Friday, May 22, 2020
Morrill, Nebraska to Custer, South Dakota
Highlights: Toadstool Geological Park, the Black Hills, and Custer State Park
Toadstool Geological Park, in the Oglala National Grassland in far northwestern Nebraska, is named after its funky sandstone formations, many of which, as you might surmise, are shaped like toadstools. The park is located down a loooong gravel road (14ish miles in, 20ish miles out - my poor car), but it was worth it. A couple of people were using the campsites, but we were the only ones on the trail, despite this being the beginning of Memorial Day Weekend.
Jana at Toadstool Geological Park
Tom on a toadstool
Funky formations
Jana and Tom
Jana claims western Nebraska
Just inside South Dakota, we happened by the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. The sanctuary is private property and closed to the public, but we saw some gorgeous horses from the road. Next we stopped by Cascade Falls, where the official parking area was blocked off, but you could still park roadside, and several families were enjoying the swimming hole at the bottom of falls. Then we passed through the cute town of Hot Springs before driving through Wind Cave National Park, which was teeming with bison and prairie dogs. Midafternoon, we reached Custer, checked into our motel, and then headed back out.
Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary
Wild horse
Custer State Park is a 71,000-acre park and wildlife preserve in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We hiked a mile-or-so loop around the small but gorgeous Sylvan Lake and then drove Needles Highway, a 14-mile narrow, winding road through granite pinnacles. The tiny Needles Highway tunnel is a very narrow passageway barely big enough for one car at a time. I remember my dad driving through here decades ago in his full-size passenger van – He was justifiably nervous!
Sylvan Lake, Custer State Park, South Dakota
Prettiest place in the park
Needles Eye Tunnel, less than eight feet wide
Rude rocks
The Needles
The Needles of the Black Hills
As the sun sank low in the sky, we drove the Wildlife Loop Road through grassland and pine-clad hills abundant with animals. Spring is calving season, so when we got stuck in the middle of a bison herd for 20 minutes, at least we got a chance to watch the cute babies. We also saw elk, deer, prairie dogs, and more. What a great day!
Whitetail deer
Mule deer
Bison along Wildlife Loop Road
Baby bison
Dinnertime
Lodging: Chief Motel in Custer, where we had reserved a room several days in advance since we'd be arriving on the holiday weekend. When checking in, we learned we were the first guests to stay in our room in seven months, as this was the motel's first day to open for the summer season. Just what we wanted to hear! No need for us to scrub this room for Covid! Returning to the motel in the evening, we realized no one else had checked in, and we were the motel's only guests.
We were the only guests
Driving distance: 262 miles
Tom
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