A very happy horse
I recently spent four nights in the Rapid City area, August 31st through the morning of the 4th. This was my second trip to the Black Hills. I went a couple of years ago with my mom, dad and sister, and was going to go with my sister this time around. Unfortunately she took a tumble at work, hurting her wrist which meant she was in a sling. Not the best thing to have when trying to hike on various trails and what not, so it was just me. I’ve traveled alone before, so was OK with it, and found the four days to be a very peaceful experience filled with many memories, even though I of course missed my sister.
I offered Mass on the morning of the 31st, packed up and headed out. Now, when I pack, I tend to throw everything in but the kitchen sink – we’re talking 10 pairs of underwear, 4 or 5 pairs of shorts, plenty of shirts, etc. You get the drift. Of course I still forgot one thing, shaving cream, but the good folks at Howard Johnson hooked me up when I got there. My trek to Rapid City took between 8 and 9 hours; I went down 60 over to I-90, and I have to say I REALLY like the 75 MPH speed limits once you cross into South Dakota.
My first stop was the Badlands National Park, near Wall, South Dakota. You see signs for “Wall Drug” starting at the Minnesota border, but my parents told me not to bother as it was a tourist trip and overrated, so I never did stop there. I ended up going into the park, wanting to see sunset and get some good color photographs as the color can really light up those rocks. I spent a good couple of hours there walking around, and got a few decent shots but wasn’t too happy with the others. I was really hoping to get the perfect sunset, but the colors were pretty harsh with the dark canyon – not like photographing a lake at sunset, this was much harder. One fun adventure came when some giant black bug came into my car that I’d never seen before. Anyone with me would have laughed, as I totally freaked out, trying to smash the thing with a bunch of papers, only to have it disappear never to be seen again. So, if after you read this I’m in the hospital from some strange disease, you now know what it is. Pathetic.
The one good thing from the Badlands though was the birding. Some very cool birds there, and did get a couple of nice shots, including a Western Meadowlark
I ended up staying there past sunset and then hitting I-90 back to Rapid City, where I checked into the Howard Johnson around 10 bells. I stayed at this hotel before, and really enjoy it. It was $297 after tax for four nights, fairly reasonable, and had a free breakfast, which was pretty good – rolls, toast, coffee, breakfast burritos, really what more do you need. They also had a workout room, which I mostly had to myself that was nice so I could workout before breakfast. Got up between 6 and 7 to do that, and then had breakfast and was off on my day 1 adventure.
Day one consisted mostly of going to Custer State Park. This place is absolutely wonderful. It’s about a half hour out of Rapid City, and is quite large – the largest state park in the US I believe. I did the “Wildlife Loop” which included many, many Buffalo. There were also donkeys that came right up to you and were very sweet. Other wildlife seen there included Pronghorn, and Elk – including a 12-point buck. Some cool birds here as well including the Mountain Bluebird, a lovely bird that I was so happy to see. I saw one on day one, but some guy drove by and scared him off. I ended up going back and seeing more Buffalo, the elk, and these birds which was so great. I even said a little prayer asking to see them, and it worked out 
). Shot a number of pictures, and they are a beautiful bird, aren’t they?
Mountain Bluebird
After this I proceeded onto the “Needles Highway,” a little stretch that takes you through some majestic overlooks, and includes spots where you go through a narrow tunnel, one car at a time. Pretty cool! The day ended with me ascending Harney Peak, a 3 mile and change hike up the tallest peak east of the Rockies – some more cool views there on the trail, but I’m glad it didn’t rain on me. I then headed back to Rapid City to crash and do it again the next day.
Day 2, Thursday, I decided to head west. This was a VERY windy day, so naturally I tried to go up another mountain at Bear Butte State Park. I’d heard about this place, and it was very nice, and really loved the mountain as soon as I saw it. I went in (and should have thought better when I saw I was like the only car in the lot – real smart, Paul) and was greeted by a polite woman behind the counter. I asked about climbing and she warned me about the wind, to which I asked “well, is it possible to do it in this wind?” to which she said “oh, yeah, I’ve gone up to the top to get the trash when it was this windy.” Now bear in mind I’ve got a big camera bag. So, undeterred, I began my climb. I made it up halfway and decided to not continue to court death. The wind wasn’t the problem; it was the narrow trail with the wind, so looking to my left or right and seeing an ever-growing cliff made me decide to go back down said mountain. I still did get a few good shots. It was a very peaceful place, and is sacred to the Native American tribe who use it for prayer services often. Windy, yes, but still I’m glad I went there. I came back down and asked about a cool farmhouse I’d read about, and a ranger gave me directions to an abandoned school I thought would make a good picture, but I had no luck. C’est la vie. I still found a cool shack I took a picture of though.
So, after going through here, I decided to head west towards Devils Tower to check out the UFO base. Actually, I’d always wanted to see it, and was told by the ranger of a nice back way in, and a good cafe. He did direct me well. I found myself taking a very nice drive into Wyoming, where I went through Aladdin, home of Cindy B’s. Delicious burger, and great cafe. You know you are just going to love a place when they have the horse at the top on the counter.
The food was great, and the character even better. Only cooler was there was no chocolate pie that day; apparently Cindy makes whatever she’s in the mood for, and lists it on the fridge in the background. Banana Cream and Coconut cream where the pies of the day, and certainly good, but being very much a chocolate person I just decided to skip dessert and continue west.
I continued along into Wyoming, and saw Devil’s Tower begin to arise, and shot numerous pictures along the way. I then came into the park itself, and this was amazing. I walked near the tower, and met some Minnesotan’s from Crystal (having met some more at Cindy’s of all places!) and also walked on some of the nearby trails, where there were some unique birds. The high point though was watching the stars come out. There’s a nearby trail just a short walk from the monument, and I found it photogenic. I waited for the stars to come out, and there wasn’t really anyone around. An introvert’s delight, but also very spiritual and peaceful. Said some prayers, and really it was one of the most peaceful moments of my life. God as the artist was certainly at work.
Stars come out over Devil's Tower
I then made my way back down the windy roads to Rapid City.
The final day of my trip I decided to get up early and head back to the Badlands. Who wouldn’t want to backtrack 50 miles to see the sun come up, right? I got up and headed west, and arrived just in the nick of time to see the sun come up. Again, I did get a few decent shots, but was hoping for even a little more. I then went back to the hotel, worked out, had breakfast, and decided to visit Spearfish Canyon, a beautiful area of creeks and trees. Shot plenty of pictures here (still working on editing them) and then wound up at Custer State Park again, where I found that elusive bluebird, and was treated to the elk, pronghorn, and buffalo heard. I stuck around until near sunset, and tried to find a good place to watch the sun go down. I had no real idea where to go, so I drove atop Mount Coolidge, and the view was beautiful but my shots were just of the sunset, and no real landscape, a bit of a letdown. To my surprise, as I journeyed down the mountain, the gate at the end to let me back on to the road was closed?! (Call me crazy but how about a sign that says “gate closes at…”? Thankfully I flashed my brights and a truck about to leave turned around, and a park employee opened it, saying “oh, sorry, thought everyone was off the mountain.” That would have been a bad thing.
I then wound my way back towards Rapid City. I was able to visit Crazy Horse monument, as they had a night show going on, and I even got in for free as the gates were open but they stopped charging as the show had started. (I did find someone and offered to pay, but they told me not to worry about it). This was kind of a pleasant surprise, as I didn’t think I’d have time to visit, but I did make it up there and it’s impressive – they’ll be working on it for years to come though.
Oops, almost forgot to mention, yes, I did visit Rushmore too. Kind of a standard stop out there. I had visited before, but wanted to go back and this time arrived at night. It’s quite pretty in the evening, but what I really liked was the lightning. A storm had passed, and it was light rain off and on, but to the east were lightning bolts. I’d been trying to capture them during the summer but hadn’t had much success. I did like the way this turned out:
Lightning from a passing storm
It was fun to see, and thankfully not be in!
So, in a nutshell, it was one wonderful trip. I love exploring places with my camera, and hiking, and can’t wait to get back. Saturday I drove back, and made it back in time for dinner with my parents. Redstone can’t compete with Cindy B’s, but it’ll do.
