Vacation, All I Ever Wanted: Thursday, July 12, 2012

WARNING: This day was so amazing there are no words to describe it, yet I have used an extraordinary number of them trying to give you a glimpse of what we experienced. I apologize in advance for how long it will take you to read it. Perhaps you could read it in 15-minute intervals, taking a potty or snack break every so often.

Having gotten some much needed rest we headed to Custer State Park. We had no expectations for how long we would be gone, but we thought we would just go where the day took us. The 18-mile park was advertised to take about 45 minutes to complete.

Here we go….

We had passed billboards advertising “Bear Country USA” where you can view “wild” animals from the safety of your car. This type of “wild life” viewing didn’t really appeal to us. Sure, we wanted to see buffalo and prairie dogs, but we wanted spontaneous, unexpected experiences and not those staged for our enjoyment.

In addition, did you know that there are no bears in South Dakota? Apparently they were killed or driven out many years ago. So this begs the question, why advertise bear viewing when they don’t even live here?

So, we read that Custer State Park has a wild life “loop” you can drive where the animals that naturally live there roam freely and can be seen quite frequently from the road. We decided this was the excursion for us.

Before we continue, it’s important that you know that Tom and I have perpetuated the acceptable practice in our family of pronouncing the word “buffalo” as “BOOF-A-LOW”. It’s more fun than saying “buffalo” and they are both incorrect, being that buffalo are extinct and we are really looking for bison.

From here forward in this blog I must insist that as you read this in your head, you pronounce the word “buffalo” as “boofalow”. Thank you!

We entered the State Park at a little before 11 a.m. and immediately tried to spy us some boofalow and prairie dogs!

The drive was beautiful and we got some great pictures. The one’s I’ve shared here represent a very tiny fraction of the number we took.

We meandered through the forest for a brief time leaving the flat prairie behind us, and entered the Black Hills (so named for the black appearance of the spruce trees covering every surface). Though we saw a few nice antelope which were exciting in their own right, and took some cute pictures of Reese on the prairie, there were still no boofalow sightings.

So you can imagine our surprise as we approached a guard railed section of the road outside our window we saw (much closer than any of us could have imagined we would get)…you guessed it! A boofalow!

Now every sign clearly states not to approach the boofalow because they are highly dangerous. But what if they just appear 2 feet from your car out of nowhere?

Doris was none too thrilled, yet she was as excited as the rest of us.

We were as close as this picture depicts. The boofalow was completely unfazed by us. Apparently he’s been photographed before and doesn't see the big attraction.

With our first sighting under our belts we were completely fired up. The Ranger told us that there were reports of two herds wandering within sight of the road today so we changed to the telephoto lens on the camera and charged forward!

Tom said we would see the cars and onlookers before we would see the buffalo and he was right. We saw lots of cars pulled off to the side of the road and then saw for ourselves the hillside speckled with boofalow big and small!

It was amazing!

Boofalow families roamed without a care in our presence, tending to their young and grazing randomly over the terrain.

Yes, some people did get out of their cars, as did we, but all of us kept a safe and respectable distance…except one ridiculous lady who ventured out right toward a mom and baby. Big mistake! Thankfully nothing happened and she returned safely to her car, but we were shocked nonetheless.

We continued in awe viewing herds on both sides of the road. I can’t express how moving it was. We were fascinated and amazed by these enormous creatures that can outrun a horse and can weigh upwards of a ton.

The next time we saw cars stopped there was a different kind of animal but instead of this one ignoring us and acting aloof, these guys literally begged for our attention!

The burrows were so adorable how could I resist sharing a few crackers Doris had wisely suggested we take form the restaurant the night before. They were the perfect treat for our friend and when I ran out, so did his affections and he moved on to the next car.

I didn’t take it personally.

Before long Tom saw lots of little piles of sand peppering the prairie and hillside indicating that we had finally stumbled upon our prairie dog friends!

They were sharing space with another donkey community and yapping to each in what seemed like Morse code from hill to hill.

I took this opportunity to venture out and check out their little village. They were pretty brave until I got too close, sending them quickly into the safety of their underground homes.

I had a blast walking among them in this wide-open space!

Another side note here: before leaving for our trip I saw an article in Family Fun Magazine suggesting ideas for keeping kids engaged and happy on a long road trip. The article included the idea of using a jar to collect items throughout a trip, creating an instant souvenir.

I thought this was a great idea so I packed two mason jars and labeled one “Iowa” and one “South Dakota” since those were the two states we would be in the most.

This said, out on the prairie you see lots of things you would never see anywhere else, say for instance recycled grass. Turns out boofalow actually produce the stuff in enormous quantities.

I thought, “what more unique an item could I possibly find for Reese’s jar than this?” So, you guessed it, against everyone’s wishes I grabbed a nice piece of recycled grass and added it to the collection.

These jars are filled to the brim with lots of other items from our journey, but none as unique as my contribution!

We continued to have once in a lifetime experiences viewing amazing landscapes, deer, antelope, wild flowers, and so much more!!!

So now it’s late in the day since we thought we would be on this loop for an hour tops. It’s been about three plus.

I brought a picnic cooler for us to pack a lunch, but didn’t think to use it. Best intentions right? So here we are again, thoroughly happy and having a great time, as hunger pains start to surface.

We’re in a forest.

Luckily before too long we came upon a campground that also had a restaurant. We stopped in and had a great lunch.

Our waiter was very nice and shared with us that he had come out to SD from Connecticut two years ago as a seasonal worker.

We met so many nice people this day that I can’t write about all of them, but each one of them added to the enjoyment and magic of this day and we will always remember them fondly.

We left the restaurant/camp ground full and happy and headed back out onto the loop. We hadn’t gone far when we saw a little stream with a father and son mining for gold, professional mining pans and all.

Tom and Reese had been talking about panning for gold for months leading up to our trip so we decided to seize the opportunity and go back to the campground store to see if they sold any tools to help us out.

They didn’t, but we found some really cool souvenirs and some paper plates that would surely do the trick. That and I remembered we had a Frisbee in the van so we were all set!

All of us, including Grandma, got into the spirit of the adventure and proceeded into the perfect Norman Rockwellesq stream you’ve ever seen!

Apparently all you have to do is imagine something Grandma would never do, and she does it!

We joined the father and son team from Minnesota, all of us looking to make our fortunes! We soaked our toes in the cool water as little minnows swam around our legs, gobbling up any little water bugs our footsteps dredged up in their wake. They loved us!

We shared stories, great conversation, and lots and lots of shiny mica deposits. They could not have been worth any less than gold to us!

It was a totally unexpected diversion, just the kind we were hoping to loose ourselves in over the course of our vacation.

Leaving the stream behind but not our hopes for finding gold…eventually, we headed back out.

Now, I could try to describe the scenery here in the Black Hills, use big flourishing words to help you comprehend it, but you just have to be here. REALLY! You have to come here! Even these photos, though beautiful and awesome, could never do it justice.

We found an overlook and we scattered in all directions, each of us finding something fun in the woods. Doris found a remnant of a past fire, a stump that was charred down to the nub with burn marks on both sides. Unfortunately evidence of recent and past forest fires were everywhere. The good news is that nature repairs itself and the healing has already begun with little spruce and pine trees sprouting up everywhere.

Back in the car we filled our South Dakota jar with pine needles and sticks, then followed the winding road until we passed a little lake tucked int a valley in the middle of the woods. A scene out of the movie “A River Runs Through It”!

The day before when driving on the road behind Mt. Rushmore we saw some people swimming in a little pond just off the road. We vowed to pack our swimsuits and return, against Doris’ wishes (there was no sign saying you could swim there!).

In preparation I had packed our suits, but instead of that pond, divine intervention dropped a lake at our feet.

We pulled into the park, changed into our suits and hit the beach! Tom, Reese and I had fun in the very refreshingly chilly water, playing Frisbee and monkey in the middle (Monkey Love stayed safely in the car!), while Doris got a chair and her iPad and read on the beach.

It was perfect!!!!!!

Not wanting to leave but knowing we had to, we left this beautiful spot, thinking it could not get better than this! Silly us!

We headed toward Custer City looking for snacks and found a rock shop instead. Reese’s interest in rocks has resulted in a collection of literally hundreds of them amassed over the last 5 years or so.

Her collection includes rocks from London, Scotland, Paris, Pompeii & Cancun (thank you Mrs. Morrison!), New Zealand, Mt. Everest (yes, I said Mt. Everest – thank you Tara!) and countless other places around the world and throughout the 50 States.

Now, that impressive list includes Custer, South Dakota!

We all had fun shopping and I snagged some great bargains on candle holders. Yeah for me! Tom got Reese a fossilized piece of wood that looks, feels and weighs as much as a rock. Doris left empty handed.

Still no snacks though, just rocks. So on we forged.

We grabbed something quick at a gas station, leaving behind my vow to eat only healthy snacks on vacation, but it wasn’t so bad. Just some chips.

We are still meeting incredibly nice people along the way, like the nice lady in the rock shop. She was very helpful!

Our destination was Flintstones Park, a recreational park and campground themed in everything Bedrock! When my family came to South Dakota back in the early ‘70’s we stopped here briefly. When researching things to do for our trip, I Googled “Flintstone Camp Ground” and was surprised to find that the park still existed and was located in the Black Hills near Mt. Rushmore.

What luck!!!!

Tom, Reese and I enjoyed snapping pictures of ourselves in Bedrock! It almost brought tears to my eyes remembering great adventures with my dad, but it was a happy day and my motto is “There’s no crying in Baseball” (Not everything has to make sense here) so we enjoyed our visit and we were on our way.

I have to mention Mr. Nice Person #3 here. On our way out of Custer, Tom saw a shop selling gold panning kits – hey, we were taking this seriously! Our lust for gold insatiable, we stopped for proper tools. Not a second after entering the store the man told Reese to pick out 3 stones form a treasure chest he had at the front of the store. For a rock lover like Reese this was like Christmas Day! After she chose the best ones, we walked around the shop a little and picked up the perfect panning kit.

Before we could leave, Mr. Nice Person #3 gave us a vile of real gold pieces so we would know what we were looking for. Really? How nice is that?

So, our 45-minute trip around Custer State Park is now entering hour six!

We got on the road and found ourselves on Needles Highway, not intentionally but that’s just how it happened.

By now we have seen the most spectacular sites you can imagine. To see more would just be ridiculous right? Hold on to your hats!

We found ourselves high into the mountains surrounded by extreme rock formations. The formation is named for the rocks that appear like, you guessed it, a needle.

Just past the needle is a tunnel literally blown out of the middle of the rock. Of course I made the whole family stand in the middle of the one-lane road to get the perfect picture. They were less enthused about it but at least I got a shot before a car came through.

Tom and Reese disappeared into the hillside to do some rock climbing while Doris and I kept an eye on the team of people who were scaling the needle learning to repel down the side.

Doris wanted nothing more than for those people to get down, but they remained unfazed by her concern.

When Tom and Reese finally emerged from the rocks Reese begged me to trek up with her so we climbed the rocks again. I’m so glad I did! The view was spectacular and Reese felt so proud to be my tour guide, showing me just the right way to go. She was already a pro climber!

Since we couldn’t stay here forever either, we headed out on the highway on some of the twistiest (it’s my blog, I can make up words if I want to!) turns I’ve ever seen.

Again, Doris was not exactly thrilled. Turns out heights bother her.

She was a trooper until she saw a woman standing very precariously out on a rock taking pictures. It looked like she had been air lifted onto the rock since I have no idea how she got out there. I’m sure she got some great shots. She and the buffalo lady would get along fine.

We continued to see deer around every turn! I took a picture of almost every single one and spoke to each of them directly. They were so close to the car and again, pretty unfazed by us.

As we twisted and turned down the mountain, going over several wooden bridges just to twist around a sharp curve to go under said bridge, we were treated to beautiful vistas back lit by the orange and red hues of the setting sun.

Going up the mountain in order to come down, Tom took each turn expertly. No wonder he was the first to spot the Presidents peeking through a break in the trees from far, far away.

Stopping on a mountainside with just a guardrail between a steep cliff and me, I just HAD to take yet another picture of Mt. Rushmore. When we get home and sit you down to look at the pictures, be prepared to see the Presidents at every angle and in every possible light. I could not get enough of it!

Due to the extreme curve there’s no way an oncoming car could have seen me as I climbed over the guardrail to get just the right angle through the trees. I’m sure it was all perfectly safe at dusk in the middle of a dark forest as I hung off the edge of a cliff.

I asked him to pull over at least 2 more times under the same precarious conditions before we came upon a pull over picture spot. It would have been nice to know it was coming up before I repeatedly risked life and limb.

As you can see the pictures were worth it!

Of course we hadn’t eaten yet again and it was after 9 p.m. This didn’t faze us though because we had already completely messed up our meal schedule. Hunting desperately for a place to eat in Keystone and not wanting to re-visit Ruby’s, we settled on a Pizza place on the edge of town.

I was skeptical but it turned out great. I don’t usually eat pizza but gee I was starving! The pizza was good and we got to put a pin for Geneva on their US map used for marking where patrons to the establishment were from. Doris placed one for Farmington, CT too! If you find yourself in Keystone, check out the map. There was even a pin from Bogota, Columbia. I didn’t know the US bought Columbia!

With full bellies and our incredible day coming to an end, you guessed it, I had to go back to Mt. Rushmore to capture it with the lights on. Since the rainstorm the night before robbed me of the opportunity, I couldn’t leave without it.