Black Hills and Beyond: Stratobowl and Bear Country USA
A rainstorm dampened our plans to spend our first Sunday mostly outdoors, and with it brought the next warm front. The weekend was over, but we wanted to squeeze in some activities between morning work calls and the afternoon heat. With no time for a substantial hike, we opted for the 1 mile along the Stratobowl Rim, right in Rapid City. The hike is mostly a gravel authorized vehicles road with a little bit of elevation gain. As we got closer to the end, we discovered it wasn't really the end at all. Actual walking trails appeared along the rim, and even went beyond the designated marked "end" on All Trails. We don't know how far it went, but we did meander among a few of the trail sections closer by. We ended up clocking 2 miles instead of the 1, but that was it for us. By the time we got back to the truck, temperatures had reached upwards of 90 degrees, and it was only 10:30am.
Let's backtrack and talk about the Stratobowl. What looks like a manmade field is actually a natural depression in the ground, surrounded by 400ft layers of rock walls. This is the rim that we hiked. In 1934, a high-altitude exploration took place here. A balloon called the Explorer was launched into stratospheric flight. Other launches followed, including the Explorer II the following year, which reached a record 72,395 feet. These launches made history, indicating a start to the Space Age. The Explorer II is even displayed in the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
Now, a yearly hot air balloon launch is held at the Stratobowl in September to commemorate the historic Explorer launches. Spectators can watch the launch from the rim's overlook. On our less eventful morning, we had the overlook to ourselves and were able to channel the peace that's represented by the roads carved through the field.
Our remaining adventure for Monday would keep us in Clyde's cool air conditioning for most of the time, which we were happy about. We were equally happy to visit our third drive-thru zoo of our RV travels - actually, our third since April! We love seeing the animals, but we're also really picky about their treatment. I didn't hold back with my opinions on one of these zoos when I compared our first two. I hoped that Bear Country USA would do things right.
They did. I felt comforted after looking at their website and seeing their forthright descriptions of humane treatment and conservancy. When we arrived to the zoo, we saw beautiful, spacious habitats for the various species. The bears had lots of dens, places to climb, and even a lazy river! All the bears were black bears, whereas the other two zoos we visited also had grizzlies. In addition to the bears, we saw elk, reindeer, wolves, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, a mountain lion, bison, pronghorns, a fox, a badger, a porcupine, and more.
The zoo was well-organized, with signs pointing out the different animals, as well as instructions to pull over when taking photos. The zoo-that-shall-not-be-named didn't even allow stopping for pictures. But that's why we go! I can't start venting about that other zoo again because I won't shut up about it, but let me just say that Bear Country was wonderful. The staff were nice, the animals seemed happy and healthy, and we got good vibes from this place. In addition to the drive-thru area was a small walkway showcasing more animals, including the bear cubs. Several of the habitats were vacant for "maintenance and rotation," another good sign of their animals being treated well. It was a hot walk, but we got to cool off in sprinkler mist. I think it's also important to note that the walkway had speakers playing classical and New Age piano music as we walked around. I'm still not sure if it was more for our benefit, or the animals'.
Of our three drive-thru zoos, both Anthony and I agreed that this was our favorite - at least the driving portion. As for the walking portion, Bearizona in Williams, AZ is the clear winner. And the zoo-that-shall-not-be-named is just one huge loser. What else is there to say?
It was a fun, productive Monday morning, but that would be it for adventures for a while. We had lots of work to catch up on, plus an appointment to get our RV's generator and water pump serviced. Time to patiently wait until the end of the week so that we could enjoy more that this area has to offer.