Black Hills, SD

Hey, nothing broke today! Although that is not to say everything went without a hitch. As we were about to drive off to visit the Black Hills an official of the campground stopped by to tell us the campsites we and two other campers had selected when we arrived yesterday were so new that they had not yet been released to the campground by the contractor. We had to move. No problem. Since there were plenty of other spaces available it was a simple move because we do not have slides out or leveling jacks down. No hydraulics, remember?

Once underway we had a great time in the Black Hills. The only glitch was the government shutdown had all the National Parks closed. That included Mount Rushmore. Not only did they have the entrance to the park coned off, but they coned off every turnout on the highway that might have afforded a view of the sculpture. They must have run out of cones because we found one wide spot in the road where I took this zoomed in shot. 

All the closer we could get.

I found this confusing. If the park was closed because they had no money for the salaries, why were no fewer than eight rangers standing around talking at the park entrance. It looked like a shift change at a car wash.

We drove over to the Crazy Horse monument, which as a commercial attraction was not affected by the fiasco in Washington. They were getting a lot of extra business since the National Parks and monuments were closed. It is an impressive operation.

Decades into this huge effort. That blip near the end of his arm is a backhoe!

There is a very large visitor center that features hundreds of Native American art pieces as well as historical artifacts. Of course, there is a large gift shop and restaurant as well. While we were there the sixth generation grandson of Crazy Horse gave a talk and, along with his son, demonstrated native dances. Pretty cool.

In the little town of Custer we had lunch at a place that is obviously a local favorite. It was the Black Hills Burger & Bun Co., and as the name suggests we did indeed have burgers. They were excellent, and the fries (both regular and sweet potato) were as well. If you are in the area of Custer, SD drop in. You will like it.

We drove home through Custer State Park. This area is absolutely gorgeous and reminds me of the  Sierra Mountains. Just not as high, of course. The Aspen were turning colors and the low sun made them shine a bright yellow. Barbara got more pictures of wildlife. We saw more buffalo, pronghorn sheep, and bright white mountain goats.

Nia slept through much of this, but she will not be joining us tomorrow since we will be going to a wildlife loop through Custer State Park specifically to be up close with the animals. She gets her knickers in a twist if they get too close.