Well, the fog persisted but so did we. As we saw the fog lift a bit, we left for Crazy Horse. The mountain was fogged in when we got there, so they let us in for half price and we had a delightful time in the museum and seeing the short movie. Just as we were getting ready to leave the fog blew away and we got a wonderful view of the mountain, right before the fog drifted in and obscured it again.

We left Crazy Horse and drove about a half hour to Mt Rushmore. On the way the fog was lifting and we even got a few peeks of sun. We were able to view the memorial and take the hike up to the mountain. We went to their restaurant for a bite of lunch and when we came out , we were socked in again! We lucked out that we were able to see them at all.

So, pushing our luck, we drove the Needles Hwy back to the campground. It is a very winding, mountainous drive with small one lane tunnels and needle like rock formations.

The weather cleared enough to see about 2/3 of it so we were happy we persevered. I even got to see a herd of mountain goats, I have been looking for them since we got here! Denny ran for the telephoto lens but they were blanketed by fog when he got back :(

We stopped at the Hole in the Wall picnic area on the way back down the mountain for a quick break and short hike.

Time to leave the magic Black Hills this morning and start heading toward home by way of the Badlands National Park. Hopefully, we will lose the fog along the way! On the way, we will see a few more sights and have a few more adventures. Stay tuned.

Another foggy, misty day in the Black Hills yesterday. We went to see George and the rest of the mountain men but no luck. Crazy horse was hiding too. We ended up at a mammoth dig site. It was a small sinkhole that is now totally enclosed in a building . Apparently, the sinkhole formed around a hot spring where grass would grow even in winter. So, the mammoths would go to forage and get a drink, slip in and not be able to get out. Interestingly, all of the elephants found have been males and most were teenagers! They have dug only a third of the way down and have already found 61 woolly or Colombian mammoths. Very interesting!

Today was promised to be sunny and warm so we got up early. It may be sunny ....but it's above the fog! We only have today and half of tomorrow left. If it doesn't lift soon we will miss Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse. That would make me sad  :(
We did drive through the park which is beautiful, even in the fog, as long as you stay away from the overlooks!

Black Hills version of Mackinac Island's Arch rock!

Yesterday was another foggy, rainy day. So, we decided it was time to go caving. Weather can't affect that! So, we went to Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument. Cave pictures don't generally turn out that well but here are two I liked.

Also, on the way back to the campground, we saw a herd of elk with a particularly handsome and well muscled bull. He gave us the evil eye until we quit watching his herd of females!

But, the highlight of the day was when we stopped at a grocery store to get milk and found a little old lady giving out samples....of bourbon! I've tried new products in grocery stores before, but liquor? Not in Michigan! Guess this really is part of the wild west! BTW, it was tasty :)

Today was pretty much a bust. We drove the Wildlife loop in the park and did see some pronghorn and some wild burros (who came up to the cars and begged for food... maybe not so wild after all). Since it was rainy and foggy, we decided to clean the RV and do laundry. Traveling isn't always exciting! But we did meet some nice campers from Arkansas and Texas in the laundromat!

On the way to the Black Hills there was more beautiful scenery, cute animals and The Enchanted Highway, a 32 mile art installation of gigantic steel sculptures!

 

You can see the immense size of these metal art installations by looking in the curl of the center fishes tail, where you will see Janet!

Denny's riding in the stage coach!

Their shoes are watering troughs!

Tomorrow we explore the Black Hills!

We have spent the last couple of days with no cell or wi-fi in some of the most beautiful but remote areas, the North and South Units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We left Lewis and Clark State Park and went in search of bison on Monday 9/28 and they were there waiting for us as soon as we drove into the park! We saw them while hiking, and driving, and one even tried to come for breakfast!

A lane was closed in the mountains so we had to take turns and had to wait for this guy because he got there first!

It is a beautiful and majestic place, I can understand why Roosevelt loved it here.

 Here's a short shaky movie from this overlook that shows how vast and desolate the landscape is. Never mind, couldn't get it to upload :(  Maybe I will figure it out later.

Alas, we don't have all the time in the world so we had to move on to the South Unit where we hoped to see some promised prairie dogs. Besides, we were in danger of starving (we were out of beer and bread). On the way we took a picture of some of the housing quickly put into use for the booming oil industry. We saw many trailer parks with FEMA type trailers and RVs, bunk houses renting for $25 per night, and apartments advertising one bedroom units as low as $2100 a month.Yikes, I sure hope they are paying these guys well because they are gouging them on housing. And, I say guys because the towns seem to be populated by mostly young men!

As we arrived at the South Unit, we took a hike in the painted canyon. No bison on the trail but plenty of evidence of them passing by recently!

A herd of wild horses. don't they look healthy?!

A herd (?) of prairie dogs.The prairie dog towns were amazing, hundreds of them running, digging, whistling. Very comical!

I will leave you with a few more pictures of the South unit as Denny is itching to go and this is getting very long!

I'll have to finish this later as we are now headed to Custer State Park in the Black Hills and soon Mt Rushmore. Having more fun than should be legal :)