9/6/09, Sunday – Travel day. Spent most of the day (10 hours) on the road driving (St. Cloud, MN to Rapid City, SD is about 580 miles). Drove in a 2009 Toyota Yaris that boasts upward of 40 miles per gallon (we’ll see about that – ha). Drove thru Willmar, MN on the way – Yikes! This is the Bermuda Triangle of Hockey – held my breath while driving thru here – had memories of Matt (my son), while playing goalie, rabbit-punching an opponent. Also, brought back memories of hitting my head on the ice (when I went out there when Matt got hurt) & looking up at the referee – who asked – “is that the dad?”
Anyway, back to the trip – spent 10 hours on the road – books on CD are awesome (helped pass the time)! Arrived at 6pm in Rapid City and with the help of kind ladies at the Information Center, found some quick, cheap camping ($15/night). Had heard about a special night at the Crazy Horse Monument (a nighttime blast), so I headed there right after I set up the tent. Luckily, I gained an hour (mountain time zone – an hour earlier) so I was able to make it to the Crazy Horse Monument ahead of the crowd. It cost $10 per person, but what a bargain – this is an awesome monument, size & scope of this mountain carving is unbelievable and spectacular! September 6th has special meaning at the Crazy Horse Monument; it was the day Crazy Horse died, and also the day the sculptor, Karshof (sp?), was born. The story of this monument, started in 1948, is truly awe-inspiring and amazing! This monument would be well worth visiting again, years from now, to see how much further along the mountain carving has been completed!
The evening at the CH Monument was culminated with a spectacular laser light show & then a nighttime blast of rock! It was quite an event, and it was great to be able to witness the nighttime blast (with about 5,000 others). Drove back to campsite (40 minutes) and called it a night – boy am I tired! This trip is awesome so far – can’t wait to try out the “99 cent cowboy breakfast” I’ve heard about (all you can eat pancakes) on Monday.
Set up camp on Sunday in the 90 degree heat! Cooled off nice at night for sleeping.
Crazy Horse Monument – scale version with the actual mountain in the background – What an awesome sight!
Day 2 – 9/7/09, Monday – The 99 cent all u can eat breakfast at Fort Hayes was awesome, it actually came to $1.04 with tax. Went back for seconds – yum! My spirit is filled with adventure today, what a wonderful place this is with all of the natural beauty and scenic vistas – could take thousands of pictures, and then would see something else that looks more spectacular –ha. I wanted to explore some of the Black Hills National Forest today, so took a drive along Sheridan Lake Road to get to the Sheridan Lake Campground. What a beautiful scenic drive – with many twists and turns in the road (many 15mph curves & even a 10 mph curve)!
I checked out the campgrounds and found they were nice, nestled in the woods, and cost $5 more per night than where I was staying now, and since I wouldn’t be at the campsite that often, decided to stay where I was (on the cheap!). My next trip was to the National Monument – Mount Rushmore! This was the highlight of the trip so far, although the Crazy Horse Monument was excellent also! Took many photos, walked the Presidents trail – which went to the base of Mount Rushmore & took many photos from different perspectives. Learned that sculptor Gustov Borgman had originally planned to have presidents in different order on mountain, but setbacks in work and limitations with the granite caused him to have to change his plans (actually several times) and he developed many scale models. Interesting to learn that the actual scale model included sculpting to the presidents waists, but he passed away before the project could be completed & then the federal government declared the works complete, as they were in the middle of World War II, and couldn’t justify spending more money on the project. Spent 3 or 4 hours at the monument and soaked it all in – corridor of state flags was neat to see approaching the mountain. People from all over the world were at the monument, many from Japan & England, as well as other places. Next stop was a hike on a portion of the Centennial trail, which is part of the Black Hills National Forest.
The trail was steep and very difficult, saw some whitetail deer & was hoping not to see a mountain lion – but convinced myself the deer wouldn’t be nearby if a mountain lion was around (right?). Anyway, was a wonderful hike and was a great workout (especially coming back uphill!). So I got my exercise for the day – woo hoo! Next wanted to check out Custer State Park, the Sylvan Lake Entrance – what an awesome drive along Needles Highway (Hwy 87)! Drove up some treacherous terrain, with many switchbacks, to get to the summit, which was elevation 7242 above sea level (this compares to the Wright County area of Minnesota, which is in the 900 feet above sea level altitude). Drove back thru the cities of Custer, and then Hill City (nice looking touristy town), and was going to stop for a bite to eat at a famous steakhouse (Alpine Inn), but decided to try that another night (since the line was out the door and onto the street!). Went back to base camp & prepared to head into Rapid City for a meal at the famous Firehouse Restaurant on Main Street. This is a converted firehouse and it also was very crowded with many people from all over coming to this famous destination. While eating, met a couple from England and we began talking about English Premier League futbol (soccer to us in the states). They were from Chelton, I think they said, and that team does not play at the premier level at this time. Finished my meal (an excellent Chicken Fried Steak (everything is steak here seems like – ha) and watched the end of the Miami vs. Florida St. football game on TV. What a game, 7 or 8 lead changes, with Miami holding on to win, when Fla. St. dropped a pass in the end zone on the last play of the game! Was a great 2nd day!
Day 3 – 9/8/09, Tuesday – Began the day at Fort Hays for the wonderful 99 cent all u can eat pancake breakfast (again). I know that I don’t usually eat pancakes, but how can you pass up a great deal – right? Visited the Black Hills National Forest Visitor center (which was closed on Monday – Labor Day) & found some information on the many great hiking trails in the Black Hills National Forest. I chose to try a couple of “easy to moderate” trails first, so went with the Flume Trail (no. 50) & drove to the trailhead and parked. This was a remote area & the trailhead had broken window glass in a few of the 10 parking spaces, so I began to wonder about my belongings in the car. This thought passed soon, as I got on the trail and began hiking. What a beautiful scenic trail, along a mountain stream and with the hills and trees and rock outcrops as a backdrop – I think that I discovered a new love in my life — hiking!
I took many photos and there were many areas that one mis-step & I would likely not be heard from for a while – yikes! Also on this “Loop A” of the Flume trail, there is a tunnel through a portion of the mountain (where there is no light for a while). Walking along, I noticed that one of the tree roots on the trail seemed to be moving? I soon realized that this was a snake going across the trail! Yikes, moved along quicker past that – found out later that I was to be careful of rattlesnakes?!? Yikes! Anyway, didn’t know any better, and thought nothing of it as I continued along the trail. I hope the photos turn out well, but I wonder if they will do the landscape justice – it was so peaceful, almost spiritual – at times there was a loud noise that seemed almost deafening – it was the sound of the wind through the trees! It is hard to describe, similar to the waves of the ocean hitting the shore – was awesome.
Finished loop A in about 2 hours, and wanted more – so I drove to another trailhead of the Flume Trail to trek up to Big Bear Overlook. This was an awesome experience, felt like a little kid, adventure, wonder, excitement in anticipation of what lies ahead! It took about an hour or so to reach the peak, and what an awesome view! I spent about a half hour on top of the granite rock formation, that had trees growing around different places. I sat in amazement of the beauty around me and it felt wonderful just to be alone with nature and have the sun shine down on me, like a warm blanket. I lay there soaking it all in, when I was visited by a chipmunk scurrying between rock outcrops. What a wonderful, spiritual experience, almost didn’t want to head back down (ha). I knew there were other places to see and hike to, so I headed back down the trail, back to the car. Was a bit tired after hiking 4 or 5 hours, so headed to Hill City and a couple of barley & hops beverages – never tasted so good! Decided to try the famous steak at Alpine Inn in Hill City & wasn’t disappointed – umm good! Headed back to base camp and slept like a baby (one who sleeps all night – ha)! Good thing I had an extra sleeping bag, was in the high 40’s at night – brrr! Looking forward to hiking to Harney Peak (highest point east of the Rockies) on Wednesday – supposed to take 5 to 6 hours! Awesome day – feel so blessed!
The Flume Trail included going through a tunnel at the high point of the mountain. I did not bring a flashlight (oops) and went through in the dark (but there was a light at the end of the tunnel – around the bend)!
Day 4, 9/9/09, Wednesday – Awoke to another beautiful morning in the Black Hills, to the sound of a rooster crowing (again, and again) Haha – for the third morning in a row. Next proceeded to the 99 cent pancake breakfast – yum! Met a nice lady this morning, Jackie, from Bearden, Nebraska & we visited over breakfast. Her daughter owns the Ft. Hays place & she is visiting for a couple of weeks to see her grandchildren. Jackie said that she has 38 grandchildren & 12 great grandchildren. We talked about politics, health care, and all of the great sights in the Black Hills area. Next headed to the highlight of the hiking for this trip, a hike to Harney Peak (highest elevation east of the Rockies, at 7242 ft. elevation above sea level)! Met a couple from St. Louis on the trail, Mack & Elise, and we hiked a portion of the trail together for a while & visited. It was great to pass time, as this hike took about 2 hours to get to the top and portions of the uphill trek were very challenging. This trail was well traveled, met a lot of others on the trail going up, or coming back down. Didn’t see any rattlesnakes – yeah! Got to the top, many steps near the peak & witnessed the most awesome view that I’ve ever seen before! You could see for miles in each direction & the peak was wide with some trees growing through the rocks – great to stop & eat an apple & banana with water. Many small chipmunks scurrying about for scraps of food too, got a couple of photos of them! Was exhausted, but in a good way, when returned from this hike (after 5 hours). Next drove along Needles Highway – awesome sights & hairpin turns (took photos). Also drove the Wildlife loop through Custer State Park and saw many animals (took photos). Was another awesome day in the Black Hills!
Nice sign at the start of the trail near Lake Sylvan – at Custer State Park. Plan on an all day adventure for this one – you’ll sleep good on this night!
Trail was well marked and well traveled – a lot more people – compared to the Flume trail – where I only saw a few other people passing by.
Was very, very breezy at the top of Harney Peak – and what a spectacular view! Many people at the top, along with a lot of friendly chipmunks!
Day 5, 9/10/09, Thursday – Another beautiful day waking in the Black Hills, the weather was perfect! Met a fellow camper, a couple in an RV, Mr. & Mrs. James Parker of Alabama – they were visiting for the week also to see all of the sights. We visited for a bit & then wished each other well and safe travels. Went back for the great pancake deal again for breakfast at Fort Hays (yum again!). Met some folks from Omaha, Nebraska, who just got to the Black Hills and were going to visit Mt. Rushmore & other sights. They were worried that the weather was going to be cooler over the weekend. Went back to camp site and packed up and hit the road to head back home. Visited Wall Drug on the way back – was mostly a large series of gift shops – needed to stop to gas up anyway. Arrived back home about midnight, was very tired. What an awesome camping/hiking trip! Can’t wait to see all of the photos.