LOCATION: Wind Cave National Park in SW South Dakota
CAMPGROUND: 2nd night at Elk Mountain Campground, inside Wind Cave
WEATHER: Perfect! Sunny. Clear skies. High 75
We started the day with a hike near the campground on a nature trail. The second hike was a steep climb up to the park’s fire tower, the highest point in the park.
Then, we started our scenic highway trips around Custer State Park.
We saw quite a bit of wildlife again today: lots and lots of prairie dogs, several bison, another coyote and deer.
The highlight was a small herd of big-horned sheep…
We stopped for a picnic lunch at the visitor center. Lovely fall colors…
Hike #3 was around this beautiful lake…
Then, our scenic highway adventures began. First was Iron Mountain Road. It is a 14-mile “road” that includes 360 curves (we counted them!), 32 switchbacks and two tunnels. At several points, I had to stop to allow oncoming cars to pass. I had to put our side mirrors in to avoid hitting others’. We barely squeezed through some…
If that weren’t enough, we then drove Needles Highway. I think the two highways vie for the scariest stats – 17 miles with 314 curves, 3 tunnels, 3 pigtails (when the road does a corkscrew and turns over itself on a bridge), and views of 4 Presidents!
We saw Mount Rushmore from afar, on a peak along Needles…
Finally, we actually drove right by the monument
We did hike #4 around another pristine lake. At points, it was a bit rocky.
To celebrate the fact that we survived both highways and that we hiked a total of 6 miles, we stopped at Mount Rushmore Brewery at the end of the day. It is in the town of Custer, a very touristy place, but the brewery was nice.
DINNER: Back at the campsite, George built another great fire. We grilled hamburgers. I baked some TakeNBake buns in the oven. (These are great for traveling as I can keep them in the freezer and pull them out when we need them.) The meat was from one of the Harvest Host farms where we stayed a few weeks ago. Excellent. One side was fried potatoes. A few days ago when we had electricity, I baked some potatoes in the microwave and wrapped them in aluminum foil. Tonight, I thickly sliced them and lightly cooked them in a little oil on a skillet over the campfire. They are so much easier to saute when they have already been baked. Another side was cucumbers and tomatoes with a pesto dressing.
