June 21st - Day 9
Happy summer solstice! We were thankful for the long summer day as we used every bit of daylight today on our adventuring (plus, my solar projects produced energy for longer than any other day of the year…).
We spent last night, just outside of Custer, SD and ended the day south of Badlands National Park, near the town of Interior, SD. While we have only made it through half of South Dakota so far, we did not expect to see such diverse beauty in the landscape. God’s creation here in this part of the county has been a privilege to see - everything from the rolling plains, to the granite rock spires in the Black Hills, to the ponderosa pine forests and large grassy valleys in Custer State Park, to the incredible geologic formations in the Badlands.
A few highlights of the day:
With being in Custer this morning, we were looking for a way to spend a hour or two before we headed out to the next stop of the day. We ended up going to the 1881 Custer Courthouse Museum and learning about the early days of Custer and the Black Hills. We all found it very interesting to hear how the town has changed over the years; booming to nearly 10,000 people during the gold rush days in the Black Hills, to its current population of less than 2,000.
Looking for an activity we could do with my grandmother, yet still be enjoyable by all of our kids, we landed on a Jeep Safari Tour in Custer State Park. Custer State Park is a 71,000 acre park/wildlife reserve on the southern end of the Black Hills and home to a herd of 1,400 buffalo, among lots of other wildlife. The Jeep Tour took us throughout the park and up close to a number of buffalo, burros, and prairie dogs. It was certainly an experience that we would not have had just driving through the park ourselves.
Following our Jeep Tour, we then headed east to Wall, SD, home of Wall Drug. While some of us could do without the endless nik-naks, it was another important stop for my Grandmother. She first visited Wall Drug in 1941 and had her picture taken by a stuffed buffalo, which she still has (and, she brought it with her). While at Wall Drug, we found the stuffed buffalo and recreated the photo. See the side by side comparison in the photos below.
On the way to Wall Drug, Aubrey counted all of the Wall Drug signs along the freeway and made a list of everything they were advertising. She then went on a scavenger hunt when she arrived to make sure there was no false advertising. For those of you who are wondering, she counted 65 Wall Drug signs between Rapid City and the town of Wall.
After leaving Wall Drug, we drove through part of Badlands National Park, to the town of Interior, as the sun was setting. Another glorious site to see of God’s creation. We hope to spend a little bit more time in the National Park in the morning.
A few pictures from our day:
