Headed West by Way of Maryland

[BackCast]

This is even better than Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure! Keep the good times rolling and, if you decide to take a horseback ride, make sure you pay to play. They say that bad things happen to those who borrow a horse without asking. Or maybe I just remember that from watching Westerns when I was a kid.

I do a fair amount of travelling east of the big river but rarely make it to the left side. Thinking I need to correct that. As much as I hate to admit it, it has been half a century since I saw either Old Faithful or Mount Rushmore. I hope the same four presidents are still on Mount Rushmore, and that some politically correct group hasn't shut down Old Faithful because of the odor it puts out when it belches. Oh, and catch a trout. There used to be good fishing for cutthroats in parts of the Yellowstone River.

[fishinbug]

I'm with you on the timeline for Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone, BackCast. It has been a little over 50 since my Dad and Mom hauled their five kids out that way. I had no idea about the Badlands and how amazing they are. We have driven a stretch of the park road at least four different times at four different times of day. Each time it is a new view unlike anything seen the day or even hours before. There are not words to describe what we are seeing.

P7260332.JPG

P7260297.JPG

[WannaDoDat]

Beautiful pictures! Unreal landscape. I can only imagine the stunning, ever changing colors and light and shadows.....

I have never seen this part of the country. Thank you for sharing your adventure!

Jean

[fishinbug]

P7270368.JPG

I have never seen this part of the country. Thank you for sharing your adventure!

Jean

Thank you for following along, Jean. We went to Mt. Rushmore yesterday. The place has changed in the past 50+ years, BackCast, and so have I. I was a blubbering old man when I saw those faces again. I was overwhelmed by memories of my family and the fun we had traveling together. The parking area today is a huge multi-lane operation. $11 buys a parking pass that is good the calendar year. We are camped about 20 miles from Mt. Rushmore and the road to and from is wide and smooth. The Crazy Horse Monument is along the way and visible from the highway. We are going to see it and the Native American Museum sometime in the next few days. More later.

P7270365.JPG

[WannaDoDat]

What a fabulous photo of you two lovebirds!!! A very special trip indeed!! Mount Rushmore must be such a marvel to see in person.

Nicholas, you look like Mark Twain! Too bad he didn't live long enough to see this site! Would love to hear his take on it.

Jean

[jsuber]

What a great story

[fishinbug]

P7280409.JPG

That's how Crazy Horse looks today. Below is a model of the finished statue in front of the mountain being carved.

P7280380.JPG

P7280390.JPG

There's a fantastic Native American Museum on the grounds with a wide range of tribes (including the Seminoles) represented in the collection.

We took a drive over to Custer State Park early Friday morning. We had heard about Needles Highway from a camper we met earlier in the Badlands. We decided to drive the Needles Highway first and then drive the Wildlife Loop Road both of which total nearly 70 miles. The maximum speed for most of the drive is 25 mph. Here are a few shots of the Needles.

P7290414.JPG

If you look to the right in the photo you will see the east exit of the Needles Tunnel. It's a one lane tunnel and it is a tight squeeze. I drove through from west to east and managed a clean passage even with my mirrors extended. The view was so pretty from the other side we decided to go back through from east to west while Diane ran a video. A moment's distraction and I scraped the wall with my passenger side mirror. Now I have a souvenir. On the west end of the tunnel is a rock formation known as Eye of the Needle. Take a look. It's easily over a hundred feet high from the highway.

P7290427.JPG

P7290429.JPG

Here's a look down the tunnel.

P7290432.JPG

[fishinbug]

We found them on the Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park. There were some big beast in the herd and a couple of them walked by the truck close enough to touch. We saw a total of several hundred bison and at least 20 pronghorns along the way.

P7290466.JPG

P7290473.JPG

P7290452.JPG

We visited a Mammoth Site yesterday in Hot Springs, SD. It is an active paleontological dig and to date they have discovered 61 mammoths there. Apparently there was a steep sided sinkhole that formed long ago and eventually filled with water. Mammoths that lost their footing on the edge of the water and fell in were unable to climb out. A recent discovery is evidence of a short face bear skeleton below one of the exposed mammoth skeletons. The town of Hot Springs was very nice and comfortable. It was far enough away from Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse to not be overwhelmed with touristy mini golf courses and T-shirt shops. We also located the Black Hills Meat Co. which carries bison meat. We loaded up on bison ribeyes, burgers, and kippered bison (kippered bison is slightly more moist than bison jerky). I grilled one of the ribeyes last night and it was delicious and tender. I'll have to download some photos from yesterday to show you the mammoths.

Sam Clemens...reporting for Way West News.

[WannaDoDat]

Sam Clemens...reporting for Way West News.

I am loving following along on your adventures!!

Incredible pictures and wonderful details!!

Glad you got the advice from a fellow traveler about the Needles Hiighway. Amazing!

[BackCast]

What a great thread to follow. I've been enjoying your pictures and reports and, at the same time, reliving some of my own long lost memories from year's past. Keep 'em coming!

[fishinbug]

Holy Cow! It's August 4th and there is frost on the truck this morning. It's a crystal clear morning sky and the sun is working its way over the hills to the east of us. To the west are the Grand Tetons and we are about to set out for a photo op. The sun waking up the mountains this morning should be fantastic lighting.

Our last report was from the Mammoth Site so here's a look at them dry bones. The paleontologists have discovered 61 mammoth skeletons to date. The skeletons are left in situ and tour groups are able to observe a working dig.

P7300488.JPG

P7300498.JPG

My dogs are telling me that it is time to take a walk. I'll be back.

[WannaDoDat]

INCREDIBLE!!!!

Enjoy enjoy enjoy!!!!!

[fishinbug]

I'll be back.

I'm having a hard time keeping up with sensory overload. There are so many "OH WOW!" moments along the road that time has become a blur. The "other day" is the only time frame I have now to refer to a moment, an event, a sight never imagined and it is now laid out in front of me and the Magic Windshield Movie.

The other day (;)) we left Custer SD and headed a bit south to eventually drive northwest to the Tetons and Yellowstone. I found a park in Thermopolis, WY and it was a short drive from Custer. It turns out that Thermopolis is home to the largest thermal hot springs in the world. The springs were given to the state of Wyoming by the Arapaho and Shoshoni tribes with the stipulation that the park remain free to all. There are bathing pools to soak in the hot springs and a 20 minute time limit to soak. We did not make it to the full 20 minutes, but we emerged nicely parboiled. We took a boardwalk around the spring and it overlooked the Wind River.

P8010536.JPG

P8010543.JPG

P8010532.JPG

P8010531.JPG

P8010537.JPG

P8010553.JPG

P8010556.JPG

My back and old bones felt better for the next couple of days.

[fishinbug]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpsEqINeMS4

P7310512.JPG

P7310526.JPG

P7310528.JPG

We could not leave Custer SD without seeing the Devil's Tower. It is about 100 and some miles away from Custer and we were not able to fit it in while we were running around the area. So we made a slight detour and pointed Bullet and the Grey Wolf north and a bit west into Wyoming.

We tried to work out a trade. Two yellow dogs for one Devil's Tower... they wanted three.

[WannaDoDat]

Wait!!! How did I miss this yesterday?!???

One amazing site and experience after another!!!

And you even got your yearly bath, Samuel Clemons!
Diane looks MIGHTY pleased about that!!!

You guys know how to see the country!!!

Jean