7/10: South Dakota's OMG Needles Highway!

After touring both Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Crazy Horse Memorial earlier that July day, Steven and I left around 3 to head south on a scenic highway to once again tour more of the Black Hills, then east to Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park, and back to Keystone via the fabulous Needles Highway Scenic Drive.

First, though, we stopped briefly in the town of Custer to fill up with gas at only $1.99 a gallon and look at the playful buffalo pieces throughout town.

The region's first courthouse was now the Custer County Museum. The town was named for Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer who in 1874 led the 7th Cavalry on a scientific expedition into the Black Hills to seek out a location for a future military post and also explore the terrain. 

It was quite strange that there was absolutely no demarcation or signage between Wind Cave and Custer parks with the latter located five miles further up the road according to Google maps.

We couldn't have been any closer to this buffalo who barely looked up at us as we drew near!

Like many animals and plants elk benefit from natural diversity and thrive in habitats shaped by fire. Apparently, elk, deer and other mammals like to quickly inhabit burned areas so they can graze on the tender new growth after a recent fire.

The numbers of elk have grown in Custer State Park and will continue to do so without the natural control of large predators. Hunting helps park managers achieve a balance between the elk herd and the park's other resources and also provides revenue for the park. 

The attractive Legion Lake:

The Needles Highway Scenic Drive was where the developer of Mount Rushmore had originally hoped the presidential figures would be carved.

Tunnels had been carved from granite to create roads through the Black Hills while doing as little harm as possible to the scenic landscape. Iron Creek Tunnel was the first tunnel as we headed west.

Once through the tunnel, we were almost immediately greeted with these gobsmacking views of the Black Hills. The 14-mile loop through Custer State Park wound its way through the oddly shaped, weathered granite spires from which the highway derived its name. 

I hope these photos give you a sense of how utterly fabulous driving along the scenic road was with every hairpin turn in the road. 

Views like these was the reason Steven and I had wanted to return to the Black Hills!

Though thought 'impossible' to construct by its critics, Needles Highway, a National Scenic Byway, was completed in 1922. Even though we'd traveled this road twice before, the world-class views still thrilled us as they had the first time.

Nobody could have come up with a better name than Needles Eye Tunnel. Never had there been a better reason for me to use to take photos through our moon roof than here!

The park's Sylvan Lake would have been a perfect place to hike around if the weather had cooperated. I felt badly for the wedding couple who had hoped for sunny skies to wed by the lake and instead got rained out.

All of a sudden the temperature dropped quickly and the fiercest hail we've ever driven through started. That scary time, though, was soon followed by a lovely rainbow.

With this last view of the Black Hills Steven and I had finally come to the end of our month-long road trip to the Pacific Northwest that had started with our delightful sight of our first granddaughter, Max, in San Francisco. Though we hadn't initially intended to include stops at Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and the Black Hills on our itinerary, they had been among the highlights of our entire trip. After being on the go almost every day, we did enjoy getting home and recharging our batteries the next day after 5,565 miles on the road!

Next post: Exactly a month later, Steven and I left on another road trip, this one to stop in Chicago to visit our second newborn granddaughter, Clara, who had arrived just seven weeks after Max. From there we meandered through several states in the Midwest and then south to Florida to stay at our favorite state park on the Panhandle. I hope you will stay tuned as I introduce you to new vistas on that two-month-long trip!

Posted on January 4th, 2021, from sunny Phoenix where we're relaxing in a condo for two weeks near the end of our last road trip of 2020. I hope that you and your loved ones stay safe, healthy, and connected. Here's hoping vaccines become more accessible very, very shortly.