DAY #13 – JUNE 22, 2021- HILL CITY, SD – BELLE FOUCHE, SD - THE PRESIDENTS & DEVILS TOWER

 

I had a wonderful visit last night with my dear friends Gus and Kandace Necessary. Again, it amazes me that we live only 30-miles apart back in Virginia and we have to meet up 1,500 miles away in South Dakota to visit and catch up. Gus was born and raised in Tannersville worked for the Tazewell County Sheriffs Office before coming to work for the State Police. Gus became a dear friend, and it was great to catch up with him and Kandace.

I was up about 7:30 a.m. this morning and had a quick coffee and muffin at the Hotel. I wanted to get an early start and head to Mount Rushmore.  It a relative short drive over to another of my bucket list destination,. I know that Mount Rushmore  is extremely popular and gets really crowded. I want to get there and get parked as close to 9 a.m. as possible.

I checked out of the Comfort Inn at 8:35 a.m. headed over to the Mount Rushmore National Monument. The 15-mile drive took about 25 minutes and even though it was just 9:05 a.m. when I arrived, there was already a line of cars waiting to get in. 

Admission to Mount Rushmore is free, but there is a fee for parking.  The attendants at the entrance are not there to collect the parking fees, they only direct you to a parking lot or parking garage.  After only a 5-minute wait, I was directed to an available parking garage. 

Before leaving the garage, I paid my fee at the self-service kiosk and got my paid receipt that I would use later to exit the garage.

Once I had my parking receipt, I made my way to the plaza and got my first real look at the presidents. It was just 9:30 a.m. and the plaza was already crowded and there were lines to enter the gift shops.  Due to Covid, only a certain number of people were allowed into the gift shops and other indoor spaces at any given time.

As I walked up the plaza and through the arch and the Avenue of Flag, the view of the Presidents is amazing. It is truly a wonderful view. The photos that I have seen are beautiful but being here and seeing it in person is truly amazing.

When you get this many people in one place you are bound to encounter a few jerks and as I arrived at the west end of the Avenue of Flag and the view area, I encountered a couple of rude people. While most people (including me) were waiting patiently for our opportunity to take our selfies, there was these two women who more or less elbowed their way in front of every one else and began taking their photos. 

One man did say something to them and got a rude reply.  So, he didn’t say anything else to them but rather started photo bombing all their photos.  I dare say that the rude women tried to take maybe 15-20 photos and he photo bombed every one of them.  The two women finally got pissed off and started cursing at the guy who more or less ignored them which further pissed them off. Finally, they decided to move on but not before flipping off everyone who was now laughing at them.

We all finally got our classic photo of the presidents from the Avenue of Flags, and I moved on to some of the exhibits on display around the plaza. As I walked around, the plaza was getting more and more crowded, so I decided to take a walk around the Presidential Trail.

The Presidential Trail is a paved walkway a takes you around the base of Mount Rushmore and gives you some awesome opportunities for some great photos.  The trail is about a half mile loop trail and starts and ends on either side of the Plaza.

Even though it’s only a half mile loop, it took me the better part of an hour to make the walk. I figured that this would probably be the only time I would be here, so I took my time and stop at every opportunity to take photos and read the story boards.

I started out on the south side of the plaza and walked around ending up at the sculpture’s studio and a couple of exhibits on the north side of the Plaza. I really enjoyed the sculpture’s studio as there was a scale model of what the carvings would look like.  The original project was to feature a waste length sculpture of each president rather than only the heads that we see today.

As usual the Ranger Programs that were scattered throughout the park were excellent and I spent a lot of time listening to them.  I finally found a short line to get into the give shop and only had a bout a 10-minute wait.  I wasn’t going to leave here without some type of keepsake. 

After finishing in the gift shop, it was time to leave and continue my adventure. I must say that Mount Rushmore more than lived up to my expectations. I was a spectacular visit.

I exited the parking garage and made my way back to Route 244.  I did make one more stop just around the curve at a pullout to snap a few photos of the Icon Profile of George Washington. It to was grand photo.

It was about 12:30 p.m. when I arrived by in Rapid City. On the way drive back to Rapid City I decided that since I had all afternoon left, I was going to back track a hundred miles or so to Devils Tower. 

I had originally planned to visit Devils Tower a couple of days ago on the drive up from Gillette. But the Reoccurring Key Fob Problem caused me to drive directly from Gillette to the Honda Dealer here in Rapid City. I didn’t want to take the chance on getting stuck with a dead car in a remote area with no cell service.

So, once back in Rapid City, I hit Interstate 90 and headed back west toward Wyoming.  About and Hour and a half later, I left Interstate 90 at exit 142 and headed north on U. S. Highway 14. The drive up 14 was uneventful and very pretty.

About 15-miles south of the entrance to Devils Tower I got my first look at the massive formation rising more than 850-feet above the Wyoming Landscape. I stopped at several of the pullout along the way and snapped a few photos.

It was about 2:45 p.m. when I arrived at the Devils Tower Entrance Station. The was a line of cars waiting to enter the park and it took me almost 20 minutes to make it to the entrance station.  I once again used my National Park Senior Pass to waive the $25 per car entrance fee.  This Senior Pass has more than paid for itself and has been one of the best purchases that I have ever made.

The ranger at the entrance station told me that parking was very limited at the visitor’s center located at the base of the tower and advised me not to stop in the road and only park in the marker spaces in the lots.

Before I started the climb to the upper visitor’s center, I made a quick stop at the large prairie dog town. There were hundreds if not thousands of those little rodents sticking their head out of their holes.

I snapped a few photos of the Prairie Dogs and then made the climb up to the base of the Devils Tower.  The ranger was right, parking was limited and really crowded but I hit it lucky. As I was driving slowly through the parking lot the was car backing out and, bingo, I snagged the space.

Once parked I made my way over to the visitor’s center and gift shop. There was only 5 or 6 people in line, waiting to get in so I got in line.  About 5 minutes later, I was inside.  The gift shop was really small and crowded so I just picked up a map and a magnet and headed back outside.

Back at the car I grabbed my camera and headed up to the base of the tower.  It was a short walk up to the base where I took a few photos. While here, I looked at the park map and decided to take a walk around the base of the tower. 

It was an easy hike on a for the most part a paved trail that runs around the base of the 867-foot tower.  There are huge boulders on the side of the trail that have over the years fallen off the huge formation. 

In normal time during the summer, there would be people climbing the tower. But Covid has put a stop to that and climbing has been suspended.

It’s a little over a mile and a half walk around the base and because I stopped a lot to take photos, it took me the better part of an hour to make the trek. It was quite warm and by the time I got back to the car I was ready to hit the road. 

I made my way slowly back down the mountain and stopped at one of the private “trading post” located just outside the entrance.  I grabbed a couple of drinks and a couple of the knock off souvenirs. You know the two shirt for $10 deal. I ended up buying a cap and T-shirt combo for $10.

I didn’t have cell service her and I do not have hotel reservations for the night. It was about 4:30 when I pulled back onto Interstate 90 had headed back east. I made a stop in Sundance for a drink and while I was stopped here, I checked the hotels where I could spend the night. 

After several minutes of checking Choice and Holiday Inn Properties, I decided to make a reservation at and Econo Lodge in Belle Fouche, South Dakota.  I don’t usually stay at Econo Lodge as they are on the very low end of the Choice Hotel Chain.  But Both the Choice and Trip Advisor Websites have excellent reviews, which eased my mind a little bit.

My trip to Belle Fouche, took me close to the town of Sturgis, South Dakota. In just about 6-weeks or so more than a half a million people will jam into the small town for it’s annual Motorcycle Rally.  So, on the way to Belle Fouche, I made a little detour to Sturgis to see some of the more well-known sites before it got too crowded.

In Sturgis, I made my way out to the north side of town to probably the best known of the Motorcycle Rally Attractions and that is the Buffalo Chip.  He during the rally the bars are hopping, and the stages are filled with either strippers or some top name entertainment like ZZ Top.

Back in town I parked and took a walk up the street past the Iron Horse Saloon and down Main Street when in just a few weeks hundreds of motorcycles will be parked in the center of the street.

White it is fun to be here now, in quiet times, I don’t think there is enough money to make me want to come here during the Rally.

It was just a short drive from Sturgis up to Belle Fouche. I found the Econo Lodge and the clerk was friendly and quickly checked me in. My room was no frills and just a basic room with a desk and king size bed.

There are a couple of drawback to this hotel. The first being it is really a low-rate accommodation. With the lower rate you get a lower class of guests.  Most of the people staying here were construction workers who spent their evening sitting outside drinking there beverages and smoking.  This made me a little uneasy, but they were quiet and never caused any trouble.

The second drawback was Belle Fouche is a really small town and restaurants are scarce. There was nothing much located near the Econo Lodge except a Dairy Queen and a Subway.  For my evening meal, I opted for a sub from Subway.  I got it to go and brought it back to my room.

After making my run to Subway, I was in for the night and set about my nightly chores of downloading photos, and videos, and writing my daily blog.

This was a good day. I got to scratch two more bucket list destinations off my List. Bot Devils Tower and Mount Rushmore were on my bucket list and both more than lived up to my expectations.

Tomorrow, I am not sure what I am going to do. I am going to have to develop a plan and see where tomorrow takes me. The Adventure Continues.