to books on CD, and during this particular part of the trip we were deep into Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken, which made the time fly.  We arrived in Jackson late in the afternoon of May 22nd.  The weather was still quite cold so instead of camping we booked a small cabin at the Snake River KOA just outside Jackson Hole.  Camping Cabins are an excellent alternative when the weather is uncooperative and the Snake River cabins got great reviews. Unlike most places where you get a bed, a space heater and a fire pit, the cabins at the KOA were quite nice.  Our cozy heated cabin had a queen sized bed, microwave, fridge, coffee maker and a full set of dishes.  Outside we had a picnic table, fire pit and best of all, a gas grill.  The cabins cost a bit more than camping, but less than a hotel room and we could do all our cooking at home, which we loved.

Our little cabin at the Snake River Campground

The campground was situated about 10 minutes south of Jackson Hole and about 20 minutes outside Grand Teton National Park, which made it very convenient.  Most of the parks we had visited recently were pretty isolated, so we really enjoyed being close to a big city.  We decided to take advantage of this stop to play catch up on some of the things we had been putting off, like laundry and haircuts.  It's amazing how much you appreciate freshly laundered clothes when laundry becomes a luxury!

So after doing a bit of grocery shopping in Jackson that first morning, we packed up lunches and headed over to the Grand Teton National Park Visitor Center to get some info and plan our day.  The goal was to get back to hiking on this part of the trip, so we found a ranger and discussed the different areas of the park that were open for hiking.  Of course, bears had become such a mental issue at this point that we couldn't leave without asking about them.  Just before we walked away, Shaun made a questioning comment about how he supposed the grizzlies "didn't come this far south, right?"  The ranger didn't even blink, he just launched into a story about how last year he had been charged three times by a grizzly "in the VISITOR CENTER PARKING LOT!!"  He told us how he stood his ground just like you're supposed to, but the bear kept charging him. Actually he told us he couldn't have moved if he tried because he was absolutely frozen in fear.  He said he didn't have any bear spray because he was "just going out to get the mail" when it happened.  And he said he thought the only reason he didn't get mauled or killed was because a car drove up just as the bear had started his third charge.  The car was just enough to scare the bear away.  We walked out of the Visitor Center even more terrified of Grizzlies than before.  So that was helpful.

Shaun at the entrance to Grand Teton National Park

It's easy to see why people love this area. The Grand Tetons loom over everything

After the ranger scared the crap out of us, we insisted to each other that we were still going to hike.  We even purchased two canisters of bear spray, which is supposedly your best chance of coming away unscathed in a bear attack.  We left the visitor center and started driving toward the trail but somehow we ended up missing the turn and by the time we noticed, we had gone halfway up the Northern section of the park.  As we came in the park entrance at Moran Junction and approached Oxbow Bend, we saw a flashing traffic sign that said BEAR w/CUBS X-ING,  NXT 10 MI, SLOW DWN COWBOY. Apparently a Mama Bear with three cubs uses this area for her home range and will therefore feed and forage in this area all through the spring.  As we heard countless times on the trip, it is very unusual to see a grizzly and most visitors to the National Parks will never see one, so we knew it was highly unlikely she would be along the road right at this moment.

But there she was, in a field beside the road!!  Just incredible!!  A ranger stood nearby, making sure everyone pulled over to one side of the road and left one lane open.  He let people stand outside their cars and take pictures as long as the bears continued walking in the opposite direction.  The family foraged for food with the mama in the lead and the cubs following along.  I had a great view from the passenger side so I watched from there while Shaun got out and took pictures. Finally the mama bear started showing signs that she may change direction so the ranger made everyone get back in their vehicles.  After a few minutes more, the family disappeared into the woods and we drove off, thrilled that we were lucky enough to have a second safe encounter with these magnificent creatures.

Mama bear with her cubs foraging for food in a field

After the excitement wore off, we headed back down toward where we planned to hike that day, but as we pulled into the parking lot it started to hail.  I think secretly we were both happy about the change in weather because it meant we didn't have to go out on the trails.  We ate our lunch in the car while the hail came down and eventually we decided to hike another time.  Not wanting to waste the day, we drove back to Jackson where we visited the Snake River Brewery and checked out the local shops.  Before heading back to the KOA we stopped by a local fish shop where we picked up some wild salmon for a nice romantic dinner in our cozy little cabin.

Wild salmon, zucchini and quinoa, with our namesake beer from Snake River Brewery

The next day we woke up to another hail storm and when we checked the weather the news was not good.  The weather forecasters predicted a big storm moving in for the weekend.  We had reservations for four nights of camping in Yellowstone, so we crossed our fingers that the weather would change by the time we left Jackson.  In the meantime, we had a great time at Grand Teton.  We never did end up doing any substantive hikes, but we spent lots of time at the park, walking the more populated trails and checking out the bison, pronghorn and elk who call this park home.

The hail came down for a while

The low clouds just added to the beauty of this place

As we got closer to the weekend the weather predictions grew more dire, so we scrapped our camping plans once again.  We called the reservations group at Yellowstone and upgraded from camping to a budget cabin.  We knew cabins there were really basic, but at least we would not have to camp in a snowstorm. That night we packed up our things and prepared for the morning drive from Jackson to Yellowstone.

The drive between Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park only takes about half hour, and along the way we experienced our third bear encounter.  Once again, we had come upon a grizzly and once again he was grazing right along the side of the road.  We parked the car and walked up to where the ranger was letting people watch from a safe distance.  While we watched him we overheard some people talking about how they had been in the parks for a week and this was their first bear sighting.  In our fearfulness about bumping into a bear on a hiking trail, we had forgotten how lucky we were to have actually seen so many bears!

Yet another hungry grizzly!

We arrived at Yellowstone through the South Entrance and headed over toward West Thumb to check out the West Thumb Geyser Basin.  (Actually, we had no choice but to go that direction because many of the park roads were closed due to the snowstorm.) At West Thumb we got our first look at the amazing Geothermal activity that makes Yellowstone such a big draw.  Some of the hot springs at West Thumb are over 200 degrees and they range in color from beautiful mossy greens to sapphire blue.  It was a treat to walk around the boardwalk on such a cold day and warm up by the hot breezes blowing off the springs.

Arrival at Yellowstone!

Crossing the Continental Divide

West Thumb Geyser Basin

Hot Springs!

As we left West Thumb we enjoyed our first close encounter with the Bison of Yellowstone.  Everyone who comes to Yellowstone talks about the bison, but you just can't prepare yourself for these amazing animals.  Weighing in at over two thousand pounds, they are absolutely massive and seem like creatures from another time.  In reality it is amazing that the bison at Yellowstone exist at all.  By 1902 hunting and poaching had reduced the number of Bison here to less than two dozen. It is considered a major feat of conservation that the herd here in Yellowstone now numbers up to 4500.

This guy was right on the side of the road. We were careful not to disturb him

We continued our adventures that first day with a visit to the Mud Volcano area and the Sulphur Cauldron.  As you may know, Yellowstone is basically a giant Volcano that exploded in a massive eruption 640,000 years ago.  After the eruption the land basically collapsed in on itself, forming what we call a caldera. Most of Yellowstone National Park is made up of this giant Caldera, which is why you can still see all these amazing Geothermal features here.  At the Mud Volcano area, we walked the loop trail that brought us all around the mudpots and hot springs and then crossed the road to check out the Sulphur Cauldron, so named because it's pH is basically as acidic as battery acid!  No wonder they keep that one roped off.

Roaming around the area at Mud Volcano

Next stop on our whirlwind first day was the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  Having come from the "other" Grand Canyon weeks prior, this could have been a big letdown, but it wasn't.  A roaring river and raging waterfall make this one of Yellowstone's most photographed sights, with good reason.

The beautiful Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone with the Yellowstone river running through it

After all the sightseeing we were exhausted, so we decided to finish the drive without any more stops and check in at our cabin.  As we drove past a spot called Fountain Flat Drive though, we could tell there was some excitement happening with the bison.  We pulled our car over to where everyone had gathered and saw one of the most amazing sights of the trip, a baby bison who had just been born.  The mother stood licking her baby while the baby tried to stand on it's new legs.   Incredible.

Newborn baby bison

And a coyote we saw the same day!!

Finally we arrived at the Old Faithful Lodge for check in.  The "lodge" does not actually contain accommodations, rather, it is used as a cafeteria, gift shop and administration building.  We checked in there and then drove around back to the cabins.  Our budget lodging was not very impressive but it was what we expected, a bed, a sink and a desk in a tiny self contained cabin.  My only big gripe was that there was nowhere to cook, not even a picnic table where we could set up our propane stove.  I suppose that's their way of making sure the guests patronize the park concessions.  Regardless, for $69 a night we had accommodations right in the park and within walking distance of Old Faithful so we really didn't mind all that much.

After unpacking the car, we walked the two minute walk to Old Faithful. It was time for her next eruption, as predicted by the rangers.  When the time came, we enjoyed the scene, but the freezing temperatures made it pretty difficult to see the actual water.  It looked more like a giant steam cloud than a water show. Oh well, if I had to choose between a summer visit with a good view of Old Faithful or a spring visit with newborn bison, I'd take the baby bison every time.

Inside all that steam is a geyser!

On our second day at Yellowstone, we journeyed up to see Mammoth Hot Springs.  The forty four mile drive wound through some beautiful country, so we weren't all that surprised when we saw some cars slowing down. We assumed it was either scenery related or animal related.  When our car came to a complete stop we looked over and saw what all the fuss was about. About 20 yards from the side of the road stood a mama bear with two very little cubs!  The cubs ran and jumped on top of each other and tumbled through the snow.  They scrambled up the sides of trees as the mama followed along, watching them closely.

The picture isn't great but the mama is watching the cub who was climbing the base of the tree. The other one is around the side

It was amazing to see but outside of our car the scene had devolved into mayhem.  There was no ranger this time, so the people on our side of the road were completely trapped in a traffic jam, and the people coming up the hill were all pulling over and getting out of their cars.  And then came the runners, people who had parked their cars up at the top of the hill and now barreled down the hill toward the area where the bears played.  Every ranger has told us that the worst thing you can do around a bear is to run, and that running anywhere near a Mama bear is particularly dangerous.  As soon as the cars in front of us started to move we got the heck out of there.  It was really amazing to have seen those little bears, but I did not want to be there if the Mama got scared and protective.

After all the excitement on the road, we wanted a little peace and quiet so we stopped in at the visitor center to get some info on hiking around the Hot Spring.  The ranger we spoke to gave us some suggestions for hiking a few miles around the upper and lower terraces, but suggested we wait a while.  The mama bear in question apparently had quite the temper and had charged her outside her lodging just a few days prior.  Since the upper terraces of Mammoth come close to the area where the Mama was foraging, we took her advice and got some lunch before the hike.

After lunch we armed ourselves with our bear spray and took our little hike around Mammoth Hot Springs.  I'm sure the hot springs are much more brilliant in the summer, but something about the snow cover and the steam made the whole scene quite tranquil.  We started in the lower terrace walking along the icy boardwalks with lots of other visitors.  When we got up to the upper terrace, which was closed to cars, we had the area practically to ourselves.  Other than one couple hiking up ahead of us, we were alone.  We both enjoyed getting back out into the quieter spaces.

Pictures from our hike at Mammoth Hot Springs

We dedicated our third and final day at Yellowstone to hot springs and paint pots. Throughout the park, there are places where the hot springs have a limited water supply and the wet clays, which teem with microorganisms, take on pastel colors like pinks and greens.  We spent that last day taking long walks through the Norris Geyser Basin, Fountain Paint Pots and Artist Paint Pots.  Even in the freezing cold, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

Lots of Geysers and Paint Pots on day three

Looking back, I'm amazed at how much we did in those three days at Yellowstone.  Shaun and I were both a little disappointed in ourselves that we didn't work up the courage to do any serious back country hiking, but in retrospect, we would have missed a lot of other experiences if we had spent a full day in the woods.  Now that we've seen so many of the "touristy" attractions, we'll simply have to come back to the park and explore the other side of this amazing place.

The Bison came out to say farewell

Yellowstone became our nation's first National Park on March 1, 1872.  It's incredible to think that people have been coming to Wyoming to visit this park for over 140 years.  For Shaun and I, this marked the eleventh National Park on our trip and it was yet another memorable experience. As we drove out of the park, we crossed under a giant archway that was built in 1903 and dedicated by Teddy Roosevelt.  Eight words from his speech were later carved into the archway as a permanent reminder that the parks were created "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people".  So once again we headed out on the road, and once again I silently gave thanks to the visionaries who had the foresight to set aside these places, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.

For the benefit and enjoyment of the people