Acting silly at Wall Drug Store, Wall, SD

The interstate is filled with signs about "Wall Drug Store". It is a famous landmark in the little town of Wall, SD. The store started in the 1930's as a drug store with an ice cream counter. Now - it spreads over 2 city blocks and is full of wonderful ways to spend your money. We were acting silly - I am on a "Jackalope??" and Darrell has a new hair style! But the 5 cent coffee and doughnut was really good!

Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD

South Dakota is filled with ingenius ways to get people to pull off the interstate. The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD is covered in a "corn and grain" moasic in the fall to create amazing scenes on the side the of the "palace" in downtown Mitchell.

State Game Park Lodge, Custer State Park, SD

The "Summer White House" of Calvin Coolidge is now the State Game Lodge in Custer State Park, SD. Our final night in Custer - Darrell and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the lodge.

View from the top of Harney Peak, SD

Harney Peak sits at 7244 feet and is about a 7 mile roundtrip hike. This is above the treeline. The old stone Fire Tower tops the peak. The trip to the top of Harney Peak was rewarded with spectactular views. Brochures say you can see 100 miles and 4 states. As you can see - it was a "severe clear" day and the views were awesome!

Hike to Harney Peak, South Dakota

Harney Peak is the highest point in the US east of the Rocky Mountains - elevation 7244'. I managed to make it to the top of about a 7 mile round trip hike! The views were magnificent. The trail head was just by Sylvan Lake.

Purple Pie Place, Custer, SD

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Purple Pie Place in Custer, SD. The strawberry rhubarb pie was unbelievable!

Wildlife Loop 2- Custer State Park, SD

We only missed the huge Buffalo Roundup in Custer State Park by a day! The annual event draws thousands to watch the cowboys round up the buffalo from the plains into the corral area. Our friends that we visited in Sundance, WY - were actually at the Roundup. We also saw a rattle snake just as we were leaving the corral area - needless to say - I did not get out of the car!! Then we saw a huge group of wild mountain goats! Plenty of wildlife in the park!

Custer State Park - Wildlife loop

We saw wild turkeys everywhere in the park! This pronghorn antelope was majestically poised on a rock cropping overlooking the road. But the funniest animals were the "begging" donkeys - they wait on the side of the road to beg for carrots. They did not hesitate to stick their heads through the car window for treats.

Iron Mountain Road - Pigtail bridges, double tunnels and more views, Custer State Park, SD

The Iron Mountain Road is really an engineering feat - several "pigtail" bridges spiral down the mountain to allow the road to be constructed in the steeper sections. An unique "double tunnel" again frames Mount Rushmore.

Iron Mountain Road -Views of Mount Rushmore through the Tunnels, Custer State Park, SD

Peter Norbeck - long time governor of South Dakota wanted a special road built from the Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore. He built the road everyone said could not be built - Iron Mountain Road. Even the tunnels through the road were designed so that Mount Rushmore would be visibly framed as you entered the tunnel.

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.