South Dakota High Point: Hiking Black Elk Peak
Our last day in South Dakota was spent hiking Black Elk Peak, the highest point of South Dakota at 7,244 ft. The hike was beautiful, but also way more popular than I’d anticipated;… Continue reading
Category Archive: South Dakota
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Scenic Drives in the Black Hills and the Buffalo and Burros of the Wildlife Loop
This post combines the driving routes of our first 2 days staying near Custer, including the Needles Highway from the first day and the Iron Mountain and Wildlife Loop Roads from our second… Continue reading
Custer State Park, Part 2: Cathedral Spires Trail
Leaving Sylvan Lake we returned to the Needles Highway, ascending further into the rocky peaks to the southeast. After we wound our way up and through the narrow tunnels – which I’ll write… Continue reading
Custer State Park, Part 1: A Morning Sampling the Sunday Gulch and Sylvan Lake Trails
Our next 3 days in South Dakota we stayed near Custer State Park in order to take advantage of the trails through the piles of boulders, clusters of pine trees, and dramatic rock… Continue reading
The Hike to Crow Peak
After my cursory research it was unanimous that Crow Peak had some of the best views in the Black Hills, and that was good enough for me to add it to our itinerary.… Continue reading
Big Trees: Iron Creek Trail and Spearfish Canyon
Our first full day in the northern Black Hills was dedicated to driving the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Drive and hiking for a few hours in Iron Creek Canyon. Driving south from the town… Continue reading
The Magic of the 100th Meridian: Byebye Humidity, Hello Badlands
In the late 19th century, explorer John Wesley Powell wrote at length about the dividing line that separates the humid growth of the eastern U.S. from the arid sparsely-vegetated land of the west.… Continue reading
Is that Woodrow Wilson? Or Wind Cave National Park and a Mt. Rushmore Drive-By
From the desolate, barren landscape of the Badlands we drove two hours into the South Dakotan Black Hills. After stopping for fresh vegetables we had lunch in a park in Rapid City and… Continue reading
Cows at Night plus Badlands National Park. Or, Rocks in My Leggings
Since I’ve been unable to post for a few days, I have some catching up to do. Wednesday and Thursday both were lots of driving through Illinois, and then Iowa, Minnesota, and South… Continue reading