Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, and Crazy Horse Memorial
Day 27: Thursday, July 25, 2019
We had planned to get out by 7 am and despite the late
night, we were successful—Sean was pleased! We got on the road early for our
longest travel day yet. We got out of West Yellowstone about 10 miles and came
upon a little traffic jam for a black bear on the side of the road—exciting!
We stopped at Qdoba for lunch, and as we were getting
close to our destination we finally
saw some bighorn sheep—yay, my life is complete!!
We were driving right by so we made a quick stop at Jewel
Cave for information. We had heard that Wind Cave closed unexpectedly the week
before and Jewel Cave was another local alternative. It seemed like it was
going to be a big pain to get the tickets so we decided it was probably not
going to happen, unfortunately. We arrived at the Mount Rushmore KOA around 6 pm—it is a Resort KOA which means it has a lot more amenities and were
all really happy with it!
Once we got set up, the kids explored the activities like
the jumping pillow and waterslide. We had a quick dinner of salmon, rice, and
vegetables and then called it a night to be ready for the next day’s
adventures.
Day
28: Friday, July 26, 2019
I woke up early enough to get in a short run. It was a
super hilly route no matter what direction I went so I only got a little over 2
miles in before coming back for Kinsey and adding another mile throughout the
campground. Then both kids and I walked down to the horse stables to say good
morning to the horses.
As we were headed out to the Badlands, we drove right by Mount Rushmore and saw that it
was not crowded at all so we decided to make a quick stop. We grabbed the kids’
junior ranger books and took some pics in front of the mountain—impressive even
with having to stay back a bit due to construction.
We arrived at Badlands National Park, and as in all the national parks, Sean
used our national parks pass. We are so happy for this wonderful gift that
Grandma Terri gave us last Christmas—such an awesome gift and one we are
getting plenty of good use from!!
Sean had printed the kids’ junior ranger books ahead of
time since the one visitor center in Badlands is at the opposite end of the
park from where we entered (smart man!). We got to the visitor center, watched
a movie about the park, and checked out the paleontology lab—very cool!
Next the kids turned in their junior ranger books and got
sworn in. They also received a different paleontology junior ranger book that
we might try to complete and send in for yet another different badge. We found
a spot for a picnic lunch and we realized it was in the ranger housing area and
we probably shouldn’t have been there—whoops!
Though it was
very hot and sunny by mid-day, we headed out to do a few small hikes. The first
was the Window Trail, which was a very short boardwalk to views into the canyon
and its rock formations. Next was the longer Notch Trail which was a more
rugged hike involving some climbs through loose rock area, walking on a narrow
path next to cliffs, and climbing up a log ladder. We made it to the lookout,
took some photos, and climbed on some of the rock formations. Barrett and I
were being daring but the loose rock and the heights were a little scarier than
we expected!
We made the trek
back on the trail and there was a bit of a traffic jam on the ladder back down
and on one of the other ways to go down so Sean found us another path and we
braved it. He kept reminding us it was no more difficult than the hikes we’ve
done coming down from Bachoco.
Hot and tired, we
exited the park and planned to make a stop at the infamous Wall Drug. I didn’t
know what to expect, but the signs all along the highway sure hyped it up! It
was fun to wander around, we bought a few souvenirs, took some pictures, and
enjoyed ice cream/floats at the soda counter.
We made it back
to the RV park and the kids were thrilled to have time to get on the
waterslide, play mini-golf, and play the giant checkers. We had a delicious
dinner of beef tacos and then sent the kids out for a little more playtime. We
read one of our new books, The Badlands: A to Z and then the kids went to bed!
Badlands Highlights
BDG-prairie dog town and climbing the rocks
KPG-prairie dog town and the bighorn sheep
EAG-prairie dog town and the vast views
SGG-Notch trail hike across the rocks
Day 29:
Saturday, July 27, 2019
We needed a sleep-in and get up when we wake up kind of
morning, so that meant 7 am for Sean and me and around 8 am for both kids. It
felt good to get some extra sleep, finally—I thought this was supposed to be a
vacation and we’ve been up super early almost every morning! We got ourselves
ready and went to the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, then everyone except
me ordered a different breakfast plate, go figure!
Next we got ready to drive to Custer State Park for the day. We arrived there
around 10:30 am, found another kindness rock (yay!!), checked out the visitor
center and watched a movie about the park. We made our way to the education
center to gather the junior naturalist books and see the children’s exhibits.
Then we drove along the 18-mile wildlife loop. We immediately saw the large
herd of bison and thought it was cool to see so many so close to our vehicle it
was a little different to see these guys that are more accustomed to humans and
cars than seeing them in the wild at Yellowstone. We also saw an antelope and
some mules along the route.
We finished the loop and made our way back to the education
center for a picnic lunch and one of the junior naturalist activities. They had
the “Bison Olympics” and the entire family was able to participate. The kids
showed some of their knowledge of bison/buffalo/tatanka (all acceptable names
for these animals!), learned some more, and then got to show their physical
skills in comparison to a buffalo. We all got into it and even tried to beat
the bison’s speed.
The kids were really enjoying the program so they wanted to
participate in the next survivalist workshop, so we went for a quick (but very
steep!!) hike behind the education center and then they were back in time for
the program. They discussed ways to be safe when hiking and then they went to
an area with a lot of different natural materials (logs, branches, etc) and
they had to create a shelter. It turns out that the 6 kids naturally grouped
themselves into 3 girls and 3 boys. The girls worked as a team and set right
out to complete the task. The boys started off OK, talking about what they
would do and what logs they needed, but then they got off track, each one doing
his own thing. Barrett was building a car with the logs, which I suppose could
be a shelter. In the last 2 minutes he realized that he should reconfigure it
and got the help of the other boys to quickly turn it into a semblance of a
shelter. It was a great exercise and fun to watch!
After all the junior ranger activities, the kids got sworn
in on a stage in front o f the other people in the education center—exciting!
We made our way to the camp store for some drinks and a few
souvenirs and then headed out of the park on the Needles Highway. This road is
notable for the tall mountain spires, or needles, that look very cool and that
some people climb (looks pretty scary!). We drove through a few mountain
tunnels and between two needles, which was fun!
We made it back to the campground around 4 pm in time for
the kids to have some playtime and get ready for tie-dying shirts. Kinsey has
been dying (pun intended!!) to create a tie-dye shirt since she saw the
activity at one of the other campgrounds. They both chose their design and we
helped them band and dye the shirts. It’s been many years since I’ve done
tie-dying and I was happy that someone else was responsible for the set up and
clean up!
We had a
quick dinner of chicken sausage, pasta salad, and peas before sending the kids
off to the glow dance party. They bought glow sticks and we helped fashion them
into arm, leg, and head bands. There was fun kids’ versions of pop music and
coordinated dances like the cha-cha slide, macarena, YMCA, and the limbo. At
first Barrett was shy about dancing and I was forced onto the dance floor with
him (yikes!), but he eventually got into a groove and showed his great dance
skills (he does actually have some great moves, definitely didn’t get that from
me!). Kinsey found some friends and I saw glimpses of the teenage years as she
didn’t want me to take photos of her or be near her at all! We called it
a night around 9:30 pm and the kids were pooped from all the dancing fun!
Day 30:
Sunday, July 28, 2019
I went out for a run around 7 am and found a wooded road
to shade me from some of the sun. It was very hilly at about 5500 feet of altitude
so it was not an easy 3 miles by any means! I got back to the RV and the kids
were still asleep so I had a little time for coffee and reading in peace.
Once everyone was up and ready to go, we headed out to
see the Crazy Horse Memorial. It was a much more impressive facility than I expected, with a
full museum of Indian artifacts, information on the carvings over the years and
plans for the future, and of course a viewing area to look at the carving
itself. We watched the film, explored the museum, and then watched a
traditional Lakota dance performance. It was very interesting and we were
really enlightened by the message of hope that pervaded the place.
We went to the Mt
Rushmore Brewing Company for some lunch and beers. It was a good brewery with
giant jenga, giant connect 4, and cornhole for the kids. Sean and I both got a
flight and sampled several of their beers and we had a yummy cheeseburger
pizza. Well fed and well hydrated, we headed back to the RV park for the
afternoon.
The plan was to
spend the afternoon at the KOA because they had several activities planned and
the kids really wanted to go on the waterslide again. They raced around the
activities all afternoon and made marshmallow guns and going on a wagon ride
shootout. We had a quick dinner of tacos in the pavilion and then played family
bingo. There were a lot more people than at the last place we played bingo, but
Sean was still able to get a win!
I wanted to see
Mt Rushmore lit up at night so we went back around 8 pm for the kids to turn in
their junior ranger books and see the lighting ceremony. It was a simple talk
with the military presentation of the flag followed by the singing of the
national anthem and the lighting of the carvings. It was really nice and I’m
glad we went!
Tomorrow the adventure continues!
BDG-seeing
it!
KPG-seeing
it at night
EAG-seeing
it lit up at night
SGG-seeing
it for the second time with my family
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