Cathedral Spires in Custer State Park

A grouping of the spires in the Needles is called the Cathedral Spires - appropriately named for a grouping of these rock pinnacles.

Needles 2 - in Custer State Park, SD

The roads throughout Custer were designed to weave through these formations. A series of tunnels were created to allow cars to reach the ares. This tunnel is tiny!! These rock formations are really wonderful! The full glory of the Aspen tree's yellow leaves and the incredible views make this area beautiful!

The Needles - Custer State Park, SD

Erosion has created remarkable shapes to the tops of the mountains near Sylvan Lake in the Custer State Park. This area is called "Needles" because of the small spires. The "eye of the needle" is easy to distinguish! Darrell tries his luck with climbing the sheer cliff!

Slyvan Lake - Custer Park, SD

Sylvan Lake is beautiful - crystal clear, deep blue water surrounded by the giant granite boulders.

Evening Light Program at Mount Rushmore

After dinner - we went back to Mount Rushmore for an evening light show. The show was very patriotic and included the singing of the National Anthem. All veterans were asked to come up on the stage at the end of the show. Makes us proud to be American!

Custer State Park - Sylvan Lake Lodge

Our home for the next 3 nights is in the Custer State Park. We are staying at Sylvan Lake Lodge in a cabin. Custer State Park is a huge park in the center of the South Dakota Black Hills in the southwest corner of South Dakota. The Lodge is located at around 6000 feet - so it is really cold in the evenings. Our first evening we have dinner at the lodge - which reminds us of the traditional lodges of the wonderful western parks. I had buffalo tenderloin for dinner - wonderful.

Mount Rushmore - up close

I walked the base of the monument - using an audio guide to learn more of the history of the development of the project. What a dream to build this incredible monument in rural South Dakota.

The Faces - Mount Rushmore

Honoring important US Presidents - the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln have been carved into the granite rock of Mount Rushmore. Over 400 men worked over 15 years to realize the dream of builder Gutzon Borglum. This monument is a "National Treasure" to be certain. Starting in 1927 much time was invested by Borglum and his supporters in South Dakota to choose the presidents and to design this monument. Mount Rushmore was completed in 1941.

Mount Rushmore, Keystone, SD

We catch our first glimpse of Mount Rushmore just outside of Keystone, SD. At first we are so far away - we are not sure exactly how large the faces are. As we enter the park - the images become much clearer. Our first views are from the Avenue of Flags with flags from all US states and territories. We watched a film the described how Mount Rushmore was developed.

Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway, South Dakota Black Hills

We start our day heading to Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The sheer rock cliffs of Spearfish Canyon provided a vivid back drop for waterfalls and the beautiful aspen trees in full yellow fall colors. One of my alltime favorite movies is Dances with Wolves. Almost all of the movie was filmed in the Dakotas - including the Badlands and Spearfish Canyon. The winter camp scene at the end of the movie was filmed alongside the creek flowing through this beautiful area. I saw the ridge where "Wind in his Hair" yelled goodbye to Dances with Wolves, ok -- I won't quote the movie. But - the area was simply beautiful!

Shooting of Wild Bill Hickok at Deadwood

We stayed for the big "Shoot out" Where Jack McCall kills Wild Bill Hickok as he plays a game of poker in the No. 10 Saloon. The actor playing Wild Bill was quite knowledgable of his character and answered many questions for the crowd. Wild Bill was holding Aces and eights - now known as the Deadman's hand.

Deadwood, SD

Darrell loved the HBO show "Deadwood"! We strolled through the town of Deadwood just at dusk. It seemed every building had some form of gambling. We went to Saloon No. 10 for a beer and to see the "shoot out". Afterwards - we had a quite nice dinner at the Deadwood Social Club upstairs over the saloon. I had a smoked pheasant pasta dish that was actually wonderful.

Sturgis, SD

Sturgis, SD is famous for the huge Motorcycle Rally held in August each year. During that week a sleepy little town welcomes 400,000 bikers for a huge party. Well - we missed the party - but we found a very quite and sleepy little town. Motorcyle stores and bars were the most prominent attranctions in the town.

Hiking the base of Devil's Tower, WY

I stained (almost) my neck from looking straight up as I hike around the base of the tower. Watching the insane mountain climbers was amazing - not me - I'm staying on the ground! Devil's Tower is near Sundance, WY and provides a loop of the Northern Black Hills in the Eastern Wyoming area. We spent 2 nights in Spearfish, SD.

Devil's Tower, Wyoming

I remember seeing the movie "Close Encounter's of a Third Kind" and thinking - what a cool movie set. I did not realize - Devil's Tower is a real place and is way cool! Visible for miles - this unique sphere rises from the plains - literally. Many mountain climbers love to come to devil's tower to climb the almost sheer cliff sides. We could see at least six climbers on various points of the tower.

Visit with Dale and Tiffany Hawks in Sundance, WY

Tiffany and her Mom - Colleen prepared a wonderful lunch for us. Dale took us on a drive through the area. We enjoyed seeing the ranch area and hearing about the history of the place. Tiffany and Colleen have roots in South Dakota. Dale also loves this beautiful rugged country.