Day 6 & 7: Black Hills, South Dakota

After leaving the Badlands yesterday I traveled to Rapid City, the gateway to the Black Hills area, and got some information about places to camp, things to see, and all that jazz. I took a trip to Mount Ruchmore, which was actually a bit lamer than I expected... It might have been because you can't go near that actual carving, and after days of traveling and months of planning a trip to discover unaltered wilderness in the US, 4 giant heads carved into the mountains sort of seemed like an insult to the nature I was seeking. I do have to admit though, its pretty amazing how the crew of hundreds of men carved these faces into the rock.

After Rushmore I headed for Custer State Park, south of Rapid City but home of the bison populations of SD (sharing that claim to fame with Wind Cave National Park). I got to the tent site at about 7:45, and it was already dark, so once again I had to set up tent with a headlamp as my only source of light. Unfortunately I found out just after I set up the tent that I had chosen a spot right next to a couple camping with their 2 year old baby. Needless to say I barely got any sleep last night! At one point the kid was screaming so loud for so long that I thought for sure something had happened to the parents, and I was just peaking my head out of the tent to check on the girl and see that everything was alright when the father looked over and laughed, saying she would only take her mom or something infuriating like that! The mother did come over and apologize this morning, but COME ON! Who brings a 2 year old to a campsite in mid-50 degree weather!!? It doesn't seem cold, but with the wind, it isn't toasty...

I woke up and headed for Wind Cave National Park this morning around 8AM, seeing some bison along the way (very exciting!), and took a 1.5 hour tour of the most complex and the 4th longest cave in the world. It was an interesting tour, and I luckily was there on the one day of the year that the tours are free, so it was well worth it! I saw more bison on the way out of the park, heading north in the Black Hills National Forest.

I headed for the Needles Scenic Byway, a road that is a main attraction in the area. At first I thought it was strange that it was so well recommended, considering it was basically a backroad through nice foliage, but nothing spectacular. After about a half hour on the road the scenery changed and I understood the draw. The road followed the mountainsides, giving cars a perfect view of giant rock formations atop mountains, which resembled needles (hence the name).

About 15 minutes before the exit of the park I pulled into a parking lot on a whim, and devided to go for a hike. Turned out to be a 6 hour hike up the highest peak in America east of the Rockies.... The mountain, Harney Peak (7242') seemed to be right in the middle of the Black Hills, with unbelievable views from every angle. My legs were KILLING on the way down though.

Tomorrow is more adventure in the Black Hills, namely the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway, and then up to North Dakota and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (they love him up here...)

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PEACE AND LOVE