Holy Hail!!!- An Independence Day Trip Report

[HouCuseChickie]

While there's a large gift shop on the upper level with all kinds of traditional touristy items, there's also a bookstore on this lower level. Naturally, Kendall needed to visit! While she browsed some more intellectual offerings, I looked at Lego-like options...





As well as one of the great literary classics!



We made a trip to the restroom before heading out. I don't usually share restroom pics unless there is pretty tile work or fixtures, but this is a bit different. For many years, I've been hearing how the pine beetle infestation is destroying the trees in the Black Hills and made it impossible for them to safely have fireworks over Mount Rushmore. So here I am, spotting a bug on the bathroom stall floor, and thinking it's one of these awful beetles. So naturally, I take a pic. It turns out it's not a pine beetle...it's some kind of beetle (narrowed it down to about 10), but not the kind that's doing all the damage. So, I guess I've been reduced to taking pics of random bugs on bathroom floors. Great.



I also did a quick check of emails before exiting the bathroom. I had something from Wind Cave talking about a refund. It seemed odd, but I didn't want to delay today's plans, so I figured I'd just look at it later.

Now we had a bit of a "what to do next" discussion. We were here...we paid our $10...and we'd already done a lot more than the ice cream plan that brought us here in the first place. It then occurred to me that we'd never hiked the trail that takes you closer to the monument. For the life of me, I cannot recall why we didn't do it last time, but it's not like this was an opportunity we'd have every day. Granted, that $10 gets you admission for a full year, but I don't see a return anywhere in our near future. So, we decided to hike it and try and get some better views. It said it was a more strenuous hike, but nothing I could see suggested anything that would give us issues. If it got bad, we could always turn back.

For the life of me, I have no idea why I took this pic. It may be to show some of the glittery looking rocks in the area, but you can't really see any glittering in this one. It may be like the bug...reducing myself to pics of random rock formations.



Looking back, a lot of the pictures start to seem a tad redundant, but it's one of those places where you're compelled to capture more detail as you get closer and can see more. I think some of the redundancy may also be a feeling in me. This is a really cool place to see in person, and while the wow factor wasn't quite as strong a second time around, it's also not something you tire of seeing. Still, it's static, so there's also that feeling that it's time to move on after you process that you're there.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

As we got farther along on the trail, we saw warning signs about the number of steps coming up. At first, it worried me as the figure was in the hundreds, but then I realized that we were doing all of the uphill work going up the current incline and that the stairs appeared to be mainly a "down" thing.



We made our way to this view deck area on the trail with a great view of the faces. So, I had to take a bunch of detail shots. It is pretty impressive when you get in this close.

















Unfortunately, we also found that the rest of the trail was closed. Apparently, this was due to the security issue I had been hearing about earlier and rangers were being really tight lipped on the matter. We hung around for a little bit to see if any rangers could give us some updates, but it was starting to drag on so we gave up.



I will say that it was an interesting atmosphere. Last time we were here, it was just crowds and people talking, but this time it was filled with the sounds of Native music/drums as well as chants and cheers from the hoop dancing that was going on. I had tried taking video at one point, but I was too far off and the audio didn't really do it justice.

In case anyone was wondering, this was the list of events for the day.

Mount Rushmore Celebrates Independence Day 2023 - Mount Rushmore National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

Side note, I have seen stories indicating that they've filed paperwork for fireworks for next year, but I guess we'll see how that goes.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

On the way back, we popped into this stone mound with a viewing peep hole. It was pretty tight quarters, so there was a small line to get in. We waited our turn just to have a couple of kids push in front of us. While it was rude, I usually have a bit more of a filter. This day, I just blurted out "THERE's A LINE!" I guess it worked, because those kids backed out immediately. I think a couple of the pics above were taken from in there, but I really can't recall.

Once we got out of the boardwalk section of the trail, we went to check out a Native American exhibit. There were all kinds of pictures and crafts under a decorative canopy along with two men in ceremonial attire. Based on the link I listed above, I would have to guess that they were Darrell Red Cloud and Sequoia Crosswhite. I listened for a bit, but didn't feel like pictures were the appropriate action. While they spoke, some guards came into the area. At first, I thought it might be because there was an issue with them, but they just were checking things out. I left David and the kids to listen, while I stepped back to spy a bit. I took way too many pics of this butterfly, as well as a teepee, and a better pic of a glittery area of rock.



















While I spied, more security came into the area. While in motion, they addressed me and asked if I was having a nice day. It was all a very business as usual...nothing to see here sort of thing. Yeah...seems like something was going on.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We decided it was time to start heading out. There seemed to be no changes to the trail status and everyone was being really tight lipped about things. I was never able to find anything on the news, but it got me thinking of the possibilities. We will probably never know.

I took a handful of pics as we got back to the main terrace and started to make our way out.











I'm not sure why, but everyone wanted to go into the main gift shop. It was ridiculously hot in there, so K and I went out and I took a couple of pics of the building while we waited.





During our wait, I decided to read the email from Wind Cave NP.



Great! Our tour had been canceled. UGH!!! I needed to do some more research, but this would become a big discussion over dinner.

As we started our drive out of the memorial, I noticed a cloud formation that hade another "Nope" style vibe...

 

[HouCuseChickie]

As you may recall, I am very storm-phobic, so I was worried about what may be headed to the area. Still, it was a pretty neat looking cloud formation.







By the time we got back to the hotel, I could see mammatus clouds overhead. I normally associate these with bad storms and hail, plus we were starting to see some lightning, so we got inside.



I guess my gut was right, because we were soon under a severe thunderstorm warning with the chance of ping pong ball sized hail.



Now, I can handle small hail, but large hail is another story. The ticker on the news was showing it could be as large as golf ball sized, so I started to think about things like dents, windshield and sunroofs. We were on the third floor, so it's kind of hard to appreciate the size of what was falling from the sky...still, while it wasn't nearly as plentiful, it was much larger than what we saw for hail in CO.



I was doing my best not to panic. At one point, I actually thought about running out and jamming pillows under my roof rack to help protect the sunroofs, but a few big bolts of lightning cured me from trying that idea. Thankfully, it was OK.

Once the storm passed, we discussed dinner. We went to some place called the Colonial House. It had a pretty broad menu and the reviews were good. The food was so/so and they were out of a number of things, but the server was friendly. Also during dinner, we discussed cave plans.

Apparently, the Wind Cave elevator broke at some point during the day. I didn't hear any stories of trapped visitors, so I'm gathering it broke in a way that didn't cause any guest issues like that. The elevator wasn't expected to be fixed until the 5th due to the holiday, so there was no way we'd be going into that cave during this trip. The actual park itself still has a visitor's center, some trails, and a road that connects into Custer with wildlife. So, I asked everyone if they'd still like to go just to say we've been to this national park OR would they like me to try and get a last minute tour at Jewel Cave National Monument. Maybe nobody was really in a cave kind of mood, but everyone voted to just go to Wind Cave and see what we could see. So, at least we knew where we'd be starting our 4th of July plans.

Later on in the evening, while we were back at the hotel, we started to hear the rumbles of thunder again. Shortly after, the weather alert band came up on the tv and this was on the radar. The hail associated with it was again ping pong to golf ball sized, so my nerves were on high alert.



It was hard to follow the weather person on the channel we'd initially selected because she just would not look at the camera. The entire weather broadcast was done in profile. Even when she spoke to the anchor, she never turned. It made for an odd presentation and fuzzy audio. It didn't help my nerves that half of the commercials that evening were concerning insurance, legal help, and products to deal with hail damage. Oh well, at least the worst of it missed us and we were officially done with hail for the rest of the trip.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I can understand being obsessed about ice cream!

I just sent the kids downstairs to the bodega across the street for ice cream

I might be having some soon too. Taking some visiting friends to a creamery and they have fresh cheese and ice cream there.

You've both now made me realize that I have nothing but chocolate ice cream in the house...and it's David's! I forgot cheese, so maybe I can make a run and slip some in with a necessity

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Chapter 9: July 4th- Are You Sure It's July?

The rain had pretty much moved through and we were left with very damp and cool conditions. Not that it was really hot the days before, but it wasn't supposed to go too far above 60. I'm used to upper 90s (at least) on the 4th of July! It was in the 40s when we left the hotel! At the time, I was feeling bad for all of the people at home who were still dealing with triple digit heat (nearly every day since late June), but we've been so consistently hot here since our return that I'm just thankful we got a little break from it when we did.

After the hotel breakfast disaster on July 3rd and the signs noting that it would be even worse on the 4th, we opted to go out for breakfast. There was an IHop just down the street from the hotel, so that seemed like the easiest option. There weren't a ton of people there when we arrived, but the line to be seated took forever. Service ran smoothly once we were seated, but I guess with the holiday, some people quit or ghosted their shifts. When we left, there was a massive line of people waiting to be seated, so I guess it's good we went when we did.

As we were leaving the parking lot, everyone noticed what looked like a fawn. Now, I had seen this when we were parking and immediately realized it was just a lawn decor kind of statue, but nobody else had seen it before and were initially fooled. So, sort of a funny little thing to start the day. It's just an odd place for something like this.



We had started getting used to driving this area. We passed through downtown again and conversations about why I didn't book The Rushmore started up again. Not that our hotel was awful, but this kept coming up in conversation because the other hotel was much nicer looking and had been a consideration at one point. I think I nixed it over double beds and some extra fees. There was another really neat looking hotel called the Alex Johnson that they all also asked about. Pricing wasn't insane, but this was supposed to be a cheaper adventure, so I ruled that out as well. I think it also had double beds. No my picture, but a really nice backdrop...



Moving on...Then we'd pass the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and a new set of questions would come up about that. I actually found an aerial of that as well (also not mine). For whatever reason, the Greek letters carved into the hillside to the left of the football stadium were a huge topic of conversation.



Things usually quieted down after that. A chunk of the drive to Wind Cave NP was the same as the drive to Custer and it all was on the roads we used to get into town, so again...familiar driving territory. In fact, if I'm remember correctly, the road off the highway to get to Wind Cave also involved some dirt roads between more rural privately owned properties.

I wanted to get a pic of the park sign when we arrived, but it was mobbed by one large family. So, I settled for the one directing us to the turn off for the visitor center.



What's funny...a couple of days earlier, I got the sign for Badlands. My phone uploads and my camera uploads don't play well together, so I thought I'd lost that one. Not that it's a great pic, but proof that I did get the actual sign in another park.



Oh well, back to Wind. We were all getting kind of snippy, so we split up upon entry. K and I went to the store because she was hoping to find a book. I needed to get an ornament. It is still fun to look around though, because sometimes some parks have more interesting items for sale. Like this...maybe I needed to go home with a bat house kit?



I did eventually find an ornament. Not my favorite, but it'll have to do. The man working in the gift shop was at least super sweet and careful with it. I guess they have a lot of issues with little pieces breaking off from this design.



K bought some book and Sam got a plush ferret that we never got to see because they are very uncommon and only come out at night. So, that was kind of silly.

We went on to explore the center. I went over the ranger's table to ask for a map. I asked about the elevator as well and got a very official reply, including specific time when the malfunction was reported. Oh well. Even if we couldn't do our cave tour, we could learn more about the park. The ever-evolving map of the cave is insanely impressive and some of the area names are hysterical.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

It was just crazy to think that all of that was down there and there’s still more being discovered.

While we couldn’t go into the cave, they did have a large piece of boxwork on display that could be touched.





Yeah, unlike other caves known for stalactites and stalagmites, this cave is known for boxwork.

If you refer to this map (NPS_wind-cave-tour-map.jpg (1803×1122) (wikimedia.org)) you can see a blend of above and below ground features of the park. If we took the tan trail to the right of the center, we’d get to the elevator building. If we walked to the left, we’d get to that Cave Entrance on the map, that some rangers and signage were calling a “natural entrance.” It was the closest thing to the actual cave we could see with the elevator situation, so we headed that way.

There wasn’t much to see, but you could see openings (smaller ones) going down into the earth. So, it’s something. I had also been trying to get a pic of these pretty pink flowers for days. This one was still really wet, but it’s the best I was going to get.









We decided to head back to the car and drive what we could inside the park. We passed some of the ranger housing on our way out.



As well as this fun person!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

David took over driving for a while so I was able to man the camera. On the way out, I got a pic of a different visitor center sign that was in much better condition.



Then it was your "typical" prairie dogs and bison.

















So, another national park with bison. I felt a bit silly stopping now that we'd seen so many bison (as well as prairie dogs), but I remind myself that I haven't seen a single bison since we got home. So it’s not all that silly! HA! The bull in that second to last pic above was also a pretty impressive guy. We were quite a distance from him...at least 75 yards, but he had picked his head up as we were walking over. That was my sign to retreat!

We moved on and spotted this beautiful bridge.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We actually wound up pulling over so Sam could get out and take bridge pics. She took a lot, but these are a few of the better ones. She also found a nice little stream cutting through this section.











It wasn't clear at first if we would cross the bridge, but the road did eventually bring us across this bridge. It was also single lane (like the tunnels), so we had to make sure the coast was clear before crossing.

Sam and I both really enjoy cloudy gloomy skies. With her manning the camera, I got a lot of pics to capture today's gloom. This isn't all of them. I'll spare you the ones that are just tree line with gray as well as the extra blurry ones.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The rest of the drive in the park was full of rolling hills, rocky formations, the occasional bison.





















I’m still disappointed that we didn’t get to go on our cave tour, and it’s hardly a full experience trip to this park, but we can still say we’ve been here.

Now what to do with the rest of our day?

 

[cgersic]

Just getting to the bison pics - oh my goodness, all the bison babies!!! Man, you got some really great shots and I absolutely laugh out loud when I read your commentary.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Just getting to the bison pics - oh my goodness, all the bison babies!!! Man, you got some really great shots and I absolutely laugh out loud when I read your commentary.

Thanks! It's so sweet to see them when they're little like that. It's funny, because in some parks you'll hear people referring to the babies as "brownies." I prefer it when they call them red dogs or cinnamons, because then I don't go around all day craving fudgy brownies!

AAAAAaaaaaand now I want a brownie!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

There were a couple of other lakes we’d missed in Custer and the road through Wind Cave NP leads right into a section of Custer. So, why not? It was still chilly, gloomy, and drizzly. Not great marmot weather, but we wouldn’t have to compete with people partaking in aquatic activities.

The previous day, we’d looked at Sylvan Lake, Legion Lake, and Center Lake. Today we’d be trying Bismark Lake and Stockade Lake. They’re connected by a stream, but are on opposite sides of the road. Up first was Bismark.





We had to drive through a small campground to get here, but as we suspected, everything was really quiet due to the weather. We parked right at the lake and had the place “almost”completely to ourselves.









We decided to walk down the boardwalk a bit without being too disruptive to the heron.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

He really didn't seem fazed by us. He'd move his head up and down a bit, but we were just far enough that he didn't feel threatened enough to flee.



I lied...I did find another one of those pink flowers. But it's the same gloomy wet day, so it's not like it would be if it were dry.



K wasn't in the mood for this and stayed back at the car. There wasn't a ton to see, so we headed back to join her.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We then drove over to the much larger Stockade Lake. With the weather, things were looking pretty quiet. We didn’t want to encroach on any of the campground areas, so we just drove until we found a pretty spot where there was a place to stop. There wasn’t much in the wildlife at our first stop minus the occasional duck or redwing blackbird.

















We couldn’t actually tell what the photographed bird was until it got close enough for us to hear the quacking.

As we moved on, we spotted a deer.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We’d seen some other deer this trip, but this had been our first opportunity to get photos.







We drove up a little farther and saw this duo!









There’s more, but you get the idea.

On the way out, we also spotted the stockade as well as a monument to the first non-native woman to come to the Black Hills.

 

[MinnieM123]

On the way out, we also spotted the stockade as well as a monument to the first non-native woman to come to the Black Hills.

I was curious about the monument you referenced. The woman's name was Anna Donna Tallent (1827 - 1901). She was the first non-native schoolteacher and also an author. She arrived in the Black HIlls in December, 1874.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I was curious about the monument you referenced. The woman's name was Anna Donna Tallent (1827 - 1901). She was the first non-native schoolteacher and also an author. She arrived in the Black HIlls in December, 1874.

I meant to share that, but yesterday was “a day.” I posted the pics, thought about it, and my brain must have glitched and went back to the drama of the day. A couple of medical issues with two of us followed by a near miss with an absolutely terrifying accident and I was just a bundle of nerves. I have never seen a car flip like they do in the movies, but had I not anticipated the collision and slammed on my brakes (and swerved a bit to the left), I would have had an Infiniti sedan flip on top of us. When he came crashing down to the ground and spun, we got hit by his bumper and other front end pieces as they flew off of his car. Amazingly, we didn’t seem to have any damage, but the woman to my right that he wound up clipping lost the back left portion of her vehicle. Whew!

 

[cgersic]

I was curious about the monument you referenced. The woman's name was Anna Donna Tallent (1827 - 1901). She was the first non-native schoolteacher and also an author. She arrived in the Black HIlls in December, 1874.

Wow! Can you imagine?? And @HouCuseChickie you saw Bambi!!