Day 4: A Mammoth Day

Day 4 has been a day of Mammoth proportions. We’ve made the decision to trek out to Devil’s Tower tomorrow so we jammed a lot of stuff into today. Here’s some highlights:

7:30 AM – At breakfast, we run into a couple from Rochester. It’s a small world.

9:20 AM – We’re off to Hot Springs. We spot our first buffalo along the way. It will the first of many we see today.

10:40 AM – We arrive at The Mammoth Dig site. Big hit with the family. The tour is extremely interesting and the exhibits totally awesome. Best of all, it’s educational too! We get a picture of Trina hoisting a replica of a mammoth thigh bone over her head. Connor loves the skeleton of the dwarf elephant.

12:10 PM – Lunch is at Dale’s Family Restaurant. One of those great local dives again. Food is good; the people watching better. Many people know each other and are sharing tips on who has a boat for sale, who is looking better after being sick, and who has been restricted from the salad bar.

1:00 PM – We go to Evan’s Plunge. Kids love it, but thought the water should be warmer considering it comes from hot springs. Katrina goes down the slide about 20 times (and Jon caught her that many times). The cutest is when she would be just about down and say “catch me.” Connor attempts to cross the rings spanning the pool. He never makes it past the second ring, but has fun trying. Kids don’t want to leave and proclaim this the best part of the trip. Katrina wants to know when we can come back again.

3:20 PM – Off we go to Custer State Park to see the wildlife loop. Along the way, we see buffalo again including one walking along the side of the road. We stop and it walks right outside the passenger side window. Being a middle school student, Connor notices it’s a bull. After a stop for gas and snacks, we continue on to Custer.

4:00 PM – Custer State Park. The wildlife loop does not disappoint. Highlights are tons of buffalo, prong horns, and wild burrows. We have lots of buffalo picts. Katrina gets the chance to pet the wild burrow. We have dubbed her the burrow whisperer. A wild burrow visits the car behind us and gets very “excited.” Yes, it was a male burrow and we got to see him in all his glory. Connor thinks this is absolutely hysterical. Katrina wants to know what’s happening. Jon snaps a picture. As we leave the wildlife loop, we decide to do Needle’s Highway. But first, Connor needs to make a quick pit stop at an outhouse after drinking close to 44 ounces of pop (it was on sale. Still doing a great job with nutrition on this trip). After driving through more forest and seeing many deer, we see what the big deal is with Needle’s Highway. The scenery at the top defies description. So glad we took the time to do this. It starts to rain heavily on the way down, including some pea-sized hail. It’s rained every night we’ve been here. We are so glad to not be camping! We see a mommy duck and ducklings trying to cross the road to get to some better shelter. Jon attempts to snap a picture but gets the side mirror instead. Oh well, tons of cool wildlife pictures already.

7:15 PM – We are back in Hill City looking for someplace to eat. We end up at Elm Street Pizzeria and a private dining room, because no one else is eating there. Pizza is OK, but the owners are extremely friendly. Says the streets were getting dirty and we needed a good “gully washer.”

Tomorrow, we’ve decided to make the trek to see Devil’s Tower. We’re also hoping for no rain tomorrow so we may be able to see the lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore.