Stunning views and the hunt for bison

Thursday, July 19th 7:00am - Yesterday started with some trepidation for all of us. Even though we didn't experience the actual storm, we certainly saw the aftermath. Pock marked trailers and vehicles along with leaking roofs due to broken skylights and damage to seams. That along with the remaining hail on the ground and the odd cloud in the sky made us a little nervous about what the day would bring. Turns out the day just brought sun and we all had an enjoyable time exploring the area.

I kicked off the day with a short run and then we spent some time getting situated at our campsite.

Our campsite for the week with my dad's in the background.

We made the trek over to the Custer State Park Visitor Center across the street and watched a short movie about the park and looked at the various displays.

After lunch we got in our cars and drove up the Iron Mountain Highway. The road was narrow with lots of pull offs so that we could enjoy the scenery which included wildflowers and mountain views including Mt. Rushmore.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial was next on our agenda. After being the wilderness it seemed very busy and I was not expecting numbered parking garages on the side of a mountain but I guess they had to build them to accommodate all the visitors. It was cool to see but Lin and I both questioned the decision to carve it into the already beautiful mountaintop.

Gail, Aaron, Aidan and Grampa Chris

View from a short path

Then we continued our loop by driving back to our campsite via the Needles Highway. I think Needles Lane would be a more appropriate name. It was narrow, twisting and stunning. Now I understand why it takes an hour to drive 20 miles around here.

Needles Eye

If you look closely you can see the boys on the lower left corner.

Back to the campsite for dinner which I charred slightly but everyone still ate and said they enjoyed. I was enjoying wine with my dad and Gail too much and lost track to time for the food!

After dinner we hopped back into the cars to do the Wildlife Loop Road. Since arriving in the Black Hills all we had seen was deer, geese, a chipmunk, and some birds. We were on a mission. Soon after starting we saw some pronghorns including some babies. Exciting but still no bison. Over half way through we found the barking prairie dogs which were cute but not the bison we were hunting for. When we were about to give up hope we came around a corner and there was a herd of bison! We watched babies frolic and the young males fight. We left as they began to bed down for the night. I was exhausted so it was time for me to bed down too!

Getting the stare down, grunts and stomps from the big guy.