About two weeks ago, I flew to Iowa. Dad and I picked up Andrea and drove out to the Black Hills. We visited the Corn Palace, fed the prairie dogs, and drove through the Badlands on the way to Mount Rushmore. In Wall, we ate lunch. I had a great buffalo burger and we shared probably the best chocolate malt ever. Then, we drove to Rapid City, bought some food for the campsite, and headed to Custer State Park. We setup the new along with hanging out hammock.
The next day, Dad found some buffalo near the State Game Campground, so we drove to see them. We also saw some antelope. Custer State Park has made some major improvements including a new Legion Lake Lodge and a new Visitor’s Center. We ate at a secluded picnic area. We drove into Custer and dropped a birthday present/welcome gift off at Murphy’s hotel. Tom and Cindy Murphy arrived in the Black Hills on Sunday afternoon. We then went to Mount Rushmore. I really began to like buffalo meat especially in chili. The Murphy’s text us that they had arrived, so we had a campfire and hot dogs at the campground.
The next day, we walked in the Grace Coolidge area. Dad walked back to get the car and drove around to pick Andrea and me up at Center Lake. I think we crossed 7 bridges in 3 miles. It was fun. We met the Murphy’s at the State Game Lodge to eat lunch. Then, we drove through the Black Hills. Andrea and I went down the pipe area on the Sunday Gulch Trail. Before it has been really hard, but this time it was easy, but still really fun. We drove through the Needles, saw the Eye, and drove the Iron Mountain Road. We went on the Wildlife Loop Road where we saw buffalo and the burros.
I woke up to one buffalo near our campground. I went back to the campsite and swung in the hammock. A squirrel decided to eat Andrea’s, so we had to move it. We met the Murphy’s in Custer for pizza and pie and then, we went up to Mount Rushmore and saw the lighting ceremony.
The next day, we went out to Deadwood and Lead, drove through Spearfish Canyon, and went out to Devil’s Tower. We drove through Sturgis on the way back.
I am getting a little confused about the days, but it is ok. The pictures below are slightly messed up too, because I used three different cameras. It takes some time to re-order them and it doesn’t matter too much.
In Custer, there is a restaurant that was deemed the “best burger joint” in America. We ate there for lunch. The first bit was really good — probably the best I have had in the United States. I had a buffalo burger again. Afterwards, we went to the search for more animals. We saw some antelope and went to where they drive the buffalo to during the round-up. We met the Murphy’s at a chuckwagon dinner/ show. They had a little gunfight before the dinner. After the chuckwagon, we went across the road to see a Native American show. It was pretty neat. The regalia was really beautiful.
On Friday, we met Murphy’s at Mount Rushmore to eat breakfast. We walked around the Presidential Trail and went into the museum. We went down to Keystone and rode the ski lift up at the Alpine Adventure place. It was a pretty neat place. It is cool at the top as you could see Mount Rushmore, walk through gardens, or eat in their cafe. We took the slide down the hill. It was fun, but I was too scared. Next time, I would go faster. It was same type slide as at Mutianyu at the Great Wall. We went to the Prairie Winery for lunch.
For the last night at the State Game Campground, Murphys came over and we cooked a Chipotle-type meal as we sat around the fire.
We left Saturday morning stopping at Wall for one last buffalo burger and chocolate malt. We stopped at the now-finished Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. It is a well-done, small museum. We ate cake as they celebrated the 25th anniversary of the START Treaty. We made it Des Moines later in the night. I went back to Florida the next day.