South Dakota -- Spearfish

Next up, we drove north from Custer towards the town of Spearfish, SD.  This was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip.  We rented a little cabin (RimRock Lodge) for a couple nights and explored the area.  Spearfish Canyon is one of the best recreation sites in the Black Hills -- there's loads of waterfall hikes, bike trails, and fishing.  We started out the day by hiking up to Roughlock Falls, which was gorgeous and crystal clear.

Roughlock Falls

Later that day, we road the Big Hill mountain bike trails.  I'm definitely used to rocky desert riding, so I loved the swoopy, tree-lined dirt trails.  Some of the uphills were nasty lung-busters, but the downhills were worth it.  :)

Big Hill trails

Spearfish is also a surprisingly fun town.  There's a low-key outdoorsy college vibe and some great restaurants.  We had sourdough-crust pizza for dinner at the Dough Trader, then grabbed a few beers at the Crow Peak Brewing Company.  The Pile O' Dirt Porter was supertasty.

South Dakota -- Harney Peak

Today we hiked up Harney Peak!  At 7,242 feet it's the tallest point in South Dakota and the highest summit in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.  We started at the Sylvan Lake Trailhead in Custer State Park and started climbing into the Black Elk Wilderness.  The trail is only 6-miles round trip and moderately strenuous (the climb is steady, but not steep.)  We walked through forest meadows, marshes, and streams.  As you climb, spruce and pine give way to granite outcroppings.

The view from the top was amazing.  You get a 360 degree panorama that encompasses most of the Black Hills.  The CCC built an old stone fire tower on the summit, which was really cool.

starting out by Sylvan Lake

scrambling off-trail

old CCC fire tower

7,242'

view from the top

South Dakota -- Jewel Cave + Wildlife Loop

Today we hit up Jewel Cave National Monument.  I'm glad we got to see both Jewel and Wind Cave and have two different experiences.  I liked the wild cave tour at Wind Cave better, but I thought Jewel Cave was prettier.  We went on the 1 hr. 20 min. Scenic Cave tour, where a ranger takes you along a lighted walkway.  The cave walls are lined with glittering calcite crystals, cave popcorn, flowstone, stalactites, and stalagmites.  Our guide was pretty ridiculous, but we still had a good time.

Scenic Cave tour

test crawl for the hardcore cave tour

CAVE MONSTA

That evening back at Custer State Park, Jordan and I drove around the Wildlife Loop.  If you drive this road in the morning or evening, you're almost guaranteed to see loads of critters.  We saw pronghorn, bison, whitetail deer, and turkeys.  We also brought some apples and peaches to feed the feral burros.  The burros aren't native to the region and aren't considered real "wildlife," so you're allowed to feed them.  Yeah, I know it's cheesy, but they were supercute but really ornery.  One burro stuck his head through the window of my car, slurped up a peach from my hand, then sneezed/drooled peach juice all over me.  Nice ...

Wildlife Loop

pronghorn

nom nom nom

We were about to head back to the campsite when someone told us about a big herd of 34 bison down the road.  Incredible -- they're so huge up close.  Luckily the bulls were distracted by the ladies and didn't seem too interested in the Aveo!

bison herd!

South Dakota -- Mt. Rushmore + Custer State Park

On our second vacation day, we drove up to Mt. Rushmore.  We didn't spend a lot of time there, but if you go to the Black Hills you pretty much have to check out this iconic hunk of Americana.  I do have mixed feelings about the whole thing, though.  Four huge faces of white guys seems like a gigantic middle finger to all the native people who were kicked out of the Black Hills.

We drove out to Mt. Rushmore from Custer State Park on Iron Mountain Rd. (16A) which was fun, windy, and swoopy.  It curled around sparkly granite needles and ponderosa forests.  It's not the quickest route, but it's definitely the most scenic and dramatic.

Mt. Rushmore

checking out Mt. Rushmore from Hwy 16A

Ice cream = Thomas Jefferson?

For the rest of the day, we explored Custer State Park.  This place is HUGE -- at 71,000 acres, it's one of the biggest state parks in the United States.  It's also gorgeous.  The landscape ranges from rolling grasslands to rocky pinnacles to ponderosa forests.  The four of us camped at the Game Lodge Campground, which had a great centralized location and a couple ponds.  I'm glad we made reservations -- the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was just finishing up, and the hills were still swarming with bikes.

prairie dogs

Game Lodge Campground

South Dakota -- Wind Cave National Park

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for VACATION 2012!  For a week and a half, 'Red Rock Adventures' will become 'Black Hills Adventures' as Jordan and I head up to South Dakota for summer vacation.  I know South Dakota doesn't sounds like the most riveting destination, and as a fugitive from the flatlands, I was skeptical at first.  But as we started researching the trip my mental image changed from flat plains to granite pinnacles, monster caves, bison, and canyon waterfalls.  Sweet!

Here's the plan:

Day 1 -- Drive from Moab to Custer State Park

Day 2 -- Wind Cave National Park

Day 3 -- Custer State Park + Mt. Rushmore

Day 4 -- Jewel Cave National Monument

Day 5 -- Harney Peak

Day 6 -- Spearfish Canyon

Day 7 -- Deadwood + Hill City

Day 8 -- Sylvan Lake

Day 9 -- Mammoth Site

Day 10 -- Drive home

Jordan's buddy Trenton and his wife Kathleen live in Brookings, SD where they go to South Dakota State.  We'll meet up with them at Custer State Park on the second day of our vacation, but Jordan and I spent the first day by ourselves at Wind Cave National Park on their Wild Cave Tour.  Wind Cave was amazing!  The surface of swaying grasses and prairie dogs cover a labyrith that makes up one of the world’s longest caves.  Its name comes from barometric winds that make a whooshing sound at the cave entrance. 

Jordan and I went on their Wild Cave tour, which was ridiculously cool.  The Park Service suits you up with knee pads, helmets, and headlamps.  Then you crawl after a ranger for four hours through tiny crevasses and echoing chambers.  There were loads of the rare boxwork formations.  It was seriously surreal and very cool.  I wish I had photos, but we weren't allowed to bring cameras along because the squeezes were so tight!

We're Gettin' Hitched!

Awwwww hey!  We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming because ... WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!  I was all ready to write a blog entry about hiking around the La Sal Mountains, but sufficed to say I'm a little distracted now.  Dark Canyon Lake was already one of my favorite places, but this seals the deal.  It's a pretty little alpine lake on the east side of La Sal Mountains -- loads of pine trees and jumping fish.  We pulled the teardrop and set up camp right on the lake's edge.  During the day a couple people were fishing and hanging out on the shore, but eventually we had the place all to ourselves.  Pretty romantical, eh?  I can't wipe this huge goofy grin off my face. :)

So in my girly, gooshy haze I've been scanning over old photos and remembering all the adventures Jordan and I have been on together.  We've covered some ground and explored some really incredible places, and marriage seems like our next big adventure.  Jordan kicks ass and I can't imagine anyone I'd rather have as my travel companion and partner in crime.  I can't wait to be old people sitting in our rocking chairs thinking about all the cool stuff we did together.  Yay!

Dark Canyon Lake

Dibs.  :)

BIG TREE.  Thanks for the head's up.

Fisher Mesa Dinosaur Tracks

When I was a little kid, I wanted to be a paleontologist.  I still geek out pretty hard with anything related to dinosaurs, so our afternoon trip to see the Fisher Mesa dino tracks was fantastic.

From Moab, it takes about an hour of driving to get to the dino tracks.  Take the River Road (Hwy 128) to the Castle Valley turnoff.  Head up Castle Valley and follow the signs toward Gateway; don’t turn onto the Loop Road.  The paved road climbs as it gains elevation.  The dino tracks aren't signed, but there's a small pull-off on the left just before the road turns to gravel.

We lucked out.  It had rained earlier that afternoon, so the 3-toed tracks were filled with water and really easy to see.  The view from the lush alpine forest down across the red rock desert wasn't bad, either!

Sarah feet vs. dinosaur feet