{"id":12572,"date":"2006-07-18T03:58:00","date_gmt":"2006-07-18T07:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/?p=12572"},"modified":"2020-06-25T04:50:29","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T08:50:29","slug":"the-black-hills-and-custer-state-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/12572","title":{"rendered":"The Black Hills and Custer State Park, Day 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

The scenic byway that takes us through the Black Hills offers up some of the most stunning vistas and views we have ever seen.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0942\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is odd, but totally understandable, that they name their rock formations. This one is called the Eye of the Needle. <\/p>\n

\"DSC_0945\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We can\u2019t imagine trying to drive a bus through that small of an opening, but here it comes. Everyone turns and watches the driver sail right through.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0944\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The pine trees look really odd at this elevation. In fact that is all we are seeing.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0951\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We turn south and head towards Wyoming. There is wildlife loop through the Custer State Park and we have decided that we have time for a short detour. It turns out to be well-worth the gas and time. Buffalo, buffalo EVERYWHERE!<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0958\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And my gracious they are so big! They are about the size of a Volkswagen beetle!<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0956\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Mama needs a back scratch.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0963\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It must be nap time because many of them seem to be lying down sleeping.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0967\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And the little babies are so cute. They run and jump around just like any kiddo. This mama is checking on her little one who apparently has been dozing in the sun.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0968\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The only other wildlife we see are pronghorn which seem to be everywhere in quite abundance.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0989\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But I\u2019m finding the prairie dogs to be the funniest and most entertaining critter we\u2019ve seen so far this trip.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0996\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We exit the Custer State Park and are making our way towards Wyoming. Ugh, we are back to flat land and a seemingly endless road. The mountains up ahead seem to be teasing us as they just don\u2019t seem to be getting any closer. <\/p>\n

As the day is winding towards the end, we make it to Medicine Bow National Forest just over the border in Wyoming. Well, this is new for us. There is no one around. No rangers, no other campers. There is an honor system for paying fees. We fill out the ticket, insert our money and crawl into bed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The scenic byway that takes us through the Black Hills offers up some of the most stunning vistas and views we have ever seen. It is odd, but totally understandable, that they name their rock formations. This one is called the Eye of the Needle. We can\u2019t imagine trying to drive a bus through that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,847],"tags":[1135,1133,1134,124],"class_list":["post-12572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-non-rv-travel","tag-black-hills","tag-colorado-trip","tag-custer-state-park","tag-south-dakota"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3hvz5-3gM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15204,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/15204","url_meta":{"origin":12572,"position":0},"title":"Two Old Cities and a Cave","author":"Wendy","date":"July 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"With John due home in a couple of days from his job in South Carolina, Jim, Becky, and I are running out of days to do some sightseeing including Jewel Cave. Shh, don\u2019t tell John. We don\u2019t want him having a claustrophobia attack thinking about the three of us in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/B6a.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/B6a.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/B6a.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/B6a.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15062,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/15062","url_meta":{"origin":12572,"position":1},"title":"Fishing and Hiking Custer State Park","author":"Wendy","date":"July 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Today we are heading to one of the many lakes in Custer State park here in the Black Hills area of South Dakota so Jim and John can do some fishing, and Becky and I are taking the dogs on a hike. Jim is coaching John on fly fishing techniques\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230711_124057.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230711_124057.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230711_124057.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230711_124057.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12594,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/12594","url_meta":{"origin":12572,"position":2},"title":"Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, Day 4","author":"Wendy","date":"July 18, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Rise and shine! We are feeling much better this morning, but we know we are going to have to be careful about our sun exposure and the heat after our misfortune at the Badlands. Today\u2019s activities include visiting Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments. It\u2019s hard to imagine that there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/DSC_0938_thumb.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/DSC_0938_thumb.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/DSC_0938_thumb.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/DSC_0938_thumb.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15141,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/15141","url_meta":{"origin":12572,"position":3},"title":"Deer Lake Drive","author":"Wendy","date":"July 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Jim wants to scope out some other fishing spots for John and him. Custer State Park has a multitude of lakes and fish-able streams. Deer Lake is near Flag Mountain where there is an abandoned fire tower or lookout or something, so we are going to turn this into an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230713_121326_thumb.jpg?fit=892%2C670&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230713_121326_thumb.jpg?fit=892%2C670&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230713_121326_thumb.jpg?fit=892%2C670&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230713_121326_thumb.jpg?fit=892%2C670&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2701,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/2701","url_meta":{"origin":12572,"position":4},"title":"We Finally made it to South Dakota","author":"Wendy","date":"June 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I haven\u2019t been blogging for a while so I have a lot of catching up to do. We spent 3 weeks in South Dakota, making our way across the state, eventually arriving in Sioux Falls where we established our residency, registered to vote and obtained new driver licenses. We started\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/IMG_1303_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/IMG_1303_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/IMG_1303_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15103,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/15103","url_meta":{"origin":12572,"position":5},"title":"Iron Mountain Scenic Road","author":"Wendy","date":"July 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"John will be heading to South Carolina for his next job this weekend so we are taking advantage of this nice weekday to do some sightseeing In Custer State Park. There are two scenic drives we definitely want to do on the bike, specifically, Iron Mountain Road and the Needles\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230712_151545_thumb.jpg?fit=856%2C643&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230712_151545_thumb.jpg?fit=856%2C643&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230712_151545_thumb.jpg?fit=856%2C643&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230712_151545_thumb.jpg?fit=856%2C643&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12572"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12663,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12572\/revisions\/12663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}