Black Hills Adventure, July 1997

The group: Steve, Nancy, Dale (11), Amy (9) Gaarenstroom; George, Sue, Georgie (10) Ambrozy; Skip, Joleen, Scott (10), Kelsey (6) Meier.

Saturday, June 28

We are underway at 8:30am EDT. There was lots of sway on the rental Coleman camper, so we had many stops to balance the load or look to add tire pressure to one side (needed 80 lbs, more pressure than my minicompressor could deliver). The FRS-band radios were very helpful for communicating between the Ambrozy Suburban and the Gaarenstroom Safari van. Gas mileage is terrible, 12.5 mpg on the first fill up. With our Coleman camper and the cartop carrier, we will find this par for the whole trip. [For the entire trip, I calculate the fuel penalty of the cartop carrier at $20 and the camper at $93.] The three boys were in the Suburban the whole day, while Amy and Kelsey happily chattered all day in their center seats in the van. In Wisconsin, the Suburban slipped a belt, temporarily overflowing coolant. We decide to stop short of our LaCrosse destination. We get the last 2 sites at Yukon Trails campground in Lyndon Station WI at 8:30 pm CDT. The Ambrozy cellular phone was helpful here and also other times during the trip. The campground is hosting a big camping club, but is still nice. We have sites in heavy woods by a stream, but still very few bugs. The kids swim in a pool.

Sunday, June 29

We break camp and leave at 9:10 am CDT. Breakfast is cereal or leftover donuts. We visit Castle Rock for hiking and pictures. The next stop is Lock & Dam 7, on the Minnesota side of the Mississippi River. Skip loves watching a barge lock through. The drive in Minnesota gets a little boring, our speed in the 60- 62 mph range to reduce trailer sway. Coming into Fairmont, I direct our caravan past my old haunts at 914 Budd Street, William Budd school, and 715 Shoreacres Drive. In western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, we can drive a little faster (65+ mph) on the straighter roads and avoid the worst sway. We arrive at Riverside KOA near Mitchell SD at 7:45pm CDT. The kids swim, we visit the Corn Palace at night, and dine at Taco John's at 10:30pm.

Monday, June 30

We leave at 9:30am after a cereal breakfast. We stop at Chamberlain overlook to see the Missouri River and the beginning of "out West". The drive across the prairie is very windy. We arrive at Circle 10 campground in Cactus Flats SD, just north of the Badlands National Park. It is sunny and hot. We swim, have lunch (crackers, sausage, peanut butter, sandwiches). We drive to the Badlands. We stop at an overlook, then hike the Door Trail, described as "resembling the lunar surface". It was a neat place, and made us feel that we were really inside the Badlands. We stopped at the Visitor Center and other pullouts, then saw Roberts prairie dog town at sunset (9pm MDT). Supper was at a restaurant in Wall SD, 10pm.

Tuesday, July 1

Today is Nancy's birthday. We have breakfast in the campground cafe at Cactus Flats. Amy enjoyed the Indian Fry Bread (with powdered sugar). It was cloudy, so we were going to skip the 2nd day of Badlands sightseeing. Then the sun came out. Skip, George, and the boys went back to the Loop Road in the Badlands for more hiking, climbing, and pictures. The rest of us drove to Wall Drug (the famous combination drug store and circus). We looked at the shops and bought some interesting fox teeth, buffalo teeth, and badger claws to make necklaces later in the trip. We saw the Buffalo Gap National Grassland Visitor Center. We connected with the boys back from the Badlands (again the FRS radios were handy when walking around town) and had lunch at the Backlot in Wall Drug. The drive to Rapid City and then to Custer State Park was very windy (60-80 mph winds reported later). I slowed to 50-55 mph on the freeway. We saw our first buffalo only a minute after entering Custer S.P. Stockade Lake, on the western end of the Park, was our campground. We set up camp, and need to tie the ends of the camper down to keep them from lifting up from the wind. It is too windy to cook or to set up the tent for Dale and Scott. We have supper in town, at the Wrangler. I order buffalo steak. It is sweeter than beef, also leaner (no cholesterol either).

Wednesday, July 2

It is bright morning, 49 degrees at 7 am. No wind! Skip makes pancakes. We drive the Needles Highway toward Sylvan Lake. We stop at numerous pullouts, especially the Needle's Eye and tunnel. I walk behind Amy and Kelsey who were climbing around the rocks. We bring back a sparkling mica-studded piece of pink schist for Grandma Dolores. At Sylvan Lake, the campground I stayed at 23 years ago (with Phil and Mike Fifolt) is now a day-use area and beach. The new campground, in the woods away from the Lake, isn't as nice as ours on Stockade Lake. We picnic lunch and then hike the Sunday Gulch Trail on the far side of Sylvan. It begins with a deep descent over rocks with railings. Waterfalls and lush plants are all along the trail. Later the trail ascends to overlooks. We take almost 3 hours to cover the "moderate-to- strenous" 3-mile loop trail, but felt we now knew what the Black Hills was really like. We drove to Custer to shop, then 3.5 miles back to our campsite in the Park. Sue and Nancy cut up mountains of vegetables for the Hunters' Stew that George makes. The amphitheater program was on edible plants. We have a campfire with s'mores for the kids and Dale and Scott sleep in the tent.

Thursday, July 3

It is cloudy and 48 degrees, with a light rain last night. We had a lengthy breakfast with eggs, Canadian bacon, and potatoes and departed at 11:10am. We drive south to Wind Cave National Park, adjacent to Custer S.P. We see buffalo, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, and prairie dogs. At Wind Cave, we take the Natural Entrance tour. Cave temperature is 53F. Wind Cave's calcite boxwork is only found in another cave in the Czech Republic. We picnic near the Visitor Center. Two mule deer walk through, looking for handouts. We drive to the Mammoth Site at Hot Springs. Fifty-one mammoth skeletons were uncovered in a shale sinkhole where the limestone beneath had collapsed. A camel and a short-face bear have also been uncovered. As we leave the Site, the sun finally comes out. At camp, supper is weiners & beans with salad. The amphitheater program is a history of the park. The Civilian Conservation Corps did much of the construction during the Depression.

Friday, July 4

It was cold last night, 40 degrees at 6:50am. I take the kids fishing, but hot dogs don't work as bait. Dale catches a dying perch with his hands. We drive to Mount Rushmore National Monument from the west (the backway). We spot mountain goats twice by the road. The road is nearly empty, but there is a traffic jam at Rushmore parking lot. We do our walking and picture-taking and also enjoy a concert by the Hill City Fife and Drum Corps. Sadly, Dale is obnoxious and unpleasant much of the day. We lunch at Grizzly Picnic area on Iron Mountain Road. Nancy and I pick up a piece of granite having the same hue and texture as nearby Mount Rushmore for Dolores. We drive through the 3 narrow tunnels on Iron Mountain Road which frame the Rushmore heads. On the roads in Custer S.P. we see "wild" burros looking for handouts on the roads and also bighorn sheep. At 4:30, we take a trail ride at Blue Bell Stables. The 1- hour ride was fantastic. We went up and down hills, forded a stream, saw deer, road past ruins of a saw mill and a mine, and saw plenty of downed trees and other storm damage from the past windstorm. Our trail guide, Carville, told of guiding a group on the trail during the storm and seeing trees fall all around her. Amy's horse was named Stampede, Dale's was Marie, Nancy's was Ranger, and I had Old Smokey. Supper back at camp was hamburgers, beans, and salad. Most people go see the Custer fireworks, but Dale and I stay and fish at Stockade Lake. I only catch one bullhead.

Saturday, July 5

It is 50 degrees at 6:24am. I fish some (1 crappie), but the boys sleep in and don't come to the Lake. Later in the morning the boys go to the lake by themselves and starting catching crappies under the dock on minnows. At 10am, Nancy, Joleen, and Sue go to Custer with laundry and the Dads take the kids to the Norbeck Visitor Center for the Junior Naturalist program. The kids learn about Indian symbolism, write Indian stories, and earn a patch. Back at camp the boys resume fishing. Skip and I take Kelsey and Amy to a gold panning demonstration. We don't get any gold in our pans, but lots of tiny garnets. We lunch at Legion Lake cafe, then Amy and I stay and do paddleboats while Skip takes Kelsey for a Peewee Naturalist program. Legion Lake is smaller than Stockade. The lake is ringed with people fishing and we see many fish jump, but only 1 catch. Supper at camp includes the 11 crappies the boys caught, plus leftovers. The fish are cooked in foil over the fire with lemon pepper or garlic pepper seasoning.

Sunday, July 6

George Ambrozy's birthday. We get up early, even the boys are dragged out for a trip on the Wildlife Loop road. It is 46 degrees at 6:10am. Breakfast is cut fruit and gorp. We see lots of deer and fawns. By the Wildlife Center, we meet the main bison herd (the Park has 1400 bison). We see lots of calves in the herd. At camp, Amy and Kelsey give George a buffalo tooth necklace they made for his birthday. The boys fish with minnows we buy in town. They catch 16 crappie, but give them to another camper family. The forecast is for clouds and rain (this proves completely wrong), so we plan "indoor" activities. We go to Hot Springs for the Mammoth Site Junior Paleotologist dig. The five kids move lots of dirt looking for mammoth bone replicas, then learn to map their finds. They had a great time. Now hot and dirty, we move to Evans Plunge, a natural hot springs indoor swimming pool. The water temperature is a year-round 87 degrees, with the outdoor pool even warmer. The indoor springs pool had a flat pebble bottom, with spring water percolating up from the bottom. The water volume changes over 16 times a day. We have supper at the Elkhorn Restaurant in Hot Springs. At camp, the boys make badger claw necklaces by lantern light.

Monday, July 7

A warm 53 degrees at 6:56 am. There was a thunderstorm last night when I shared the tent with Dale. (I need to seal a seam on the tent, but only a minor leak.) We gas up and head out for Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming. The Wyoming plains appear drier and stonier than the Dakota plains. Dale continues to be unpleasant and rude much of the day. We take US 16 and US 14 to Devil's Tower. We hike the 1.3-mile loop trail around the impressive 600-foot volcanic plug. We spot several climbing parties and see porcupine-damaged trees. Lots of family pictures taken. Lunch is at the picnic area. On the return trip, Nancy drives the pictureque Spearfish Canyon road. The canyon has 1000-ft limestone walls. We stop at Bridal Veil falls and at Roughlock Falls (the kids wade in the freezing water). We drive next to the Wild West town of Deadwood. We have a quick supper and then see a historical comedy play, "The Trial of Jack McCall", about the killer of Wild Bill Hickock. The play begins in front of the Old No. 10 Saloon on Main Street, then moves to a theater in the Old Town Hall. There is audience participation and Georgie volunteers for a cool part as the Deputy Sheriff. We then take in some arcades and slots (there must be two dozen casinos lining the street) and leave town at 10:30pm. We drive US385, the Black Hills Parkway, arriving at camp at 11:50, in bed at 12:30am. A long day.

Tuesday, July 8

At 7:40am, it is 56 degrees. There was a light rain in the early morning hours. We had a very late breakfast (10:45) at the Skyway Restaurant in Custer. We window shopped, then went to an appointment at the Old Tyme Portraits studio for a group picture in period costume. The boys and girls looked great as cowpersons. Nancy, Joleen, and Sue had Dance Hall costumes. We had ice cream, then went to Legion Lake for swimming and hiking. The boys spent lots of time in the inflatable canoe. The weather looked threatening, but passed to the north of us. We had a huge buffet supper at the Chief Restaurant in Custer, including great buffalo roast. We then drove on SR89 and CSP road 4. We finally spotted (briefly) 3 elk. We also had a pronghorn antelope eye us and walk slowly across the road in front of us. The water is off at the campground and washrooms and isn't restored until morning.

Wednesday, July 9

We are up at 6:30am, 61 degrees and a gorgeous day. Four of us (Nancy, Sue, Skip, and I) drive to the Little Devil's Tower trailhead near Sylvan Lake for a hike to the summit of Mt. Harney (7220 feet, highest point between the Rockies and the Pyrenees). We hike two hills, arriving at Cathedral Spires in 52 minutes. Total time on the 3-mile route to the Mt. Harney firetower lookout was 2.5 hrs. The granite is neat, sometimes very large crystals of quartz in it. We have views of Stockade Lake, Cathedral Spires, Little Devil's tower, Sylvan Resort, the backside of Mt. Rushmore, and sites all over the Black Hills and plains, even seeing Bear Butte far to the north. The return trail went quickly (mostly downhill), 1 3/4 hrs. We see lots of wild flowers. One spot on the trail passed much eroded mica-containing rock. The dirt we kicked up absolutely sparkled. Harney trail was definitely a highlight of the trip. Back at camp, the weather turned hot. The boys had caught 15 crappie for supper. Nancy and I went to Custer for grocery shopping. We also shopped for Black Hills gold, looking for a birthday present for Nancy (she hadn't seen anything she like in Wall). I buy her a ring with a rose and hummingbird. The distinctive Black Hills gold has yellow gold, white gold, and copper-color gold in the same setting. On the return, we go to Boot Hill Ranch for our second trail ride. It is enjoyable, but not as nice as the Blue Bell trip. Amy's horse is named Skip, Dale's is Shadow, Nancy's is Turk, and mine is Casper. Georgie's horse (Lobo), kicks Skip (the person, not the horse) in the shin. Thankfully, it is not a serious injury. Supper is foil-baked crappie, buffalo-meat mostaccioli, and salad. The kids have s'mores at the campfire.

Thursday, July 10

It is 50 degrees at 5:30am, our warmmest night since Wisconsin and we have windows unzipped during the night. We wanted at early start, but it takes time to break camp and we finally left at 9:30am. The mileage on my van was 5832. We drove on US16 to Rapid City and saw Crazy Horse monument (the face is done, but I didn't see much more work on the rest than what I saw 30 years ago). We drove past Reptile Gardens and many other tourist attractions near Rapid City that we never saw during our stay. There is lots left for us to see should we come back. The wind starts up near Wall SD and freshens to 30 mph (my guess) for the rest of the day. Our speed is mostly 60-65 mph. It was hot outside, peaking at 96F midway across South Dakota. We picnic west of Sioux Falls and continue driving, finally pulling in to Flying Goose Campground east of Fairmont MN at 9pm. Many restaurants are closed, Sue and Joleen finally get carryout chicken at The Ranch. They meet Elmer Kootnick, a retired Fairmont police officer and a friend of Dad's. George and Sue got electric hookup at their campsite, the only time for the whole trip. We use the outside porchlight and citronella candles for illumination for our meal. This is the only campsite where we were inconvenienced by mosquitoes. The Black Hills were markedly free from the pests.

Friday, July 11

It was our warmest night, 67 degrees at 6:30am. We walked/dragged the kids sleepily into the cars and got an early start, departing at 6:55am. I rode in the Suburban for the first time. It is a much smoother, sway- free ride compared to the van. We fuel at Alden. Our gas mileage into yesterday's headwinds was an abismal 10 mpg. We drive better today, averaging 65 mph nearly all day. Breakfast was at a McDonald's in LaCrosse. The kids appreciated this touch of "civilization". No lunch, only snacks as we press on. The drive through Chicago wasn't too bad for a Friday early rush hour. Supper was at a Wendy's by the Michigan border. The kids rode in the van all the way home and did great. We bid good-bye to George, Sue, and Georgie on 11-Mile Road, then arrive at Skip and Joleen's at 12:10pm. We get home to Warren at 12:50am. The mileage reads 7122.