Another great day, this time with lots of time outdoors - we got in lots of hiking, climbing, and pseudo-cycling (aka boating) in today. We visited Crazy Horse Memorial, hiked around Sylvan Lake at Custer State Park, went paddle boating, drove through Needles Highway, encountered lots of wildlife in the Black Hills National Forest, and went on a cave tour at Wind Cave National Park. I am feeling like today should count as a sort of cross-training day. ;)
Crazy Horse Memorial - aka the Largest In Progress Mountain Sculpture. This was really cool and touching in a way I wasn't expecting. Annika had learned about the Crazy Horse Sculpture in school and was chomping at the bit to visit. I will admit that I was sort of reluctant but am very happy we came. This sculpture was begun in 1948 has progressed very s-l-o-w-l-y ever since with a very ambitious plan of a huge mountain sculpture of Crazy Horse. The group that runs it refuses to accept any government money, and after the way that Crazy Horse and Indian groups have been treated, who can blame them? You can see the statute off in the distance and the model in white of what it will look like when it is finished at some unknown date in the future.
Sylvan Lake - at Custer State Park. I think that our visit to Sylvan Lake was the highlight of our day - no wonder it is proclaimed as the "Crown Jewel" of Custer State Park. The whole lake has very clear, cold water with incredible large stone rocks all around it. There is a hiking trail that goes around the whole lake, including through some of the large rocks on the far end, but the kids had a delightful time running on to any of the large stone boulders that we encountered and climbing, climbing, climbing.
Paddleboating at Sylvan Lake - as soon as we arrived at the lake, Annika proclaimed that she wanted to go boating. And not just any boating - paddleboating. We hiked around the entire lake and said we would evaluate the boating situation when we came back around. Thankfully for Annika (and the rest of us), we were able to rent a paddleboat that held four people! The kids rode in the back while Will and I pedaled and Will steered. I was surprised at how tiring it was to pedal - definitely a sign I need to get a lot more cycling in. About halfway through, Daniel and I hoped out to go climb on more rocks so that Annika could have a chance to pedal in front, too. I think she was in heaven.
Needles Highway - our next adventure was driving through Custer State Park, the Black Hills National Forest, and onto Wind Cave National Park. We were able to take the super-scenic route of Needles Highway, in which the road goes through many hairpin turns (some marked as 5 mph) and passes around and through rock formations that look like large "needles."
Wildlife - we encountered a great deal of wildlife on our drive today. We initially were quite surprised to see buffalo (aka bison) roaming so freely near the road, although large signs specifically warned us, "BUFFALO ARE DANGEROUS! DO NOT APPROACH!" By the end of our tour, though, they were such a common occurrence that we had become blase about seeing another. We also encountered many large groups of deer, crows, prairie dogs, rabbits, and more (but alas, no bears. And no snakes.).
Wind Cave National Park - We were a little nervous when we had been driving through Wind Cave National Park for quite a while and had not seen any signs of caves. Just when we were about to give up, we spotted the visitors' center, which, conveniently enough, was also the home of the caves. We were able to sign up for the last tour of the day and go on the "Natural Entrance" Tour of Wind Cave. The cave is super impressive - it is over 140 miles long, has multiple levels, and does NOT have traditional stalagmites or stalactites like most caves (instead, the interior has an intricate "lattice" structure). We traveled down approximately 20 stories into the heart of the cave with our group to explore part of the interior, although we all rode an elevator back up to the surface at the tour's conclusion.
After our whirlwind day, we were all exhausted. Will was a trooper and took the kids swimming in the hotel pool, but I was so tired that putting on my suit seemed like too much work. ;) We are getting rested up tonight for another big day tomorrow: visiting Reptile Gardens, seeing Mt. Rushmore during the day, and touring Jewel Cave. Oh, and visiting the local candy store. Because candy is tasty.
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