Six Weeks/14 Parks
2008
We don’t care what gas costs!
The Wildlife Loop
The Iron Mountain Road
Mt. Rushmore National Monument
Badlands National Park
Wall Drug!!!!
CUSTER STATE PARK, SD II
Merry, Sean and Ciaran got up really early again to drive the nearby Wildlife Loop. They were rewarded with sightings of elk, wild donkey, antelope, mule deer, white-tailed deer and buffalo (of course). They got some great shots. Here are just a few.
At around 7:30, we all left to go see Mt. Rushmore. Early is a necessity for seeing these kind of sites because they get really crowded by 11:00. We took the Iron Mountain Rd, SD-16A, which has some more of those scenic vistas with the one-lane tunnels. Very cool.
8/9/08
We were done at Mt. Rushmore by 11:30, but we really didn’t want to go back to the campground yet. So we decided to take a ride to Badlands NP, about a 90 minute drive. It was quite an adventure! We saw some scenic sites, (especially Scenic, SD)!
Badlands National Park is amazing, a real eye-opener. The rock formations are stark and startling, yet there are breathtaking areas of color, yellows, oranges and purples. It’s too hot to camp there in the summer, but fall must be fantastic.
OK, for everyone I told that there was no way I was going to Wall Drug, SD, that it was just a tourist trap, blah, blah, blah, well, a picture speaks a thousand words. I’m such a tourist! I mean, it is right next to the Badlands NP.
One last campfire before we start to really head back. In Cheyenne and Denver, we’re staying in motels, so this is our last night of camping. We reminisced about what an amazing trip it’s been. We’re going to try to make a list of our favorites, bests and worsts, before get on the plane. We’ve seen some pretty amazing things, but if it wasn’t for Merry and Aislinn planning way back last fall, we would never have made the trip at all. Hats off to them!
