Nebraska-Iowa-South Dakota-Wyoming (again): Heartland Tour part 2
Highlights: Omaha’s Lewis & Clark, Badlands, Rushmore, Custer & Devil’s Tower
The southern part of the Heartland was about people but the northern part 2 is about mileage and some pretty unique places. First stop is Omaha at the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and caught the middle after seeing the far west end in Oregon and numerous trail crossings throughout the northwest. An overnight in Sioux Falls and then to Wall, SD and the famous Wall Drug before boon-docking at the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands Nomads View (aka the Wall). Then off to Hermosa, SD which is our staging area for Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park and as much of the Black Hills we can get to before taking a trip back to Wyoming to camp in the shadow of Devil’s Tower, our nation’s first National Monument.
Welcome to Omaha!
Seems a bit large for a stop on the Lewis and Clark Trail… but this is the regional hub for the National Park Service.
Older boys weren’t as… interested but we got another Jr. Ranger badge for Robert.
This monument is off the Missouri River and is a tribute to the 1952 and 2011 floods that lasted 25 and 101 days respectively. Omaha factory workers and other volunteers fought the floods with sandbags and fortifications all the way up to 40 (‘52) and 36 ft (11) over flood levels.
Nothing particularly notable but saw this row of dead trees and wondered why?
Sioux Falls Fairground was a quiet stop at our turn west through South Dakota.
Passed a number of these on the interstate west… 38 wheeler? WOW
Wall Drug is a total tourist trap but worth a stop if you’re ever through western SD.
The Wall Jackalope!
Buffalo Gap Grassland just outside the Badlands National Park just south of Wall, SD. There is a loop off the east side of the Highway 240. Nomad View is a special stop and if you’re in a Big Rig like us, take the southern most entrance on the highside of the loop… the southern side has some great protected spots but there is a sizable hill to climb heading south on the loop and the top of the hill has some level parking :)
The “Wall” is a cliff of sandstone that ranges from 60-120ish foot drop. Also makes for a cool spot to pop-a-wheelie.
Sunrise is the main draw with an epic view east over the hills.
Peyton got up with Dad to watch the cold sunrise, about 45 with the windchill.
Charlie eventually came out to see the sunrise but A LOT LATER :)
Russell… even later :)
The roughly 20-mile drive from the Pinnacle entrance south of Wall to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center. We were reminded of Big Bend in Texas with the banded colored sandstone and sedimentary rock formations... just stunning.
This areas is called Yellow Mounds but you find not only yellow color on the hills but green and some water, mixed with the reds and organges.
They don’t call it Buffalo Gap Grasslands for no reason :)
View east from the top of the grassy hills by the buffalo looking back as our RV and the row of other BoonDockers.
Parking a camp chair on the cliff offers some great views and a couple peaceful moments.
Lost track of which SD town this was on our way to Hermosa but this is what we found in a number of small towns out on the plains.
Rushmore was an unexpected treat. We thought it would be over hyped a bit given its fame but couldn’t be more wrong. It’s less hyped and more storied in its history and steeped in respect for the core values that have built this country. We were also pleasantly surprised to find a more factual account of the negative aspects of how the Native American populations, not only around the Black Hills, were mistreated but also across our country with the expansion west. While we have an amazing country, it came at a high cost for the native populations and it is something we need to remember to respect what we have today.
Sunset and the 8:00pm program and Flag Ceremony was a neat way to end the day and experience the mountain.
Clouds held off till the Flag Ceremony and then rolled in as we were leaving.
Had to take a picture of this hat… is it just us or is Thomas Jefferson freaked out?
Parade of Flags is a cool site and we hung around until it cleared out. All 50 with some history of their founding with the cloud covered mountain in the background.
The original face of Mt. Rushmore… crazy vision for Borglum the sculptor!
We heard from many that Custer State Park is the jewel of the Black Hills and we have to agree, its pretty amazing both for the high mountain topography but also the wildlife found along the “Wild Life Loop”. Burros, Buffalo, & Pronghorn are the big 3 herds to find and we got them all along with some deer and birds :)
The rolling hills cover most of the southern part of the park and it is just beautiful.
Needles Highway is a notable scenic drive for the granite spires and formations. This is just a giant boulder on a ranch headed up but a taste of much more rock to come.
Needles could be named so because of the needle like granite peaks OR the threading of the needle tunnels you get to drive.
This is the highest tunnel and closest to the Sylvan Lake Lodge. Its called Poet’s Table and its a roughly 100 ft one-way tunnel with no traffic signal or guide when to enter for either side. This is setting the Poet’s Table for the next picture.
In this case, traffic from the east was progressing through but a vehicle entered from the other side and… froze. It took about 20 minutes and a number of people to coach the unfortunate driver to back out… and to get the VERY long line of cars to back up to allow the errant vehicle out.
Thanks for the help fellas!
About a ½ mile back up on the opposite side… glad we got to go first!
Lake Sylvan is gorgeous and had kayakers, swimmers and divers in the water. Would be worth a longer stop but we enjoyed the time we had.
The Custer Burros are VERY friendly, if not insistent on treats. They come right up and stick their heads in looking for treats. You can find some material on-line saying it is ok to feed the burros and some saying no; however, it is hard getting them off the car if you don’t :)
Baby burro alert!
Back to the NE corner of Wyoming to Devil’s Tower.
Longhorn and Buffalo grazsing together in the shadow of the Tower!
Peyton is getting wheelies in everywhere! The KOA we stayed at is right at the park entrance. The red cliffs were both unexpected and gorgeous.
Prairie Dog colony just inside the park.
The painting is represented in a number of locations and part of the native folklore about how the mountain came to be. In this depiction a giant bear is the reason for the long scraping marks on the mountain. 6 of the 7 native tribes in the area had a “bear” related name for the mountain with the 7th calling it a “stone tree”.
Yes Devil’s Tower has aliens… haven’t you seen the documentary Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind?
What looks like pebbles from a distance are giant boulders all around the mountain. These behemoths are cleaved pieces of the mountain and great bouldering for the boys.
View down the mountain to our campsite!
Who is stalking who?
Some stargazing started with this aurora brakelightitis illuminating the night :)
The boys stargazing from the hood.
One angle of the tower with the Big Dipper above!
Peyton’s claymation project :)
39 states and counting!
