Mt. Rushmore/Devils Tower/Deadwood

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Oregon Trail Ruts

Day 16 – July 10 (continued)

Upon returning to Suzannah’s apartment in Boulder from Aspen in the afternoon, we repacked the car with the camping gear we had left in Sz’s car for the weekend and headed north toward Wyoming, and eventually for some South Dakota adventures.

After about two hours on the road we stopped in Chugwater, Wyoming. As we did the year before, we visited the fantastic Chugwater Soda Fountain (Wyoming’s oldest operating soda fountain) and got shakes and chili for dinner (we originally discovered the soda fountain via the Offbeat Attractions app).

We then checked in to the same Super 8 motel in nearby Wheaton, WY that we stayed in last year as a jumping off point for revisiting the Oregon Trail Ruts in Guernsey the next day. This is still the best Super 8 ever.

Did laundry at the motel, then off to bed.

Mount Rushmore & Custer State Park

Day 17 – July 11

We had breakfast at motel.

From the motel we went to the Oregon Trail Ruts National Historic Landmark in Guernsey, Wyoming about 20 miles north. We went here last year but it was at dusk and we needed to use our headlamps to see them. This was our opportunity to see them in daylight. Unfortunately, this time, upon entering the small town of Guernsey Em got a speeding ticket for going 46 in a 30. It cost us $1 10.00 (I think Emilie is still pissed about that speed trap, not very tourist friendly for such a small town).

We got to the trail ruts and walked along them, and got a much better appreciation for the sandstone impressions of the wagon trail and wheel ruts from over 150 years ago.

We then drove two miles to see a marker for a pony Express Station, and then “Register Cliff“. This is a cliff side upon which travelers on the Oregon Trail in the 1840’s and 1850’s carved their names. This was very cool…19^th century graffiti.

 

At around 11:15 A.M. we headed towards the Elk Mountain Campground in South Dakota, about 2.5 hours away.

Along routes 270 and 18 north of Guernsey it was just vast open space of rolling hills, prairies, and an isolated ranch here and there. The town of Lusk, WY was the only real town we passed through, and it was a nice, small town with all amenities, including a Carnegie library and a stagecoach museum. We refueled and got water and ice and Coke here at Outpost (appropriately named).

We got to Elk Mountain Campground in Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota by mid-afternoon, claimed a site, and set up the tent. The campground was fairly small, and quiet, and we had our pick of sites as few people were there at this time. The campground was fenced in to keep out the bison from Custer State Park. This was a great base camp location for South Dakota adventures. Great for visiting Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower, Deadwood, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Crazy Horse Memorial, and the town of Hot Springs for the next several days.

After setting up camp and meeting the campground hosts we set out for the Wildlife Loop in adjacent Custer State Park, which is a huge, beautiful State Park that is equivalent to a National Park in size, vistas, and wildlife viewing. About a mile into the loop we had already seen a lone bison on the road and pronghorn off the side of the road. Then we came upon a herd of bison blocking the road. We watched for about ten minutes then, realizing we weren’t going anywhere anytime soon, we turned around to instead head for Mount Rushmore National Memorial about 50 miles away.

We took the Iron Mountain Road route from Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore. This turned out to be a fantastic choice of route. There were amazing vistas, wildlife, one-lane chiseled tunnels through the hills, and many dangerous ledges and hairpin turns. But the best thing about this route was the approach to Rushmore, and corresponding views offered. We caught early distant and not so distant viewpoints of Mt. Rushmore, some through the chiseled tunnels. Iron Mountain Road itself is itself a destination…a real treat.

 

We got to Mount Rushmore National Memorial around 6:00 P.M. Though busy, it was past peak time so we were able to quickly park for $10 and get in. We marveled at the sculpture from many different viewpoints, hiked the easy yet amazingly unpopulated .6-mile Presidential Trail (which provided unique up-close vantage points of the various presidents), watched the 14-minute film about the sculpture and sculptor at the Visitors Center, and then had hot dogs for dinner on the deck under the shadow of Mount Rushmore.

We took way too many photos, but it really was captivating. Internet reviews we read considered this an overrated tourist attraction…we disagree.  It is magnificent to behold, and the views from the hike were tremendous. We decided to forgo the lighting ceremony that was starting in about an hour and headed out. Though the Iron Mountain Road was wonderful going to Mount Rushmore from the camp site, we decided that this would be too dangerous to take on the way back, in the dark, and with the threat of rain; so, we took a different route back. We got back to the campsite around 9:30 PM.

Off to bed around 11:00 but threats of lightening and high winds and rain meant beginning the night sleeping in the car. We did make it to the tent after a short while, as the storm wasn’t too bad for long.

Devils Tower & Deadwood

Day 18- July 12

We had breakfast at the campsite. Coffee and whatever we can make with boiled water cooked over the propane stove. Then we checked out Wind Cave Visitors Center which was about one mile from our tent for info about tickets for cave tours the next day. This was also where we could get wifi.

Then, off to Devils Tower about 2.5 hours away in Wyoming (OK, our South Dakota adventures brought us to Wyoming, too…oh well).  We caught our first glimpses of the Tower sticking up from the prairie from the road about 10 miles out. This gave indication of its scale.

Upon arrival we learned that Wednesday (this day) is its busiest day of the week…and true to form, it was crowded. There was about a 15-minute wait to get through the entrance gate but we managed to find decent parking once in.

We took our packs and headed toward the ranger station and Visitor’s Center.  A ranger here made some recommendations for us and we chose to do the 3-mile Red Beds Trail hike around the Tower.  This turned out be a terrific hike, and with few people since the majority of people who chose to hike did the shorter 1.5-mile loop. A highlight of the hike was the spectacular panorama of the green, rolling ponderosa below and beyond as far as the eye could see. We also saw red rocks, prairie, pasture with a river, and some deer in the river, plus various vantage points of Devils Tower itself from its foothills.

 

 

 

Through our binoculars, we saw three people scaling the Tower. Near the end of this slightly strenuous, awesome hike we came out near our car in the parking lot. We dropped our gear and headed back up to the Visitors Center. Then we took a short walk up a path through and among the fallen boulders from the Tower, which continues to shed rock, to get right to the base. Devils Tower was just so captivating.

Then off to Deadwood, South Dakota an hour away for dinner, and some Wild Bill Hickok theatrics. Got in around 4:30 P.M. and stopped at the Visitors Center (which was closing at 5:00) on the edge of town. We were in town just in time to see a reenactment of the killing of Wild Bill Hickok at Saloon 10 at 5:00 P.M., and a shootout on Main Street at 6:00. We caught both. These were kind of cheesy, but fun and the actors were inspired.

We also took a stroll through town, seeing historical markers like where Wild Bill was actually shot, and to go into some old buildings, one of which was a saloon with really cool rope art buffaloes on the ceiling, and another owned by Kevin Costner, which displayed wardrobe and props from his movies.

We then had a nice dinner with good service at Mavericks Steak House in the Gold Dust Casino. Included with dinner was $10 in credit for the slot machines downstairs from the restaurant, but we couldn’t figure out what we were doing.  We accidentally spent $1 of it somehow, then gave up and headed back to the car. We drove to the cemetery across town to see the graves of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, who are buried next to one another. The cemetery was officially closed at this time so nobody else was there except for one nice couple from England. Then we headed back to the campground about 2 hours away.

The ride back was made a bit exciting as we drove through an intense lightning storm most of the way, though not much rain.  The rain only got heavy after we got back to the campground so we started out sleeping in the car. The rain and lightening were pretty intense until around midnight. After that, I went back into the now wet-on-the-inside tent. I pulled out the wet sleeping bag that was in there, and used a new, dry one. There were still occasional drops of water landing on me, but I stuck it out. Em came in to the tent in the early morning for a few hours but returned to the dry car. A rough night sleeping for sure.

Next: Wind Cave/Crazy Horse Memorial/Custer State Park