4 September 2025
After a brief stop at Target this morning, we were on the road to Wind Cave National Park. We had reservations for the Natural Entrance Tour at 1:30 PM. We got there with plenty of time to spare and toured the visitor center before our tour began. Over the course of 1.25 hours, we descended 289 steps to a maximum depth of 209 feet. Unlike most other caves we have been in, there were no stalagmites / stalactites; water doesn’t run through the caverns like at Mammoth and other caves.
Following our tour, we drove the 20 mile “loop” through the park. We saw a large herd of bison and about a million prairie dogs (they are super cute).
We got to the lodge just before 5:00; it was a much longer day than we thought it would be. We ordered food (a burger and a chicken sandwich) from the cafe. We ate the burger and have the chicken sandwich left over for tomorrow.
Excerpt from May 12, 1979 Journal (My 14-year Old Self): The prairie dogs are everywhere. They cross right in front of the cars. They look like a chipmunk only a little larger and no white stripe.
Accommodation: Springs Lodge & Cafe (1 Night)
Travel: 98 Miles / 2 Hours
5 September 2025
We left the cabin around 10:30 (after eating our chicken sandwich for breakfast) and decided to visit the Mammoth Site here in Hot Springs. It was really interesting as it is an active dig site. The building was literally erected around the bone bed. To date, 122 tusks have been found indicating remains of 61 mammoths – all are male. It is believed that the warm water pond (created from a sinkhole) that existed on the site 140,000 years ago was alluring to bachelor herds (male mammoths) for the water temperature, as well as the grasses that grew around its rim. The sides of the pond were spearfish slate, which is a very slippery surface when wet. Since the pond was 60-65 feet deep, the mammoths were not able to touch the bottom and get out of the water, and as a result, they ultimately perished. Although it’s a very sad story, the bones and fossils that remain (there are many more animals than just the mammoths) are fascinating and offer a glimpse into life in the Ice Age.
After the Mammoth Site, we headed to Custer State Park and the Wildlife Loop. We saw bison, pronghorn antelope, burros, mountain goats, and prairie dogs. We also stopped at the Bison Center and learned all about the bison round-up and auction, which are part of the bison herd management program.
We continued north to Crazy Horse Memorial. I wasn’t sure if we had visited the Memorial when we were on our tour in 1979, but after we learned about the history, I’m sure that we didn’t visit the site as there really was not much there in that era.
We checked into the lodge just after 5:00 and we were done for the day! Even though we didn’t travel far, it seemed like we packed a lot into the day.
Travel: 84 Miles / 6.5 Hours (With Stops)
Accommodation: Rockerville Lodge and Cabins (1 Night)
6 September 2025
We had a very leisurely morning and didn’t leave Rockerville until 11:00. We stopped in Rapid City to get the truck washed – it was so dusty from the gravel national and state park roads. We have to use touchless car washes because of the rack and the tent, so it did the job, but it was by no means completely clean. At least it got most of the bugs off. But, that was temporary, because they were just as bad when we got off of I-90 in Sturgis.
But, I am getting ahead of myself. Just on the outskirts of Sturgis we stopped at the Black Hills National Cemetery. It was just as beautiful as other national cemeteries that we have visited.
We exited on Main Street in Sturgis and stopped to take a few pictures before heading west on Route 14 to Deadwood. It’s only been a month since the Sturgis Annual Rally – and the weather is gorgeous – but we saw very few motorcycles in town.
We were early – just after 1:00, but luckily our room was ready for check-in. After dropping our bags, we went out for lunch and decided on Buffalo Bodega Steakhouse. Markus had the Deadwood Dip and I had the Steak Tips Salad. The food was really good and we had left overs to take back to our room for dinner.
We spent a couple of hours in our room watching college football and then ventured out for the 6:00 “Shootout” in Deadwood. It was as cheesy as it sounds, but I thought that we couldn’t come to a historic western town and not “see” any history.
So, you may be asking, what is Deadwood known for? Deadwood, South Dakota is known for its history as a wild west gold rush town founded in 1876, attracting legends like Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Today, it preserves this legacy through its status as a National Historic Landmark, offering attractions like Mount Moriah Cemetery (where Hickok and Jane are buried), historic main street, museums, gold mine tours, and live wild west re-enactments. The town also features numerous casinos.
Accommodation: Hampton Inn at Tin Lizzie Gaming Resort (1 Night)
Travel: 55 Miles / 2.25 Hours (With Stops)
7 September 2025
After breakfast in the hotel, we got on the road at 10:00. We decided to take the Spearfish Canyon Scenic By-Pass, which was beautiful. We stopped for a few pictures at Roughlock Falls as well as at Bridal Veil Falls. Both were pretty, but not as spectacular as those in Iceland or New Zealand.
After the canyon, we headed west on I-90 to Wyoming and the Devils Tower National Monument (making a brief stop at the Wyoming Visitor Center for maps and park information). There were a lot of people at Devils Tower and we had to wait in line for about 25 minutes for parking. It’s an amazing natural formation and I’m glad we made the stop. We also saw 3 people that were climbing the tower – apparently between 5,000 and 6,000 people climb it every year! They are all crazy!!
We made good time after leaving the Devils Tower, and rolled into Gillette just after 3:30 (we saw some deer along the way). We checked in to the hotel and went for an early dinner at Cinco de Mayo Mexican Restaurant, which was only 5 minutes away. The service and the food were both excellent – Markus and I each had an enchilada with a crispy taco (Markus had shredded chicken and I had shredded beef) served with refried beans and rice. Unbelievably, we both ate nearly our entire meal; all that was left was some rice. We were really hungry since we had eaten only 1/2 bagel and some eggs for breakfast at 9:00 this morning and a Kind bar as we were waiting on parking at the Devils Tower.
We returned to the hotel and did a load of laundry as we watched Sunday Night Football. We had a fairly active day, and we were ready to relax!
Recall from a couple of days ago that the Jeep goes in for service tomorrow morning and we were hoping that the rental cars would be less expensive in Gillette, but it turns out we were wrong. So, we went to Plan C (or is it D?) and booked an extra night in the hotel as it was cheaper than the rental car for the day. (Of course, we couldn’t extend our stay at the TownPlace Suites, so had to cancel and book elsewhere. Nothing is ever easy!) Not quite sure what we are going to do during the day tomorrow, but at least we won’t be hanging around the dealership for hours!
Accommodation: Garner Hotel Gillette South (2 Nights) / Original was TownPlace Suites (1 Night)
Travel: 164 Miles / 5.5 Hours (With Stops)
8 September 2025
Today was a complete wash. We dropped the Jeep off at the dealership a few minutes early, took the dealer shuttle and were back in the hotel just a few minutes after 8:00. We did nothing all day except catch up on email and crossword puzzles!
We heard from the dealership just before noon. The Jeep has to have the rear axle lock sensor replaced; parts and labor are estimated to be $990 (about half of what I feared it might be). The new part was ordered and should arrive by 10:00 tomorrow morning. With any luck, we will be able to pick up the truck in the early afternoon and be on our way to Bighorn.
We had shrimp cocktail and a salad for dinner as we watched Monday Night Football.
9 September 2025
We had late check out at 1:00 (the hotel couldn’t do later as they are sold out tonight – they were also sold out last night), so we got a trolley and hauled everything down to the lobby. At this point, we were still hopeful that we would get the truck back in time to make the 2 hour trip to Bighorn National Forest. We even went so far as to walk across the street to the Albertson’s and bought a rotisserie chicken and some buns for dinner tonight.
It was getting close to mid-afternoon, so at 2:45, I texted our service advisor and 20 minutes later, I received a reply that the service tech was moving forward with the repair, which told me absolutely nothing in terms of how much longer it would take. It was obviously an evasive answer. She went on to say that she would provide another update in an hour. An hour and 45 minutes later (just before 5:00), she advised that she wasn’t sure the repair and the test drive would be finished today.
We requested the courtesy shuttle to pick us up at the hotel so that we could be at the dealership before 6:00 (when service closes) in the event that the truck was ready before closing. There was no shuttle driver available but our service advisor did indicate that the repair would be complete and we could pick up the vehicle this evening. So, we got an Uber – a fantastic driver named Alicia – and she got us to the dealership in plenty of time, arriving at 5:30. Our service advisor had clocked out at 5:00, which was probably just as well because I thought she was horrible at her job – total lack of communication and care.
The damage was $1,038 – the difference from estimate was tax – we paid, but then still had to wait for the test drive. That seemed almost a formality as the indicator light had gone out, so the tech was certain that all was good. At 5:50, we finally got the key back and proceeded to load up for the short hour-long drive to Buffalo. We decided to stay in a hotel tonight because, for us, 8:00 was too late to arrive at the campground, and try to get set up (the campground was an hour west of Buffalo). We were checked in and in our room enjoying a glass of wine by 7:00!
Np pictures today, but we did see numerous deer along I-90 on the drive to Buffalo.
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Buffalo (1 Night) / Original was 2nd Night at Lakeview Campground
Travel: 67 Miles / 55 Minutes
10 September 2025
We left the hotel at 9:30 and traveled 16 miles up the road to Fort Phil Kearny, which was a U.S. Army fort established in 1866 near present-day Story, Wyoming, to protect travelers on the Bozeman Trail to the Montana goldfields. The fort, a 17-acre stockade, was the center of Red Cloud’s War between 1866 and 1868, seeing conflicts like the Fetterman Fight and the Wagon Box Fight. Under the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, the Army abandoned the fort, and it was burned to the ground by Native American warriors who had fiercely opposed the Bozeman Trail’s use of their hunting grounds.
Although the history was interesting, the fort was a major disappointment. We were under the impression that at least some of the buildings had been reconstructed, but that was not the case. There were interpretive signs indicating the purpose of the building that used to be there in the late 1860’s, but aside from stakes marking the corners of the buildings, there were absolutely no structures.
Following the Fort, we returned to Buffalo and headed west on US-16 into the Bighorn National Forest. We wanted to drive the scenic highway through the Forest (that we missed along with our two days of camping), and we had plenty of time today to do just that. The scenery was really beautiful, but unfortunately, we didn’t see any wildlife other than about a dozen deer on our way to the Fort this morning. We drove through Powder River Pass, the highest point in along Highway 16 in the Forest (9,666 feet). We also stopped at the campsite that we missed out on; the view of the lake was beautiful – so sorry to have missed it!
We stopped in Worland, Wyoming for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. There was only one other person there at 1:15 in the afternoon, which was really a shame because the service and food were very good. Even though we tried to order something “small” the portions were large and as usual, we brought half of the food with us for either tonight or tomorrow night.
Accommodation: Hyatt Place Billings (1 Night)
Travel: 280 Miles / 7.5 Hours (Including Stops)