We left the high plains of Nebraska and traveled to the Black Hills of South Dakota. The landscape just kept changing. In the northern part of Nebraska, there is Pine Ridge. This ridge just appears (looks like a tidal wave) and it is covered in ponderosa pine trees. What a change from no trees. After the ridge, the landscape became rolling hills covered with grass. Miles and miles of grassland!!! – Amazing.
We were able to see the Black Hills from about 50 miles away and they are also covered in ponderosa pine trees. Absolutely breath-taking!We arrived in Custer State Park and there was mass confusion. We first stopped at the gates and they told us to just go to the campground. Once there, we found a ranger (???) who told us we could pick a site for tonight only. When we asked about staying 2 nights, he told us we had to call the 800 number. When I explained that there is no cell phone service here nor is there a public phone, he sent us back to the gate. We parked the MH in a site and took the Tracker. They told us to go to the campground again and try to find someone..??? (By this time, we are getting more than confused.) So about 4 miles down the road was the visitor center and that is where we headed next. The two people there explained to us that they just got a new reservation system and that the only way we could stay was by calling the number (??? – we are not in PA anymore!!!) . Also since there was no campground host at the campground, someone would be around to talk to us and collect the money. We decided that we would take a drive around and check out the other campgrounds in the area when we passed the Bismark Lake Campground in the Black Hills National Forest. We drove in, talked to the campground host, went back for our MH, and are now in a beautiful site overlooking the lake and surrounded by ponderosa pines. Custer State Park is beautiful but their system needs a lot of work!!!
Once we set up and relaxed, we decided to take the Wildlife Loop Road in the Park. Oh My – what incredible views! And the animals – another Oh My! The first area we went to was the Coolidge Fire Tower. We were able to see over 100 miles in all directions. (To get to the top, we took a one lane dirt road for a mile with some hairpin turns and no guardrails – not for the faint of heart!)
The meadows were just as breathtaking.
And the animals:
We saw deer
And antelope
And prairie dogs and their babies!
Now I have to tell you what the prairie dog field looked like. Did you ever see the arcade game when the prairie dogs peek out of their holes and you are to hit them? Well, this field had all these prairie dogs coming in and out of their holes. And, yes, they do squeak just like a toy. We had such fun just watching them.
And wild burros. (We did not stay long around them because they were trying to get into all the cars that stopped!)
And the main reason I came here – Buffalo and their babies...
They are such majestic creatures!!!!
Our day ended with an incredible thunderstorm that included pea size hail. I do need to say a couple things about the storms since we have been in the middle of the country. Because we can see for miles, we can see the storms for a long way also. In Nebraska, we saw some very ominous clouds that produced some bad storms in one of the counties next to where we were staying. And it is the same here. We do have a weather alert radio that gives us an alarm when a warning or watch is issued by National Weather Service and it does work. In fact, it has gone off the past three days.
Every day is just such an adventure!!
Miles Traveled: 185Routes Traveled: Nebraska: US-385
South Dakota:
US-385, SR-79, SR-36, SR-16A
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