Overnight the temperature dropped to 36 degrees. We decided to wait until it warmed up for breakfast and left the campground at 5:45 to drive the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park. It was worth getting up early to see the animals. We saw deer, pronghorns, prairie dogs, a rabbit, and were caught in a few bison jams. The bison think they own the road, and they are so big no one argues. One group of bison had a calf sleeping in the road. The mother had a look in her eye that seemed to say “I just got him down for a nap, don’t you dare wake him up”. While we were waiting for the calf to get up there was a car that was coming from the other direction that also stopped. One of the bison wandered up to their car and scratched its head on their door. I was glad this did not happen to our car!
After the great wildlife viewing we drove into Custer for breakfast and had an excellent meal at the Baker’s Bakery and Cafe before heading to the Crazy Horse Monument and Museum. The scale and detail of the monument is breathtaking, along with the stories of the sculptor who started the project. One of the stories was about the early days when he was working alone. He bought an old air compressor and would have to start it then climb hundreds of steps up the mountain carrying his heavy tools. Frequently he would hear the compressor go “kaput, kaput, kaaapppuutt”, then stop and he would have to walk all the way down to restart it, then back up the mountain.
On the way back to the campground we drove the Needles Highway. I was driving and it was a challenging drive. Most of the way the speed limit is 25 and in a few places it is 5 because of the hairpin turns. There are two very narrow one way tunnels with blind entrances. Luckily there are many places to pull over to enjoy the view of the “needles” of granite. This is an amazing piece of highway, I can’t even imagine what it was like to survey it and build it. The thought of driving a road grader or a steam roller on this road boggles the mind.
In the afternoon we relaxed and then went for a short hike on the trails behind the campground. The trail sparkles in the sun because of all the mica and quartz in the soil. The small hill behind the campground is not a natural hill, it was formed from the tailings of an old mica mine.
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