Black Hills, near Mt Rushmore

Friday 8/3  Hitched up and headed to Sylvan Lake via Hot Springs.  The thought of dipping into anything hot was the last thing on our minds, however.  We opted instead for a tour of the famously cool Wind Cave (according to Oglala Lakota legend, the birthplace and original home of their people, before the Gods were able to lure them out with the promise of plentiful buffalo).  We went on the Fairground Tour which involved climbing up and down 450 stair steps (after taking an elevator down many hundred feet), and then winding (sometimes crouching) past beautiful "box formations" (so called because they resemble old-fashioned post office boxes), "cave popcorn" and lots of gigantic rocks and boulders.   Wind Cave is allegedly the largest cave in the US and only a small percentage of it has been explored.  It remains a constant 55 degrees year-round, and it was a pleasure to spend 90 mins in natural air-conditioning (with our jackets on!).  We did not know it, but this was portent of things to come…..

"Box work" in the Wind Cave. Inquiring minds should click onto http://www.nps.gov/wica/naturescience/speleothems-boxwork.htm  for more information

Next stop, Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park in the Black Hills National Forest.  We passed through Custer City along the way and were surprised to see about 1500 motorcycles parked down the middle of the main street (those who know me are thinking, "Lisa, surely you are exaggerating!".  Really, there were over 1000 motorcycles!!!).  Hmmm, what was going on here?  We soon found out, when we got to our campsite.  This is the week of the GIGANTIC Sturgis 31st annual Motorcycle Rally which attracts ~400,000 people (and their bikes).  Since the Black Hills have some of the most beautiful scenery in South Dakota, this area is a destination for most of those cyclists at some time during the week.   Which means that they will be passing right by our RV site for the next 5 days.

Beautiful Sylvan Lake

We got the RV leveled, made some food and then went for an enchanting walk around Sylvan Lake….it is just beautiful, surrounded by pre-historic, Stonehenge-y rock formations.  Can't wait to go kayaking.  Although, we have to wait for it to warm up a bit.  Yes, we've gone from 100+ temps to mid-60s.  Wonderful!  Turns out we have electrical hookup at our campsite, so we can hunker down at night, make popcorn and watch season two of the West Wing (on DVD) . 

.....where the Buffalo roam (across the road).....

Saturday, 8/4  We woke up to 46 degrees Fahrenheit this morning.  Yay for the blue down blanket!  By 9am temp had risen to 64.  What a difference ~3,000 feet elevation and 60 miles can make.  We actually thought about turning on the heat….opted instead for long pants, wool socks and multiple layers of fleece/sweatshirts.  Now instead of doing our hiking early in the morning to avoid major heat of the day, we are waiting til afternoon warmth for outdoor activities.  So---we started a puzzle, drank tea and enjoyed relative peace and quiet until about 9am when the first motorcycles thundered by.  We got into our truck and headed toward Custer City and the circuit scenic highway that encircles most of Custer State Park and includes a view of Mt Rushmore.  About 30 mins in, we saw a group of buffalo (including a baby, its mama and assorted older ones) loping along the right side of the road.  Of course we stopped to watch them (and take some pictures), which was a good thing, as they proceeded to cross the street in front of us.  They were not in a particular hurry….two cranky males actually butted heads at one point, as if to say "git outta my way, ya dad-gummed varmint!".  One of them had a veritable cloud of pesky mosquitos or gnats flying around his head and shoulders, so no wonder he was testy.  We continued on roads which got narrower and more winding as we got closer to Mt Rushmore, and took frequent stops to enjoy the views.  Driving required 100% concentration (esp with our extra wide truck) on the narrow roads, single-lane tunnels and the "pigtail bridges" (think curlicue, and you'll have the right idea) and oh, the aforementioned thousands of motorcyclists traveling in both directions.

Mt Rushmore!!

Mt Rushmore was spectacular and we got head-on and profile views of it from the road (Nils took some amazing photos) (speaking of which, we hope you are enjoying the photos we've been posting). 

What an amazing feat of engineering and artistry, both Mt Rushmore AND the winding scenic roads that surround it (something like 120,000 pounds of dynamite was required to create the tunnels and roadways).  We--and thousands of bikers--thoroughly enjoyed it. 

But then came the highlight of our day: we took the kayaks out onto Sylvan Lake.  Magical, breathtaking, and Nils's dream come true.  We heard a little girl on shore saying (about us in our kayaks), "wow, they're lucky", and all we could think was it wasn't luck so much as deciding months ago to schlepp two kayaks halfway across the continent.  Sylvan Lake made that all worthwhile, and we will be out paddling on the water daily.

We came home to a well-deserved dinner and then retired indoors for popcorn and West Wings.  The motorcycles stopped thundering by around 8pm and we had a quiet and good night's sleep.