Highlights of Summer in the Dakotas + Nebraska

Custer State Park

We arrived in Custer May 31st, excited to begin our new adventure as volunteers at Custer State Park.

It is 71,000 acres of mountains, prairies, hiking, camping, lakes,  magnificent views and wildlife.  Wildlife includes bison, antelope, burros, long horn sheep, mountain lions, coyote, mule deer, white tale deer, elk, bighorn sheep and mountain goats.

When traveling the wildlife loop we often got stuck in a "buffalo jam". Herds of buffalo just wonder into and down the road and everyone has to wait until the buffalo wonder off the road, so you can continue driving.  It is quite exciting.


































And then there are the burros in the road.  They are often called the "begging burros."  They love carrots and apples and they will stand in the road and stop traffic and put their head in your car window.  People just love them and they are the ONLY animals in the park that you can pet.

Oh! And the mountain goats love to get in the road.  They lick the road for the salt.  And of course you have to stop for them.

By now you are getting the idea. You don't go anywhere in the park in a hurry.  The roads are curvy and there are lots of switch backs.  Highest speed limit in the park is 35 mph.

One of the things people come to Custer to see is "Needles Highway."There are two small tunnels that you have to drive through. They are 8 ft wide, just barely wider than a car.  Only one car at a time can get through, so that can create a traffic jam at times.

Needles Eye Tunnel

This is beginning to sound like an advertisement for Custer State Park.  In a way it is.  If you have never been, you should put it on your list of places to go.  You could spend a week or two here and never do everything there is to do.

Bear Country USA, Rapid City, SD

While at Custer we had an opportunity to go to Bear Country USA.  We were surprised at how much wildlife we saw there and how much we enjoyed it.  Bears and other wildlife roamed free as we drove through the park.  Being at Custer SP, we did not expect to be wowed, but we were pleasantly surprised. A few of the animals we saw are shown below.

We had never seen a reindeer in real life and we got to see reindeer at Bear Country.

Reindeer

bear cubs at play

brown bear in our rearview mirror

brown bear out for a stroll

Prairie Berry Winery, Hill City, SD

We love visiting wineries  and going to vineyards.  Unfortunately there are no vineyards near Custer, but there are wine tasting rooms.  So of course we had to taste some wine at Prairie Berry Winery in Hill City.  Their signature wine is called Red Ass Rhubarb.  What a fun name and it isn't bad.  It is one of the few places that has outdoor seating with a beautiful view.  We went several times while at Custer.

Hot Springs, SD

On another outing we went to Hot Springs.  They don't have hot springs that you can splash in anymore, but it is an interesting little old town.  We took Izzy and enjoyed the walk through the local park called Kidney Springs.  Legend has it that drinking the water is good for the kidneys.

Mount Rushmore, Rapid City, SD

Fort Robinson, Crawford, NE

Several of our "neighbors," suggested we go to Fort Robinson, in Nebraska.  Not ever having been to Nebraska I insisted that we go.  It gave us a chance to "get away" for an afternoon.  It is two hours away outside the town of Crawford.  It is now a state park.  We wondered around the park in and out of old barracks and officer quarters.  It was a beautiful day in the sun.

Fort Robinson was a base of US military forces and played a major role in the Sioux Wars from 1876 to 1890. The war chief Crazy Horse surrendered here with his band on May 6, 1877. On September 5 that year, he was fatally wounded while resisting imprisonment.^[6] A historic plaque marks the site of his death.  In 1919 at the end of World War I, Fort Robinson became the world's largest quartermaster remount depot.  It was declared a national historic landmark in 1960.

Post Headquarters

surrounding area in the park

officers quarters

After leaving Fort Robinson, we wanted a bite to eat.  Well to say the least the town of Crawford is small.  The only eating establishment was a little drive-in called Staab's Drive In.  The only vegetarian option was French fries.

North Dakota

We had the opportunity to tick off one more state: North Dakota.  We drove up to Theodore Rosevelt National Park and spent a couple days taking it in.  The park was much like Custer State Park.

My friend Angie, from Florida spent a couple of weeks with us and she and I visited the Bad Lands of South Dakota and drove through the Black Hills and of course we had to stop at Wall Drugs.

Geographical Center of the Nation.

We spent a day with friends from Wyoming and had the opportunity to go to Belle Fourche, SD.  We had no idea we were so close to the geographical center of the Nation.   Along the way we went through a little town called Aladdin.  Population 15.  Can you imagine that!

Glo & Kelly L.

It was a fun and interesting summer.  One of the things that made it an unforgettable summer was the friends we made.  Leslie, my golfing buddy from Iowa, Terri and Mike, also from Iowa, who we enjoyed evening cocktails with and Charles and Graceann our dining out friends and Janice, my hiking buddy from Florida.