Mount Rushmore taken from the "Iron Road" Scenic byway

"Wild" Burros

The Needles

Tunnel on "The Needles" Scenic Drive

Sun, 6/8/08

Black Hills, SD: Pretty cold last night. But this morning dawned sunny, but cold. We had a fire in the morning and then decided to drive some of the scenic routes in the area. The first one was the Iron Road which wound around up the mountain with several really neat tunnels. Couldn’t drive very fast because there were hairpin turns everywhere. Then we drove the wildlife loop through Custer State Park. They have one of the largest bison herds in the country. Also saw lots of prong horned antelope and prairie dogs. But the cutest were the burrows that live in the park. They’ll come up and eat out of your hand. So Cute. Then we continued on and drove the needles road which went through some amazing rock formations. We ate lunch at an amazing German restaurant (Oma’s Café) in Keystone, SD. Wonderful food. Didn’t get home until 6:30. Tired.

Sat, 6/7/08

Badland, SD: This morning brought clear, sunny skies. But the clouds rolled in by the time we got ready to leave. Left around 10:30 and instead of taking the highway west, we took a rural route that skirted the park to the south. We passed lots of ranches and many prairie dog towns. Saw some prong horned antelope. Arrived at Oreville National Forest campground and were set up by 2:00. A small but really pretty campground—all birches and pines. No hook-ups for 12 days. There is a bike path nearby and we can bike into the closest town—Hill City, SD. By the time we got here, temperatures were down into the 50s. Supposed to be down into the upper 30s tonight. Not very warm, but should be great for hiking. Heating up left-over Mexican lasagna and a vegetable for dinner tonight. Plan to play cards and then read. My book on the pony express is very interesting.

Prairie Dog

Fri, 6/6/08

Badlands, SD: Up very early (for us) this morning—6:30. Headed over to the lodge for breakfast at 8:00 and then retraced our route through the park yesterday. A beautiful day—sunny and breezy. After driving the main road through the park, we turned off on the rim road--a gravel road which skirts the rim for several miles. We saw prong-horned antelope, bison, and lots of prairie dogs. We even saw a burrowing owl. The road leaves the rim and descends into this beautiful, green valley. More bison. Checked out the primitive campground there. Tents only and no water, but in a beautiful spot right next to a prairie dog town and there were bison roaming through the campground. Went back on the main road through the park to the lodge and had lunch and then decided to go get the computer and see if we could get on-line using their wi-fi. But they’d been having trouble with it and we were unable to get on. So we drove out of the park about a mile and toured a pioneer homestead. The home was made of sod. Drove back through the park and walked a couple of trails. Then took the computer over to the Badlands Inn to see if we could access their wi-fi. No luck there either. So, back to the camper and put some stuff away outside. Another storm brewing (sigh). We leave tomorrow for the Black Hills. Saw them in the distance from the Rim Road. Hope this stormy weather stops.

Thu, 6/5/08

Badlands, SD: Overcast this morning and threatening rain, so we headed to Wall, SD, to the Wall Drug. Co. I pictured it as something like the Old Forge Hardware Store in the Adirondacks. It’s been featured on Good Morning America, written up in Time Magazine, etc. The Old Forge hardware store was much better. We did have a homemade donut there that was pretty good. They also have homemade ice cream, restaurants, clothing, etc. Left there and took the loop road back through the park. Saw some outstanding vistas, but unfortunately it had started raining pretty good, so we’ll drive back tomorrow. The badlands area is much bigger than I thought. There’s supposed to be bison, big horn sheep, prairie dogs, and black footed ferrets in here. Oh, and also burrowing owls and the swift fox. And of course rattle snakes. We have seen those. Back to the camper and spent the afternoon and evening hunkered down. It rained and blew like crazy. The camper was shaking pretty good. Did that all night long.

View from our campsite

Western Diamondback

Wed, 6/4/08

Badlands, SD: Left the campground this morning at 10:20. This part of South Dakota is all flat farmland and cattle ranches. After driving about 2 hours (on Rt. 90 heading west), we came down a steep hill and spread out before us was the Missouri River—very blue and pristine in this area—surrounded by the prettiest hills. We stopped there for lunch. Very pretty. Leaving there we went steadily up hill and then we were on a high plateau of prairie for hundreds of miles with gently rolling, lush green hills. No trees. Arrived at the Badlands at about 2:30 mountain time. After we got set up we drove through the area which is like on another planet. Walked a couple of trails. Saw a western diamondback rattlesnake. Got my snake gaiters out and wore them on the second trail. Started sprinkling so we headed back and had left-overs for dinner.

Sioux Fall, SD:

Left St. Joseph at 8:30 this morning. Stopped for lunch and then continued on. Just east of Sioux Falls on Interstate 90 I noticed something funny with one of the camper tires. We pulled off the interstate as soon as we could and it’s a good thing because there was a huge bulge in one of the tires. So we called RV Road Help and two hours and $162 for a new tire later we were on our way again. We were only 15 miles from where we were stopping for the night, so it wasn’t too bad. Just staying for the night—not even unhooking from the truck. Tomorrow we’ll be in Badlands National Park at the campground there. No hook-ups for 15 days.

Pony Express Rider

Patee House

(luxury hotel opened in 1858)

Jesse James Home

St. Joseph, MO:

Headed over to the Pony Express Museum this morning. A great museum—and what a great part of our history. These riders were very young—some of them only 11 years old. The ads recruiting them said they needed someone wiry, skinny, and preferably an orphan. They took the mail from St. Joe, MO, to Sacramento, CA, in 10 days. One of the riders’ great-grandson became an astronaut. Another lived to be 105, and when he was 81 he rode a horse across the country from NYC to California. Buffalo Bill Cody was also a Pony Express rider. These guys would ride for 80 miles at a time—stopping only to change horses. After lunch we went to the Patee House Museum—an outstanding museum of the old west. The Patee house itself, which houses the museum, was a luxurious hotel opened in 1858. It housed the offices of the Pony Express, the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, and the Civil War offices of the Provost Marshall. It’s located just up the street from the PonyExpress stables (now the museum). We also went through the Jesse James house where he was killed. I bought a book on the history of the Pony Express—my next read.