Norton travels, USA and beyond: Black Hills of South Dakota

Wow, the Black Hills of South Dakota are awesome. This was our last big stop on our travels, and it was a great finale. First we went to Mount Rushmore, which is awe inspiring. The visitors’ center that explains how the sculptures were made was also fascinating. From there we drove down the scenic Iron Mountain byway, that winds to Custer State Park. The scenery there is magnificent, open meadows and pine covered hills, blue skies with clouds floating by. But you have to keep your eyes on the road too or you could run into a buffalo. The park has a large bison herd, and while we were there many decided to cross the road and walk around all the cars. It was really cool! We also saw lots of deer and prairie dogs. The next day we drove down to Wind Cave National Park where we went on one of the cave tours. It is huge cave with 95 miles of mapped trails that goes very deep underground. It also has interesting formations called boxwork; 95% of the boxwork in known caves is in this one. On our way back to camp, we drove through Custer State Park again, but the herd was not as close to the road this time.

Another fun day trip was a ride on the 1880’s Steam Train that goes through the mountains between Keystone and Hill City. The route was originally built to service the many mines in the area. More beautiful scenery, and on the way back we rode through a strong hailstorm. On the last day we spent in the Black Hills, we went to a western chuckwagon dinner and show. Some of the sets from “Dances With Wolves” were at the location, which had been moved there from the nearby filming area. The dinner and show were a fun conclusion to our time in South Dakota.

From there, we headed southwest into Wyoming. We spent a day near the town of Guernsey, where the Oregon Trail passes through. It is the best location to see the deep ruts cut through the sandstone by the wagons as they journeyed westward. Also there is Register Cliff, where hundreds of pioneers carved their names and date on the sandstone cliffs. Many are still visible there. Now we are in Laramie, Wyoming. This is our last full week on the road; we will be home next week. It is a bittersweet feeling; while we look forward to seeing family, we have had a great time traveling. Next week I’ll post some numbers from our trip as well as our “best of” awards.