Black Hills to the Badlands (With a Stop at Wall Drug)

This morning we headed out of Three Flags RV Park, our base for exploring the Black Hills, and drove east on I-90 to Wall, SD. That small town's claim to fame is Wall Drug Store. It's one of those roadside America tourist traps that we felt we had to stop at--just to say we had. It's a collection of departments--actually separate stores--that offer everything the tourist could possibly want, and lots that the kids might want too. Everything is crowded with merchandise and customers. Mostly it's in the "wonderfully tacky" category, but Ken did manage to find a belt he couldn't resist (actually Ken has seldom met a belt he could resist).

We left Wall and drove east on I-90 and then south into the Badlands on Hwy 240. We stopped along the way at Cedar Pass Lodge to see our friends, Steve and Jan Spaulding. They're workkamping in the park, and they invited us to park (for free) in one of the full hookup sites next to them that are not being used. The views are lovely, and the price can't be beat.

It's very hot and windy here. Our friends say it's hotter this year than last. They brought over some frozen margaritas to take the edge off the heat. We got a chance to visit for a while and made some plans for tomorrow. They're the experts here, so we're taking their advice on what to see.
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Wind Cave and Wildlife

Today we visited Wind Cave National Park, the first national park to preserve a cave system. The cave is unique because it contains 95% of the world's boxwork, an unusual calcite formation.




















We went on the two-hour Natural Entrance Tour, which includes 350 steps (mostly down). Our tour guide was ranger April. This is her third season here. She told us about doing some caving on her day off (16 hours crawling through caves). She found a wonderful room full of frostwork, which looks like icy crystals. She realized that she was the first human being to have seen this room. Much of Wind Cave remains unexplored.

After the tour we watched the park video, which emphasizes that Wind Cave has both an above-ground world and an underground world, both of which the Park Service is dedicated to preserving.

After looking through the exhibits, we picnicked near the Visitor Center and then headed out to drive part of the Custer State Park Wildlife Loop. We saw bison and pronghorns and prairie dogs.

We did come upon one unusual "animal jam"--a group of begging burros. They are not native to the Black Hills, but were introduced to carry tourists up Harney Peak.

We also stopped to hike a short loop trail along the Rankin Ridge to the fire tower. Along the way we were warned of rattlesnakes, but we actually saw only least chipmunks playing in the rocks. The panoramic view of the surrounding ponderosa pine forest and short-grass prairie was impressive. We got more understanding of the role of fire in limiting the spread of the forest into the prairie. One of the reasons this is important is that trees require more water than grasses, so forests tend to deplete local streams--not to mention that it deprives many prairie animals of habitat.

Fire also thins dog-hair thickets (small, closely spaced pine trees) and makes room for forbs (broad leaf plants), the preferred diet of many prairie dwellers, like prairie dogs. (See how travel enriches your vocabulary!)

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Rapid City

We drove into Rapid City again today, this time mainly to do our laundry. We went to Laundry World, and it turned out to be another unusual laundry experience. We were greeted on entry and given lots of info about the machines and directed to the free detergent. Signs indicate that it is provided mainly for environmental reasons (it doesn't contain fillers, and the five-gallon buckets it comes in are recycled), but they also mention that this detergent has less tendency to clog washing machine parts. This was also the first laundromat we've ever encountered with tanning beds and an espresso bar.

While we were there, one of the forecast scattered thunderstorms hit and cut the power for a few minutes. It knocked out traffic lights, too. I dropped off our contributions to the imaginatively named Thrift Store nearby, including the large comforter we picked up for our guests to use in Yellowstone.

After the laundry was done, we drove to the Civic Center to visit the Berlin Wall Memorial. Two large segments of the wall, formerly near between Checkpoint Charlie, form the focal point of the memorial, which also includes two tank traps (welded sections of railroad track designed to stop tanks) and several information boards, including photos of East Germans attempting escape and being shot. I found the exhibit very moving.

We walked around the memorial park, which includes a reflecting pond, rose gardens, a band shell, and a veterans memorial. The park was originally dedicated to the 238 victims of the flood of 1972, whose names are inscribed on a monument. Rapid Creek, the site of the flood, flows through the park.
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Mount Rushmore

Today we went to Mount Rushmore. This American icon has been part of our imagination since childhood, but we weren't sure how we'd feel seeing it in person. It didn't disappoint. The entire complex leading visitors in to view the monument is impressive, starting with a colonnade of state and territory flags.

We went to the Sculptor's Studio for a ranger talk about the process of creating a mountain sculpture. One key was designing scale models and then using a pointing system to transfer the dimensions to the mountain.

As we walked around the Presidential Trail, we came upon this mountain goat just strolling along the edge of the path.

After we left Mount Rushmore we drove to Hill City to meet some fellow Escapee Boomers for lunch at the Alpine Inn. It was our first opportunity since we joined the Boomers last November to actually get together with some, rather than just lurking in the online forum. The group of fourteen boomers included many who spend time regularly in this area. We met some interesting and high energy people, and the food was great. We shared a Reuben sandwich and German potato salad and saved room for dessert. We were glad we did. The restaurant is known for its bread pudding, and justly so. It melted in our mouths, along with some vanilla ice cream.

After lunch we drove to Sylvan Lake. We took the Lake Shore Trail, a one-mile loop around the lake. We had some spectacular views of the granite spires rising up from the lake. Parts of the trail require some rock scrambling. We got to watch a young woman getting a lesson in mountain climbing, scaling a sheer rock cliff. By the time we finished the hike, it was getting late, and we decided to go home and revisit Custer State Park later.

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Museum of Geology

We decided on a low key day today. Our only outing was to the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Museum of Geology in Rapid City. The museum occupies the top floor of the O'Harra Building, which also houses the registrar and other administrative offices.

We weren't sure what to expect, but we were very impressed. We saw an extensive collection of specimens of unusual, colorful, and varied rocks, minerals, and gems, as you might expect. What we didn't expect was a great collection of fossils, including large dinosaurs and oreodonts and huge fish.

We observed some families touring the museum, with kids who were clearly excited by the exhibits--especially the fossils.
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Buffalo to Black Hawk

Today we moved from Buffalo to Three Flags RV Park near Rapid City, our base for exploring the Black Hills area. On the way we decided to stop at Devils Tower National Mounument, which featured in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. We did the 1.3 mile hike around the base of the monolith, which offers some spectacular views of the tower and of the surrounding terrain.

One interesting feature of the monument is a large black tailed prairie dog town. Although signs forbid feeding the critters, they are clearly accustomed to people and seem to expect handouts. We learned a lot about the complex social organization of prairie dogs. For example, they "kiss" as a gesture of kin recognition. Millions used to live all over the great plains, but now they are confined to a few preserves, having been poisoned and shot and otherwise exterminated over much of their range. Evidently some people still consider prairie dog shooting great "sport."

We had a long trip today anyhow, and the diversion to Devils Tower led us into a long road construction delay. Then we drove through Hulett, which was the long, though scenic way from the tower to our campground. When we got to Rapid City, our GPS had old data. The freeway exits have been changed, and the placement of the campground on the map was incorrect (in the truck GPS, our Droids, and Google maps). We wandered a bit before we found the campground. It's very near the interstate and railroad tracks, so there's traffic noise, but the people are very friendly and the sites are grassy and well kept.

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Cody to Buffalo

Sounds like Buffalo Bill ought to be in there somewhere, doesn't it? Buffalo Bill looms larger than life (literally) in Cody and the surrounding area, with extensive museums and displays. We found ourselves more inclined to hit the road and make some progress towards the Black Hills, which is our next destination.

We chose the safer, easier southern route from Cody to Buffalo, avoiding Highway 14A, which we had been warned is too steep and winding for RVs. So we headed out of Cody on Hwy 16/20 towards Greybull. Google Maps measured the trip at 182 miles and about 3 hrs. and 18 mins. We always add some to the time estimate because we generally travel a bit slower, stop every hour to stretch, and stop for lunch--plus we stop at overlooks and points of interest (no sense rushing through life). So the trip today took about 5 hrs. and 40 mins.

We stopped in Ten Sleep to eat lunch and walk around the town. It was named because it was ten days' travel (ten sleeps) from Fort Laramie and/or some other major points (depending on whose account you credit). The drive from Ten Sleep to Buffalo is known as the Cloud Peak Skyway. It starts by climbing through Ten Sleep Canyon, with switchbacks and spectacular views. The route ascends to the 9,666' Powder River Pass before descending to Buffalo.

The scenery is spectacular, and the steep mountain switchbacks made me very glad to have a great transmission and engine, as we used our manual shift feature to do most of the braking for us. On the way up we twice got behind a very old, slow moving truck, belching black smoke, and hauling an RV. The truck looked like a large hijacked white panel truck, with neon hippie signs and writing on one side.

While I was driving, Ken saw a dead elk by the road, evidently the victim of a hit and run driver. We didn't see much other wildlife, except for lots of birds and grasshoppers. One highlight of the drive was Meadowlark Lake, created by a CCC dam, a blue gem nestled among the green of the trees.
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On the Road Again

We left St. George with Dennis and Cheryl on May 31 and spent three weeks in the Utah Parks. After a brief interlude in Salt Lake City, we spent nearly four weeks in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. It was with some regret that we left those beautiful places this morning and headed out the east entrance road towards Cody.

Along the way we ran into our last "animal jam." A grizzly bear had walked across the road and down a hillside to Yellowstone Lake. We joined the group of people watching it from the side of the road, but that bear had decided to take a rest. Ken got a shot of its ear, but that's pretty near all we got to see. We decided to move on, telling ourselves that we've already seen a much more interesting bear (the mom with two cubs). We did get to admire lots of lovely wildflowers along the roadside.

Use your imagination and you may be able to spot the bear's ear....

The road wound up to the Sylvan Pass, with switchbacks and sheer dropoffs and plenty of dramatic scenery.

As we neared Cody, we stopped to visit the Buffalo Bill Dam and Visitor Center on the Shoshone River. It was a lovely place to eat lunch, and we enjoyed looking down the face of the dam 350 feet to the river below.

As we ate, we heard and saw a personal watercraft on the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. My first thought was that at least some places are still wild and Yellowstone Lake doesn't have any personal watercraft zooming around.
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Back to Hayden Valley

We hung around the campground again today. We spent some time trying to figure out what is wrong with our charging system. We decided that we really need to get the batteries up to 100%, so we changed our departure date to tomorrow.

To get a reservation in Cody, we needed to find someplace with cell service. The nearest happens to be the Hayden Valley, so we combined a run to make phone calls with an opportunity to look for wildlife. We joined the crowd at our regular overlook and set up the spotting scope. we were rewarded with a view of a coyote running back and forth along the edge of the river, in the tall grass, perhaps hunting birds. People said they had seen a black wolf cub earlier, but it was not in view while we were there.

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Not Much Happening

We had a quiet day relaxing today. All our company has left, and we decided we needed a break from sightseeing. We did do the laundry. And we saw some dramatic skies.

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More Waterfalls

Troy and Rebecca and Cathy got up very early and came over to Fishing Bridge to take showers before heading to the Lamar Valley to fish. Meanwhile, we slept in. Communications are rather difficult, since cell phone reception is spotty at best. After a while we got a text-to-email from Rebecca inviting us to join them in the Lamar Valley.

We packed lunch and headed out, only to run into the bison jam, again. One walked only a few feet from the truck, and I got a good shot of its flank, about shoulder to hip.... (I'd publish it, but Ken deleted it immediately.)

After some misadventures, we finally met up with Rebecca and Cathy. Troy was still down on the river fishing. We headed for Yellowstone Picnic Area (near the Tower Junction) to eat lunch. Troy caught up with us after a few minutes. He showed off a photo of a beautiful cutthroat trout he had caught (photos are all you can keep, since Yellowstone has a catch and release policy).

Next we went to Tower Falls and then Artist Point to view the Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. At that point, Troy decided to fish a while in the Yellowstone River while Rebecca and Cathy came over to visit. Cathy and her grandpa played chess again. Cathy is a persistent and good natured chess player, despite being cut no slack by Ken.

Troy caught four fish before coming to join us for dinner. Then we all went over to Bridge Bay for a campfire and s'mores. Troy built a great fire and we all sat by it and talked until it was ready to cook marshmallows. We talked about Cathy's ambition to be an anime artist and to move to Japan. We talked about Troy's experiences growing up on a farm in North Dakota.

Finally it was time to say good night and goodbye for now. They will be leaving early in the morning. Troy will try to make the whole trip in one day--he has a business that needs his attention. Rebecca and Cathy might or might not make the trip in one day.
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Our Day With Cathy

After our late night last night, we slept in this morning, so we got a late start. We walked over to the Visitor Center to look at all the stuffed birds in the museum. We had seen some black and white water birds yesterday, and we found two possibilities: Barrow's Goldeneyes or Buffleheads. Then we walked down to the beach and looked at Yellowstone Lake. Cathy made friends with two Bichons, Jackson and Thunder.

Then we walked over towards the Fishing Bridge. Just as we approached, we saw a ranger-led hike in progress and joined it. One of the things we got to see was a closed campground and the space where many tourist cabins were removed to make room for critical grizzly habitat. The Visitor Center, service station, general store, and other buildings were kept, along with Fishing Bridge RV Park--largely because of protests from the people of Cody who depended on the tourist business. The strip of buildings including the general store has been pointed out as a good example of "National Park Strip Mall" architecture.

After lunch, we went to LeHardy's Rapids to see the White Pelicans fishing. Cathy was enthralled by the birds and the river.

We next drove north towards Hayden Valley so Cathy could see the bison herd there. We got to see more than we had expected--a major bison jam had developed. Groups of bison were crossing the road, back and forth from one side to the other. Bison were wallowing, and some appeared a bit agitated. We noticed lots of smoke blowing over the valley and wondered if the scent of the fire was making the bison anxious.

Cathy craning her neck to see the bison herd

Cathy had made a special request for her Grandpa's burgers, so he and Cathy got the grill out and set it up and set up the table. Cathy helped gather firewood for a campfire tomorrow at Bridge Bay. She and Ken played a couple of games of chess.

We waited to hear from Rebecca and Troy and meanwhile got everything ready for dinner. At 7 p.m. we went ahead and ate, keeping burgers warm for the travelers.

Troy and Rebecca had spent the day on a guided fly fishing trip. Rebecca was excited to catch her first fish. Troy got sunburned knees. They had a great time and then headed back to the KOA in West Yellowstone to pick up their camping gear and headed towards their new campsite at Bridge Bay. They got caught in road construction delays and then in a major bison jam, so it was very late when they arrived at Fishing Bridge to eat their burgers and pick up Cathy.
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Old Faithful Again (With Rebecca and Cathy and Troy)

We drove over to Old Faithful this morning, this time to meet Rebecca and Cathy and Troy. They had arrived the night before and were staying in West Yellowstone, so Old Faithful was a good mid-point rendezvous. The geyser was due to erupt about 45 minutes after we arrived, so we went to the Visitor Center and looked through the gift shop. After we watched Old Faithful do its thing, we decided to drive south to Grant Village. Troy left us to go fly fishing in the Madison River.

Grant Village has accommodations, stores, and a visitor center, but no nearby attraction. It was built to provide a tourist area that would not impact the thermal features and critical habitat of Yellowstone. We went to the Visitor Center, which has a display on the role that fire plays in the park. The big fire of 1988, which burned over 30% of the park, is featured.

Right now there is a small fire burning, just seven miles southwest of Bridge Bay. Management has decided to suppress this fire, perhaps because it might threaten infrastructure and people in the Bridge Bay area. We've seen the smoke and heard the helicopters overhead.

At the gift store, Cathy found a sketch book. She's a budding artist and enjoys sketching wildlife, so it was a perfect find for her.

We went to the grill at the General Store for lunch. The menu is rather limited, but we enjoyed our burgers and chicken breast sandwiches.

Then we went to the porch of the Visitor Center for a ranger talk on the wildlife of Yellowstone. The program was on the bison, and a large bison hide was the featured display. When the talk was over, the ranger asked if there were any volunteers to roll up the heavy hide and carry it back into the Visitor Center. Cathy volunteered and had the hide rolled up and slung over her shoulder in record time.

Cathy exploring Lake Yellowstone

Cathy rolling up the bison hide

Cathy is interested in waterfalls, so we asked the rangers where the nearest waterfall was. It turned out to be Lewis Falls, a few miles south, where the Lewis River crosses the South Entrance Road.

Rebecca and Cathy share a laugh

Intrepid Cathy explores a log jam below the falls

On the way home, we stopped at the West Thumb Geyser Basin. It was once the premier attraction of the park, but has since been eclipsed by the Old Faithful area. We joined a ranger-led hike and learned a lot about the area. The famous Fishing Cone is located here. Anglers used to "hook and cook" here, swinging their catch into the hot spring to cook it, and then picnicking nearby. Unfortunately, the water contains arsenic, and the practice has been long discontinued. We saw the "Black Pool," which is actually a lovely teal blue now. The original cyanobacteria have been supplanted by white ones, which reflect the blue sky.

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Chris and Annie Fly Back to Portland

Today was our last day with Chris and Annie. We got up at 7:00 a.m., figuring we had plenty of time to make an 11:50 a.m. flight from West Yellowstone.

Chris made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, and we packed our last apples and some chips and bananas. For breakfast we fixed fried potatoes and tofu scrambler. Chris found a recipe online and made the tofu while I fixed the potatoes. We ate our last grapefruit, leaving the fruit bowl empty and the produce drawer nearly so.

We all worked on the dishes--Annie dried. Our timing was working out well. We drove away from the campsite at 9:08 a.m. We were slowed down by people watching bison (Chris reminds us that the average visit to Yellowstone is 1.9 days--these are probably the first bison they have seen. Annie says, "Bison, meh!") We saw a large herd of bison on the west side of the road in Hayden Valley. A little further on we came to another traffic stop--but this time it was a wolf, the white alpha female from the Canyon pack. She loped across the road about 20 feet in front of our truck, then stopped and looked back. We figured she must be waiting for her pups, and when they didn't show, she finally went back up the hill and disappeared in the sage. we didn't have time to stop and wait for more, but Ken got some good shots. We were all very happy to have seen a wolf at close quarters, rather than through high powered scopes.

It was Sunday morning, so we figured (hoped) that the road construction on the Norris to Madison leg of the trip would be halted, or at least restricted. No such luck. We were stopped by flaggers twice. The first time was only a few minutes, but the second was over 40 minutes. We were figuratively chewing our fingernails. Would we make it to the airport in time?

We parked at the airport exactly one half hour before the flight. Chris walked up to the desk, checked his large suitcases, and got boarding passes for him and Annie. The lady at the counter said, "Are you Anara?" When Annie said yes, the lady asked how old, and Annie said 11. At this age, she didn't need a photo ID. We all hurried to the restroom, emerging just in time for the call to go to the TSA screening. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Just time for a final kiss and hug, and away they went.

We did our grocery shopping, getting enough fruit and produce to last the week, we hope. Then we headed back towards Fishing Village. This time we had much shorter delays. We stopped at a picnic area and ate our lunch along the Madison River. An elk was eating on the steep slope across the river.

When we came to a turnoff marked, "Virginia Cascades" we took it, not knowing what we would find. It was a winding road along a canyon, with steep dropoffs and no railings most of the way. Suddenly we came to a wonderful sight--a steep whitewater cascade down the rocks as the Gibbon River tumbled into the canyon.

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