Black Hills Vacation – Day 5

This was the day we would sleep in! We had a reservation at 11 a.m. in Hot Springs, SD and it would require some drive time, so we didn’t plan anything before that. It rained in the night and when I woke before the kids to enjoy my morning coffee, it was still chilly and cloudy. I hoped the rain was over so we could enjoy our plans for the day. But even when it rains, the Black Hills are remarkable. The low-hanging clouds and dreary sky made the hills look eerie and mystical.A brand new, beautiful viewpoint!

I planned to leave the Tiny House by 10:15 a.m. so we could be in Hot Springs at the Wild Horse Sanctuary by 10:45. This was a huge mistake. Why can’t I get it through my head that 40 some miles in the Black Hills is going to take me well over an hour of drive time?! More like an hour and a half, actually. As it became clear we were NOT going to make it on time, despite South Dakota’s awesome speed limits, I dialed the Sanctuary and prayed I’d have enough cell phone signal to get through. I explained we were on our way and apologized profusely. They were so kind! They said it was ok and depending on how late we were, they’d either drive us out to catch up with the tour or reschedule us for the 1 p.m. tour. What a relief!

We finally arrived around 11:20 and do you know what? They were waiting for us! It turns out we weren’t the only late tourists, but can you believe how nice that was?! Extra grace!!!

We chitchatted with the other vacationers on the tour (TX, FL, IL just some of the states represented) as we waited to load the old school bus that would take us around the 11,000 acres of land. ELEVEN THOUSAND ACRES!
Our tour guide was an animated, horse -loving thespian and great storyteller named Betsy. Her husband drove the school bus while she told us the story of how the Sanctuary came to be. She told us about Dayton O. Hyde, scraped together enough money for a down payment for the land and then convinced the Bureau of Land Management to send him unadoptable horses. All of them.

Dayton Hyde is now in his 90’s. He still lives on this land and still works it. We were informed he was helping “make fence” just that week. An author of over 18 books, his primary passion was and will always be the horses. Incredible.

Dayton ran away from his Michigan home at the age of 13. He hopped a train West and showed up at his uncle’s ranch to become a cowboy. His time learning to be a rancher further developed his desire to preserve the prairies, and the wildlife that inhabit the land. This Sanctuary, founded in 1988, is his largest conservation project. Because of Dayton O. Hyde, 500 captured wild mustangs now run free on over 11,000 acres. Now free from abuse, neglect, slaughter or worse, these magnificent creatures are now doing what they were born to do, run free!

A documentary titled Running Wild is planned to share the life, vision and work of Dayton O. Hyde with the world.

As the old school bus bounced up and down the hills of the Sanctuary, we saw hand-constructed mountain bluebird houses attached to trees, more evidence of the love and care for nature in this very special place.

We received a lesson in the different breeds and cross breeds of horses found on this land. We learned how they separate the horses by their readiness to run free. There’s a “kindergarten” area, a “middle school” section of land and finally the high school/college ready mustangs. We observed hundreds of majestic equine amidst a glorious backdrop of rolling hills, river valleys and aromatic wild sage, prickly pear cactus, and yucca plants. I could’ve stayed here all day long.

We were allowed to exit the bus for a closer look at the horses on several stops during the tour. We were cautioned, if they approach, back on the bus. You can’t trust a wild horse. We picked wild sage and everyone on the bus was in love with its scent!

Gman was soooo interested in all of this! He couldn’t get enough of these horses and their stories.

Lolo loved this experience too. Not shocking, really. When she was seven years old she bought a horse magazine from a garage sale. When she got home, she circled each and every horse and horse camp on her wish list.

We drove by a large pile of tree branches, bison skulls and mounds of dirt and rock. We were informed this was formerly the location of the Lakota tribe’s annual Sun Dance.

The mounds of dirt and tree branch framed structures were former sweat lodges. We learned about the 300-500 people who would come to this sacred place for this important ceremony.

This land, this sanctuary, absolutely RICH with culture, beauty and redemption. Once again on this vacation I was exposed to the stories of those following the calling of their heart, even when it didn’t make sense to others. I’ve seen the benefits of sharing gifts and talents to uplift and care for others. I’ve been exposed to unusual (by normal standards) ways in which people are making their life really matter by doing what they love and enriching the world around them. This was the overall theme of my vacation. I’ve soaked in the stories of those who took risks in order to pour love and compassion into the world. I’m paying attention, God.

The old school bus bounced us forward to an area overlooking the Cheyenne River. Part of the movie Hidalgo was filmed on this land, as well as a made-for-TV movie titled Crazy Horse. Some of the buildings constructed for the  Crazy Horse remain in the valley below. Horses use them to hide from the heat of the sun.

This was now becoming a spiritual experience for me. Just like the horseback ride the day before; I was moved to tears at the view of the valley below, the mighty Cheyenne River flowing mightily through it.

IT WAS BREATHTAKING! It was Glory.

It was easy to imagine Native Americans on this land (THEIR land) hundreds and hundreds of years ago. But just in case you had a hard time, we turned a corner and there we took in the view of rocky canyon walls marked with Petroglyphs, some marked with dates in the late 1800’s and some guessed to be between 8,000 and 10,000 years old!Coyotes, cougar, white-tail and mule deer, elk, wild turkeys, rattlesnakes, falcons, eagles and mountain blue birds are just some of the wildlife that can be found on the 11,000 acres of land. We didn’t really see any of these animals, except this guy, and I’m not really sure which of the above animals he is. But he’s cool.Other interesting facts we learned on this INCREDIBLE tour:

• Around five full-time employees care for the animals and property with some additional seasonal help.
• The annual feed bill at the Wild Horse Sanctuary is around $500,000!!!
• Roughly 200 head of cattle co-exist on the property – Cattle help the Sanctuary qualify for the Agricultural Property Tax because horses do not qualify as agriculture in South Dakota. Lower property taxes help the Sanctuary care for the horses they are trying to rescue.
• Over 500 wild horses live here.
• Birth control is used at the Sanctuary, because the goal is to rescue horses, not multiply them.
• Mares are smart =-)
• All the mustangs were born in the wild and consist of Rescues, Rare Breed Preservation, and Sanctuary-Born Descendants.
• Breeds found at the Sanctuary: American, Spanish, Curly & Chocktaw mustangs (My personal favorite? The paints!!!)
• IRAM stands for the Institute of Range & the American Mustang. This is the foundation started by Dayton O. Hyde.
• The Sanctuary does not receive Federal or State funding. It survives through the support of donations and tourism dollars. If you want to know more about how to support this mission, click HERE. You can even sponsor and NAME a horse!
• Donations are tax deductible.

I am SOOOO glad we put this on our vacation itinerary!

We left after; you guessed it, spending a little in the gift shop. We purchased another hatpin, and a book for Gman and then we were back in the minivan. We didn’t have a strict schedule for the day, so we stopped for lunch at the Dew Drop Inn Café. Another family-owned business we were happy to support! Best bacon cheeseburgers around for miles.

Although we were near the famous Wind Cave National Park, – or maybe we were near Jewel Cave , I don’t remember really. Anyway, we decided as a family we would skip the caves. Instead, we decided to head back near home base. Since it was still cloudy and chilly, and we were all tired from the week’s activities, we decided to stay low-key for the rest of the day. This day felt like a good time to head back to Keystone and cash in our Groupon for the Big Thunder Gold Mine tour and gold panning.

In order to use my Groupon, I had to connect to the Internet, which was a no-go. But no problem! There’s WiFi at the gold mine! And they gave me the password! Woo-hoo!

We took the fun and informative tour of the gold mine. Again, Gman was beyond into it. He asked questions and paid attention the entire tour!

Both kids had fun and learned a thing or two as well.

After the tour and a quick lesson on how to pan for gold, the kids headed to the trough with their pans, ready to strike it rich! Things got a little competitive between the kids. Each left about five miniscule flecks of gold the richer. I, on the other hand, lost more money than they earned in the gift shop. (A hatpin and two geodes for hammering open later).

I finally pried them away from their quest for gold so we could meander the streets of Keystone for a bit. Gman talked me into buying fudge I knew he wouldn’t like, we explored a few shops and posed for a picture with a wood carved bison bench, because, of course there was a bison bench.  We saw lots of motorcyclists again. Apparently it doesn’t have to be Sturgis time for it to be bike time. Although I’m not at all into motorcycles, if I was, I’d have to have this one…(the girl in front):

It was getting to be early evening and we wanted to get home at a decent time for once, so we headed back to Custer.

It appeared we would actually eat at a normal time of day today. After a family vote, we decided on our favorite place – The Purple Pie Place in Custer. 

This is an adorable family-owned pie and ice cream shop. We ate here the first night in town because everything else was closed. Their menu is limited after 8 p.m. (usually the time we arrived), but they offered the most amazing homemade chicken potpie (one of their signature items) as well as Macaroni & Cheese as a to-go item at this time of day. We took our comfort food, along with pie a la mode back to the tiny house for a relaxing meal. The kids ate an ice cream cone as an appetizer to their meal, because… IT’S VACATION!

Our neighbors were there to greet us again.

It was a good, good day. We feel so grateful to have had this vacation and so surrounded by God’s love and generosity with each new experience.  Although we’d been having so much fun all week, we were all sad to see it nearing an end but also feeling slightly eager to get home. The next day we’d drive to Wyoming to check out Devil’s Tower and then Spearfish, SD. I hope you’re enjoying our vacation to the Black Hills!! What’s been your favorite thing so far?

Extra Grace,

Jodi