Black Hills Vacation – Day 4

I was awake by 6 a.m. today after hitting snooze three times. The busy day the day before caught up with me. I got dressed, made coffee and woke the kids because we had an 8 a.m. reservation for a 1-hour trail ride through Custer State Park! We were all so excited about this. We love horses!

We headed out around 7:30 with a plan to arrive 15 minutes before our trail time. I forgot that 20 miles doesn’t mean 20 minutes in the Black Hills, so we were running late. Luckily the staff at Blue Belle Stables were kind and gracious to us. We quickly filled out our release forms and were fitted for riding helmets. Gman was assigned “Ace,” Lolo would ride “Three Socks” and I got the heftier work horse named “Patches” because apparently I have more Weight Watchers work to do. Poor Patches.I’ve been on trail rides before, so I expected a slow, methodical single file line type of ride. I thought it would be pretty boring really, but fun for the kids. I was wrong! Although there was a trail and these were trail horses, this was far more AMAZING! The horses were allowed to space out from one another. They took us down hills, through streams, up steep hills. It was incredible! And the scenery! Look closely – can you see the deer in the stream?!You guys! I teared up several times on the trail. Do you ever experience something so powerfully beautiful that you just KNOW God, FEEL God, BELIEVE in how awesome and powerful and loving He is  even MORE than before? This happened to me on this horse ride. “Emmanuel!” rang through my head – God IS WITH US!!! He is glorious!Look at all He created! Look at the beauty He’s given to us! Goosebumps!!

 

Oh, what Heaven must be like if we have glimpses of THIS kind of beauty on earth?!

You might notice some dark orange colored trees. These were affected by a wildfire not too long ago when a tree fell on a power line. Fire tried to burn the life out of them, but many of these trees, miraculously, will survive. I visited with one of our trail guides, Christina throughout the ride. She is from Winner, SD. She loves horses, loves people and loves her job. Her job is to keep us safe. Believe it or not, safe from rattlesnakes that could spook horses safe from Buffalo that roam free in Custer State Park. She told me how it’s still calving season and the Bison can be aggressive sometimes. But she wasn’t telling me this to scare me. She was telling me this because I asked. I could hear the pride she takes in her work. Another example on this trip of how important it is to do what you love, even if it isn’t the career that brings in the most money or the most fame. It’s so important to fulfill the calling laid on your heart! It’s imperative we use our gifts and talents to help others! This is what Christina was doing.

I also met (and I’m so mad I can’t remember her name), a fun lady from Scotland. She was born in South Dakota, married a Scottish man and had brought her family back to SD to see where she was born. We talked about the Teepee with hot tub they rented for vacation. We laughed about “glamping,” and how we’d need Ibuprofen after this one hour trail ride. We talked about Scotland’s mandatory 8 weeks paid vacation for it’s citizens (or maybe it was 6 weeks?) Anyway – go, Scotland! Can you imagine how much happier, healthier, more motivated and hard-working a refreshed employee could be? That’s not meant to be political, just an observation on my perspective on things that matter and things that don’t. Time away with family to recharge, take in the beauty of this earth, relax and unplug is smart in my opinion.

We finished up the ride, sad it was over.

Since we were already in Custer State Park, we decided we’d hit the Wildlife Loop next. I’d heard vacationers disappointed they weren’t able to see many bison and that the wild burros could be a hit or miss experience, so I wasn’t sure what, if anything we’d encounter beyond breathtaking views.

First we found the wild burros.The only thing making them wild was they weren’t penned up. What gentle creatures! My kids LOVED walking right up to them, feeding them and petting them. The hundreds of prairie dogs chirping different songs in the field were another great source of entertainment. Don’t touch them though, signs warned they contain the plague! No worries, I don’t get close to rodents if I can help it. But I did enjoy watching them frolic around, darting down a burrow, popping up another, standing upright to sing a new song. It was so awesome. We met other Iowans in this area, talked a little about our beloved Cyclones, and then headed back to the van to continue on the Wildlife Loop. One thing I forgot to pack, and you definitely should if you’re petting wild burros: HAND SANITIZER! Eventually I found some disinfectant wipes in the van, so I could sort of relax about it.

We hydrated, turned the AC on high and continued onward on the Wildlife Loop. A few miles ahead we began to see them. BISON! Hundreds and hundreds and HUNDREDS of bison!! What a sight to see!Traffic started to come to a standstill as tourists from around the globe reached for their cameras. The smart ones stayed in their cars. (Not everyone is smart, let me tell you). Lolo was though, she yelled “Mom! Lock the doors!” We are still laughing about that. Did you think they were going to open the doors, Lolo? Ha!

We watched calves nursing, gigantic bulls cross the road right in front of us!

We saw several flop in the dirt for a good back rub. I can’t possibly describe the enormity of these creatures. We respected their size and potential temperament, especially with young calves around. The insurance commercial about “We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two” ran through my mind as I imagined bison damage to the van. Thankfully, we made it through without incident. Yay for a claim-free vacation! I wouldn’t have wanted to be on a motorcycle in this area, yet we saw plenty of them. I’m also glad we didn’t pay for a Buffalo Safari Jeep Tour because you couldn’t get more up close than we were on our 100% free tour. Well, minus the fee to get into Custer State Park, ($20 per vehicle) which was good for a full week. We definitely got our money’s worth out of that fee. We also saw Pronghorn,

mountain goats and deer. The elk, wolves, coyotes and other creatures known to dwell in the park escaped us. Probably because of the time of dayand the nature of those animals?

After the Wildlife Loop we continued to the famously scenic Needles Highway, a more than 14 mile scenic road named for the needle-like granite formations throughout the area. It’s part of the Peter Norbeck scenic byway, which was completed back in 1922. Random thought: Why is granite so expensive? Seems it’s in abundance here. Oh well, Formica countertops will have to do for me.

Slow (25 mph and slower in some areas), winding roads a little too narrow and close to the edge of cliffs for my comfort, took us up, up, up the mountain. There was plenty of overlook parking on the side of the road all the way up. This part of vacation made me extremely glad we hadn’t rented an RV. I can’t imagine trying to maneuver an RV on this road. I couldn’t stop taking pictures! Everywhere my eyes looked, new and glorious views! Rock formations, trees and beautiful valleys – absolutely stunning!

When we arrived at the Needle’s Eye tunnel we pulled off to park, along with a handful of other travelers so we could climb the rocks, take in more stunning views and snap more photos.

The kids LOVED this! Gman climbed rock and imagined himself an avid rock climber and hiker, while Lolo took her sketchbook and found solitude on a rock overlooking the pine trees and granite formations below. Happy place, happy place!!!It was happy until Gman lost his footing coming down from a large boulder and skinned his arm up. What’s a vacation without a memory-making, bloody injury? I cleaned it up with bottled water and antibacterial wipes and reassured him this would be a great story he could tell one day.

Tears dried, scraped arm cleaned, cheeks kissed, it was now time to drive THROUGH the needle. It really did feel like threading a needle. I knew our van would fit through, based on the dimensions posted, but dang if it didn’t feel like we would NOT fit!

What a unique and fun experience! When life is squeezing in around you and you just aren’t sure you’re going to make it, let this be our reminder – there really IS light at the end of the tunnel!! And oh, the views we’d miss if we don’t push forward!

There are reminders of the love we had all around.

There are glimpses of heaven right here on earth. But we have to keep our eyes open to them! They are our appetizer for the feast ahead!

I’m happy to report we made it through – VICTORY!

We then began our slow descent down the mountain. Equally stunning views, some prayers for our brakes and dozens of pictures later, we finished the scenic drive on Needles Highway. We never made it to Iron Mountain Road, another amazing scenic tourist favorite, but we felt more than satisfied having explored Needles Highway instead. There just isn’t enough time to see and do everything in 5-6 days!

We were tired, but not quite done in Custer Park for the day. I had one last stop planned. Sylvan Lake! 

I had read about this calm and beautiful gem online and I really wanted to take the kids on the one-mile hike around it. A friend of mine had suggested canoeing on this lake, but I’m not a fan of lake water. I’ve tried. I just don’t like it. From the view of a real boat? Sure. But don’t make me get IN water that I can’t see through. There are things that live below. I don’t like that. I was a competitive swimmer when I was a kid, I prefer clean, chlorinated water, thank you. But, once the kids saw the lake and saw people on kayaks, paddle boards and canoes, they wanted to canoe so badly! So I paid a ridiculous amount of money for one hour in a canoe on Sylvan Lake. (I could’ve bought my very own canoe for a little more than what they charged for one-hour rental). You can’t say I don’t love my kids.

Did you know a scene from National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets was filmed here? It really was a picturesque gem within Custer State Park.

This ended up being such a terrifying, yet hilarious part of our vacation. Lolo was in heaven.

She was paddling and singing and instructing everyone on board how to properly paddle. Gman was in the back, taking his job seriously too.

And I was in the middle. So scared of tipping over all I could do was squeal and giggle nervously.

I know how to swim, so that wasn’t my fear. Icky fish-filled water was my fear. This experience ranks in the kids’ top three things we did on vacation list. It was worth the $90 or whatever it was for the canoe rental.

Before leaving the park for the night, I let the kids get into the water (ick), splash around, skip rocks and make more amazing memories while I watched and took pictures from dry, fish-free land. I should’ve thought to pack their swimsuits that day, or at least their Keens wet/dry shoes, but oh well, I can’t think of everything.

I don’t remember if we ate lunch this day. Maybe we just grazed on the little cans of Pringles and granola bars in the cooler. I didn’t write down where or if we had lunch this day. But I do remember a stop we made sometime that afternoon…

CANDYLAND!!!

The kids had been talking about this since the first day we drove by it. Today was the day I’d let them go. Located in Hill City, SD, Candyland sold candy…lots of candy. I told them each how much money they could spend. Since a lot of the store was priced by the pound, I told them they would need to weigh their bags often! Gman was soooo excited! All of us were, really. We were like three kids in a….well, you get the picture.

I was so excited to see candy from my childhood! Anyone remember Wacky Wafers?

I also found bottled pop! Remember this one? Nostalgia sells, people! I bought it! Lolo had fun filling her bag with gummy eggs, gummy eyeballs, gummy fingers, lips and anything weird and gummy she could find. Gman just ran around the store as if he were already on a massive sugar high. It was fun, but expensive. Add this to the list of things I’d NEVER do if we weren’t on vacation. Fun though!

If it hasn’t already been obvious to you, I did not count points during vacation. In hindsight, I should have, but you only live once, right? There’s time for counting points AFTER vacation.

We showered, fell into our beds and looked forward to the adventures the next day of vacation would bring.

Next up? A wild horse sanctuary, panning for gold and exploring the shops of Keystone, SD! Vacation is almost over.

Extra grace,

Jodi