Black Hills and Beyond: Mount Rushmore, Iron Mountain Road, and the Museum of Geology
After an incredible visit to Devils Tower, we officially completed our trek through Wyoming and crossed the border into South Dakota. It was our first border crossing since May. We had plans to stop in the Rapid City/Black Hills area for about 2.5 weeks. There was lots to do adventure-wise, but we also needed to do "adult things." We had an appointment to get our generator fixed and water pump replaced. Anthony was undergoing a change of residency - a story for another time - and we had a long list of errands we needed to do because Wyoming was slim pickings for those types of things, especially getting Amazon packages. We went in with our game faces on. It's overwhelming just how much there is to see and do in the area, and so we sat down and created an agenda for our first few days. 2.5 weeks might seem like a long time, but time gets sucked up quickly with all our adult things, work, moving campgrounds, and the general rigmarole - emphasis on the "rig."
Rapid City was the perfect place to go right after our big slap in the face that reminded us how we like to camp. We love nature and outdoor adventures, but we also like attractions. Here, we'd have it all: recreation, tourist attractions, shopping, and local haunts. We were ready. The day after we arrived, we hit the ground running.
First, we ventured over to Mount Rushmore. We woke up super early so we could go and beat the Saturday crowds. We arrived around 7:30am and were one of only a handful of cars in the parking garage. It was nice to have some peace and quiet, and we also had no trouble getting some photo opportunities with the Four Famous Faces.
Of course, Mount Rushmore is a must-see when you're in this area, but we're in the same pool as most people seem to be when they visit. It was alright. Seeing former presidents' faces carved out of rock isn't going to flood us with emotions, but we were intrigued by the process to sculpt the faces. In short, dynamite + jackhammers run by a giant air compressor = one mountain of a memorial.
If you visit, we recommend going off the beaten path by taking the Presidential Loop, which is a giant walkway that offers various vantage points of the memorial, including four alcoves for viewing each face.
Because we went early in the morning, we didn't stick around for any of the programs, but the memorial offers several, including ranger talks, an information session at the Sculptor's Studio, and the famous evening lighting ceremony. The amphitheater sits below the main viewing platform, so the mountain is high above. I imagine the lighting ceremony must be beautiful, and perhaps this is when the emotions are most felt. Each lighting ceremony has an honoring of veterans. Something about our forefathers watching down as we pay our respects to those who fought for our country seems extra poignant.
The Black Hills are known to have some of the most scenic drives in all the country, and so after leaving Mount Rushmore, we headed to Iron Mountain Road for a scenic drive. It's a popular motorcycle road for bikers coming in from Sturgis, so we were worried about taking the twists, turns, tunnels, and loop-the-loops with Clyde, who is a tad bigger than a motorcycle. But we were within the size limits, so we gave it a go. Some parts felt a bit narrow and we crossed the center line, but it was still early enough to not need to worry about too many other vehicles. Iron Mountain Road has lots of places to pull off and see distant views of Rushmore and other landmarks like the Cathedral Spires, a group of granite rock formations that resemble the tops of towers in gothic architecture.
We stopped at some of the overlooks and also decided to take a short hike at East Iron Creek to stretch our legs. Well, we thought it would be a short hike because we read that it was 2.5 miles. What we failed to see was that it was 2.5 one way. Granted, it's an easy, flat trail off Iron Mountain Road, and those are hard to come by in such a hilly area! The trail crosses over the creek several times, but there was no risk of getting our feet wet because each crossing had a walkway built across it. We went about 2 miles before we decided to turn around, but along the way we enjoyed the creek crossings, pops of color from the wildflowers, and a glimpse of the northern leopard frog.
In fact, we had a few wildlife sightings on our journey down Iron Mountain Road. Almost immediately after turning onto the road, we spotted a deer in the woods. Then, to conclude our excursion, we encountered a major bison jam towards the end of the road. This marked our second bison jam, with the first being in Yellowstone. We thought that herd was large, but this one was even bigger!
As the day wore on, the temperatures rose. We decided to stick with indoor activities for the rest of the day, opting to go to the Museum of Geology. If you've been following the blog for a while, you might know that geology basically rocks our world. Anthony and I both collected rocks as children, and one of our dates early on was to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. It's said (by Anthony) that, as we walked the displays at the Mineralogical Museum, that it was the moment he realized he was in love. Aww!
This part of South Dakota has a robust mining history. The state is also a paleontological mecca, with many extraordinary fossils being uncovered here. The museum is located on campus of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and houses one of the most varied, intricate collections of fossils and gems we've seen. In addition to local discoveries, the museum has displays from all over the world. We're not experts in geology by any means, but the exhibits were extremely educational and descriptive. Thankfully, we are not studying geology or paleontology, so it was okay that much of the information went over our heads. Still, we learned a lot and got to see some incredible rocks, fossils, bones, and gems.
It was a busy day to kick off our visit to the Black Hills, but we were only just getting started. Stay tuned for our future posts to read more of our Black Hills and Beyond series. Subscribe to get notifications of new posts below!