Rolling Along With The Reynolds

Jim and Cindy's Adventure Blog traveling all over the USA

Travel Blog

Where the Buffalo Roam

Leaving Hot Springs, SD, we headed back North through the Wind Cave National Park, which then connected to the lower loop of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway in Custer State Park, specifically the Lower Wildlife Loop Road.  

It happily was an Open House weekend for the Park, so admission was free!

As every day so far has brought it’s own powerful emotions, this was no exception:

  • Sadness over the devastating loss of so many trees in the park due to an infestation of mountain pine beetles.
  • Excitement and wonder over spotting such a variety of wildlife – pronghorns, mountain goats, prairie dogs, mule deer, bighorn sheep, white tailed deer, and of course the start of the show was bison (it’s baby season!)
  • Overwhelmed with the vastness of the BIG SKY.

 

“You’re not supposed to drive here at 60 miles an hour. To do the scenery half justice, people should drive 20 or under; to do it full justice, they should get out and walk.” 
 – Peter Norbeck 

Tatanka is the Lakota word for bison. 

 

Custer State Park – Bison

 

Moccasin Gap Natural Mineral Springs Spa

Cold Bones? Sore Muscles? In need of relaxation?  We found a place to remedy all three: the historical natural warm spring Spa in the picturesque town of Hot Springs, SD.  Today’s weather was far different than yesterday’s snowy weather. It was still on the chilly side, however the sun shone the majority of the time and it was wonderful to soak in the rays and the warm water.

The history of this place goes back to the founding of the city…{write more here…..]

After our morning to luxuriate, we enjoyed a delicious lunch of South Dakota Waygu burgers, alongside a serving of Black Truffle and Parmesan Popcorn at the very popular on-site restaurant called Buffalo Dreamer. Too bad we couldn’t stay into the afternoon to further pamper ourselves with a massage at this place, but it was time to move on and head into Custer State Park.

 www.moccasinsprings.com

www.BuffaloDreamer.com

 

South Dakota Air and Space Museum

It snowed! We weren’t expecting that! Located just outside the main gate of Ellsworth Air Force Base, we did the outdoor air park filled with WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Cold War, and present day aircraft. This includes the currently flown B-1B Lancer. Would’ve stayed a bit longer at the museum, but the weather forced Cindy to run back to a dry and warm car while Jim finished touring the aircraft by his lonesome. Bonus side trip: a swing over to the Barber Shop across the street so Jim could get a proper well-executed military haircut.

Pics: it snowed at Air and Space

Mt. Rushmore

Snow came and went all day long. One minute it’d be cloudy and then snowing, the next you’d get to see a peek of the bright sunshine.
Mount Rushmore is an impressive tribute to freedom and democracy in America. The granite sculpture of 60 foot faces of four U.S Presidents who played an integral role in the birth, expansion, development and preservation of the nation: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. 
Seeing the exhibits about how the carvings were actually executed was fascinating. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum was a brilliant man.

Album of Black Hills – Mt. Rushmore

Sylvan Lake and the Needles Hwy

This portion of the day was by far the most breathtaking and my favorite. Driving the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, we did the Upper 70 mile loop. Several one lane tunnels, and bridges, and numerous wildlife kept me gasping at every turn. Sylvan Lake was beautiful. I have no doubt that this scenery inspired some of the imaginary worlds of the game “Myst”.  I wish we had had more time to linger and take more of the trails around the lake. This location is one that I hope to do a return visit.

Hopping back in the car, we continued on to traverse the Needles Highway. It was mind numbing scenery of surreal looking rocks, and many tight and twisty curves. Just what I love!  Bighorn sheep were spotted here.

Sylvan and Needles

 

An Alien World 

What better way to illustrate a foreign landscape than with a tutu pic!

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First up today was a somber visit to the MinuteMan Missile National Historic Site. “The only value in our two nations possessing nuclear weapons is to make sure they will never be used“, President Ronald Reagan. It was a MAD World (Mutually Assured Destruction).  It was an emotionally charged 60 minutes there.

Next up was the much anticipated Badlands National Park. This post is still in draft, as I’ve got to incorporate all of Jim’s stunning pics he took himself on his phone, but I’m so thrilled to share our sights today.  Panoramic scenery, Prairie Dogs, Bighorn Sheep, baby cows (awwww, they’re so cute!), cold cold winds, cloudy for the most part, but that didn’t damper it’s beauty whatsoever. This place shines bright.

 

Badlands Natl Park pics 
 UPDATED and current! 

 

 

Nomad’s View

What a trippy place. This was extreme boondocking; camping on BLM lands in the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands (bordering the Badlands National Park) in what is known as “Nomad’s View”.  The plan was to stay at this surreal spot for 5-6 days. We lasted one. One. But what a ride!!
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First up, I wanted to see the sunrise over the Badlands. I was up at 4:30 AM (yes, it’s true, I really did get my butt up at that time!) and was surprised to already see blue sky. The actual sun rose at 5:19 AM, with the moon still out. Look for the dot above “Lois”. It was beautiful, and the birds couldn’t agree more; such pretty songbirds chirping excitedly.
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I guess the birds knew something we didn’t, foreshadowing this days’ big surprise. We were packed with snacks and hiking boots and almost ready to make a day trip out into the deep Badlands. Within minutes however, the winds came. And I mean 50+ mph winds. Being parked on the edge of the cliff was a bit unsettling, and in fact became quite concerning when a fast friend made last night texted saying the Ranger suggested it was safer to stay put than move. Terror didn’t quite take hold of us, but we were both shaken (literally too). We rode it out for four hours until the wind had reduced sustained speeds of 25. Thank goodness the direction we parked had our nose almost directly head-on into the winds. Not so for other campers along the wall; I was so afraid of seeing someone get blown over (and possibly roll down over the cliff of which there’s been several accounts). Lots of them left much earlier than we did, but they could afford to since not being in as high-profile a box as our coach. We made the decision to leave as well, but needed to wait till we felt safe enough to turn broad side and high tail it outta there!
And that’s exactly what we did; managed to get back to the town of Wall and camp in civilization and safety.
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So our evening was spent at the not-to-be-missed WALL DRUG. A nice escape/distraction from earlier hours. What a blessing to experience this day and be in the wonders of God’s nature/wrath and come out safe, sound, and in wondrous awe.

 Camping on THE WALL pics