Tuesday, October 18, 2016

South Dakota Road Trip - Day 4

This was the day we migrated from Rapid City to Custer State Park.  After a leisurely morning spent having breakfast and coffee at Alternative Fuel Coffee House then walking around downtown one last time, we packed up the car and checked out.

Gardener's quiche and vanilla latte at Alternative Fuel.  Yummy!  On a scale of 1 to 10, I gave it a 12.
A great little coffee shop/eatery in downtown Rapid City
We ate by the window and watched as a local walk-a-thon was kicked-off
There they go
We took a stroll down Art Alley before leaving town
A crazy, beautiful jumble of graffiti art
Homer is contemplating hard
Wonderful
Farewell to "The Comanche Chief" in the hotel lobby

Custer State Park is southwest of Rapid City, and it was about an hour's drive to the Sylvan Lake area where we were staying.  Upon arrival we checked in at the lodge and then drove around to the cabins.

I love it out here
One of several tunnels in and around the park
The winding road as seen from the lodge where we checked in
Our lodging for the next 3 nights
Bedroom #1
Bathroom
The living room looking toward the bathroom
Kitchen and dining and 2nd bedroom
Bedroom #2


The cabin was even better than expected.  Note that we certainly weren't roughing it - all cabins had daily housekeeping service and the kitchen was stocked with pots and pans, dishes, towels, sponges and detergent; all we had to provide was the food.  At night the weather was just right to open the windows and snuggle down under the warm covers in the fresh, cool night air.  Custer has several different cabin locations/options, but we thought this location next to Sylvan Lake was the best - we weren't disappointed.

We unpacked and freshened up then drove back over to the lodge for lunch.  There weren't many people there as it was nearing the end of the season, so the 5 or 6 occupied tables in the dining hall were all clustered at one end near the large windows.  We were seated there as well and enjoyed a nice, if not particularly memorable, lunch.

After lunch we decided to tour Wind Cave National Park which was south of us.  We had the option to drive through Custer State Park which would take about 1 1/2 hours, or take a more direct route bypassing the park.  We would have chosen the first option, but it was already around 2pm and we didn't want to miss the last tour of the day.  So we took the direct route outside the park and arrived 40-45 minutes later.  We chose the natural entrance tour, and there were 2 tours left that day.

Wind Cave is so named because the one and only natural entrance to the cave is a small hole.  Wind will blow in or out of this hole depending on the respective air pressures inside and outside the cave.  The natural entrance tour starts at this hole where a Park Ranger details the history of the discovery of the cave, then everyone has to crawl down through the hole to...

Just kidding.  They constructed a pressurized chamber nearby (and some of the steepest, darkest stairs I have ever seen) to get people down below the ground.

Local fauna, the prairie dog is found all over the Wind Cave park land and surrounding areas.  Populations grew due to a missing piece of the ecosystem:  In 2007 the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Department reintroduced the rare black-footed ferret (which is a natural predator of the prairie dog) to the area.  I believe I read that one ferret can eat up to one hundred prairie dogs each year.
The little guy above was a display in the Wind Cave visitor center.
Three years ago I took this photo of a tree while waiting for the cave tour to start.
He's looking a little dead now :(
Mom and Shirley waiting for the Park Ranger to start the tour
The only natural entrance to the cave (the small, dark, vertical hole in the center right of the photo)
Boxwork - a very rare cave formation.  Wind Cave is home to the vast majority of boxwork specimens in the world.  Wind cave is also one of the most complex caves in the world - the 143 miles of known cave is layered/stacked and fits under just a single square mile of land.


Next up after the cave tour was a late afternoon/evening visit to Mount Rushmore, which is not far from where we stayed in Custer State Park.

On the way to Mount Rushmore - driving past the Crazy Horse monument.  We'll visit there tomorrow.
Too close!
Mount Rushmore
Framed
Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln
The amphitheater.  We'll come back here later for the lighting ceremony.
Earth and sky
A trail circles from the visitor center to the base of the memorial, to the sculptor's workshop, then back to the visitor center
Following us wherever we go
Stairs...lots of stairs.  Luckily it's mostly going downhill.
Come on Todd





Chipmunks are everywhere here - by the cabin, by the lake, on the trail...and here by the road at the visitor center.
Dusk arrives in hues of amber, pink & purple
Dinner in the on-site restaurant followed by ice cream.  "Todd, hold the ice cream so it looks like I'm licking it"...
...missed it by that much.
As night fell, the memorial disappeared into darkness with it.  The lighting ceremony started with a presentation by a Park Ranger, then a short but substantial film about Mount Rushmore.  At the dramatic end of the film the Presidents were illuminated with floodlights, making them appear to float in space behind the amphitheater.
After the lighting, all active-duty and retired military personnel were invited to the stage for the flag-lowering ceremony
Then the Park Ranger took the microphone to each service member and one by one they gave their name, rank, unit and branch of service.  It took a while, but it's very moving.  A lengthy standing ovation followed.  One of the highlights of the trip.


After we filed out of the amphitheater we took a quick turn through the gift shop then back to the car and back to the cabin for the night.

Coming up in the next post:  Sylvan Lake and the Crazy Horse monument.  See you soon!

2 comments:

  1. Loved this post! You've captured our area well!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Michaela, I can't wait to go back there!

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