We left Casper, with all our bills paid and clothes washed, in time to experience a really significant hail storm in Rapid City, South Dakota. Of course, we have experienced hail storms just like you have but the difference is there were still piles of the frozen slush lingering two to three hours after the storm passed by. This is an example of what we saw and this was in Downtown Rapid City around 6:30 p.m. when the storm hit around 3.
Downtown calls itself the Presidential City because they have secured private funding to erect bronze statutes of each of the 42 Presidents of the U.S. on street corners. I wanted to take my picture with my personal favorite, since reading his biography, John Adams.
Downtown Rapid City, SD (note the debris on street after hail storm)
The statute of 43, Barak Obama, is scheduled to be added in Fall 2018.
We started out on Friday morning for Custer State Park for an all day exploration of the grounds. There are many beautiful National Parks in the U.S. that are worth exploring, but don’t overlook the State Parks and especially this one.
Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park
It comes complete with camping sites, lodges, restaurants and resident herds of bison, burros, elk, and other wildlife you expect to see in mountain and forest terrain.
It all started when Lewis and Clark explored this area after the Jefferson purchase from France. Later, George Custer mapped the area as one of his military assignments. It was obvious this was beautiful land that needed to be protected and in 1912 it became a State Forest and then a State Park in 1919. In 1914 the bison herd was begun with 36 animals purchased for the park and now that herd is maintained at 1,300 to 1,400 head based on the ability of the land to sustain them. Unlike Yellowstone where no intervention is used with their herd, Custer State Park has an annual roundup where new calves are vaccinated, each animal is checked for disease, and excess bison (more than the grassland can sustain) are auctioned. You can see the difference when you get up close. They do look healthier.
Bison laying right by the road
I won’t make a big deal out of the fact that every restaurant in the area has bison or buffalo on the menu (at least I never heard of a named bison).
In addition to the bison, we got an up close and personal look at some of the burros in the park. They were originally introduced to carry visitors to the Black Hills and released into the wild when they were no longer needed. This young colt is proof they are thriving in the wild.
Burros like to get right into the windows of the cars. Looking for food
We also got a glimpse of Mule Deer and Prairie Dogs.
Along the Park road, there are narrow one-car tunnels that make the winding road even more interesting. I have to give credit to Jim driving these narrow winding roads with care and skill. It seems to me without his skill, we might not make it home.
One of the last of the tunnels was a beautiful shot of Mount Rushmore and that’s where we headed.
Although we have seen this before, it never gets old for me. The artistic accomplishment is magnificent when you consider the artist took a mountain peak and transformed it into the masterpiece depicting four of our Presidents significant to this area.
Sitting in amphitheater waiting for the program at night
At dark, they begin a patriotic show culminating in retiring the flag using veterans in the audience and lighting the sculpture. Moving to say the least.
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