Custer State Park - Custer, SD

Badlands National Park, SD

After a brief stop at the Minuteman Missile National Site where it appears that we are disappointed that we didn't get to use any of our 65,000 armed missiles before they were obsoleted, we moved quickly to a redo of the Badlands loop.  We knew the perfect spot for lunch, unfortunately, we had just crossed into Mountain Time so it was a little early, so maybe it was brunch!

Crazy Horse Monument, SD

In the afternoon we stopped to stretch our legs at the Crazy Horse Monument, the flip side of the Mount Rushmore coin.  It's a statue of Crazy Horse on a horse carved into a mountain.  They have been working on it since 1939 and they have the face done...(so it has taken slightly longer than the 14 years to carve Mt. Rushmore).  I asked if they had a senior rate, they said that no, they don't charge more for seniors! They were dog friendly, and Drex tried to console all the people who left pets at home by letting them pet him.

Future plans

Custer State Park has got to be the most beautiful state park we have ever stayed in.  We got here fairly early and drove the 16 mile Wildlife Loop.  We saw hundreds of Buffalo, which are really Bison, dozens of Antelope which really are Pronghorns.... So it's really "Oh give me a home where the Bison roam, and the Mule Deer and the Pronghorns play."

When we got to our site in Blue Bell Campground (01E), the wind howled as a front went through,  ten minutes later it was calm and ten degrees cooler.  Had dinner (it's Friday night - date night) at the Blue Bell Lodge...Buffalo for me, Cow for Deb.  Washed it down with a bottle of Moose Drool Ale.