Tag Archives: animals

The “If there’s any Spare time” list

Posted on by

The “If there’s any Spare time” list is made up of things I enjoy or think I’d enjoy but also don’t mind skipping for something better. Sandy may feel differently and if so, we’ll just have to shift things around.

Here’s the list:

  • Out of Africa Wildlife Park

Zebras at the Out of Africa Wildlife Park

  • Jerome, Arizona
  • Palatki and Honanki Heritage Sites
  • Have lunch at a café in Tlaquepaque

Tlaquepaque

On the list of things that I would do but Sandy probably won’t want to:

  • Helicopter Tour

Helicopter tours

  • Hot Air Balloon Ride

Hot Air Balloon

I’m sure I’ve left something out but these are the lists that come to mind as the first stage of planning begins.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

South Dakota Wrap-up

Posted on by

This vacation can be summed up in one word…AMAZING! It was so much more than I expected. What a journey of perception to go from “What’s in South Dakota” to “Amazing”.

Everyone’s hot button will be different but for me it’s animals…all kinds of animals. If I’m in Florida I’m always on the look out for creatures, ‘gators, birds, snakes ; when we go to Alaska I’ll want to see seals, sea birds , bears maybe whales and walrus but I didn’t know what to expect in South Dakota.

I think I loved the Wild Horses the best

Racing the Wind

 followed by those funny little prairie dogs.

But seeing buffalo in the wild ,

 not a zoo was really something as were the “beggin’ burros of Custer State Park.

Of course it is “where the deer and the antelope play”.

I couldn’t help but compare my Pronghorn experience in Arizona with the Pronghorn experience in South Dakota. In South Dakota there were Mule Deer, White tail and antelope around every turn. Some even seemed to be posing for the photo ops, very few seemed skittish..

 Sometimes it seemed like they were as busy watching us as we were them. In Arizona I saw 1 pronghorn way off in the distance and 1 mule deer family while I was on a tour bus at the grand canyon. The difference is notable.

We didn’t eat in fancy restaurants but the food was good and everyone we met was nice and helpful. The Foothills Inn was clean and everything as promised. Our stay there was very pleasant. I have no complaints.

Mount Rushmore takes your breath away when you see it for the first time. It is truly a monument for the ages. I only wish the weather had been better when we visited the mountain. Maybe next trip. Sorry I missed the Needles Highway but Iron Mountain Road was a great experience. Had our budget and time allowed, we definitely should have included a visit to Crazy Horse and not just the drive by. Next time?

　

Keystone to Hill City and back on a vintage train. The 1880 Train did not disappoint.

 It was a relaxing ride through the Blackhills while the narrators gave us quick bits and stories sprinkled with lots of humor.

　

　

The caves, Wind Cave and the mining tunnel at Thunder Falls…both interesting and worthwhile visits. There are still many more caves in the area to explore as well as more passages and tours in Wind Cave. I guess you could say we only “scratched the surface”.

The Mammoth Dig isn’t a cave but it’s a great indoor activity for a rainy day. Well worth a visit.

Rapid City is a great city.. We only just touched on what there is to do. I’ve heard there’s shopping and art but we only had the one day so we got to visit Skyline Dr and Dinosaur Park,

 checked out the presidents in downtown

 and ended at the Journey Museum.

The city has a beautiful park as we learned on our trolley ride and so much more that we missed.

It deserves more than one day. To paraphrase a saying…so much to see, so little time J

I can’t forget to mention the “Longest Dirt Road” that crossed Pine Ridge Reservation and meeting with members of the tribe. A nice, nice memory! Maybe next time we’ll find a Pow-Wow and visit Wounded Knee.

We need another visit to Wall Drug with it’s “Free Ice water” . Great souvenir shopping so bring your wallet! They are also online. www.walldrug.com

Last but certainly not least was magnificent scenery of the Badlands. That rugged beauty impressed me as much as the Grand Canyon but in a different way.

I’m so glad I have so many pictures and wonderful memories. My friends said I wouldn’t want to come back to New England. Well, I wasn’t ready to leave South Dakota, there was still so much to see and do, as one of my readers expressed as they told us of waterfalls and sights we missed, but I am not ready to move there. LOL I would consider a 2nd vacation and next time someone says to me “what’s in South Dakota I’ll know just what to say…”So much you just won’t believe it ‘til you see it!”

　

That about sums up the South Dakota vacation. It’s time to start planning the May trip to Sedona, Arizona. I also have some day trips coming up that I will fill you in on as they roll around. As always suggestions, comments , cheers and jeers and welcome. I hope I’ll be hearing from you, my readers!J

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Just a quick reminder…there’s only a few more days to vote for your favorite name for the Prairie Dog.

Prairie Dog with Flower

 You’ll find the poll on the archive site: http://aroundustyroads.blogspot.com

Ground Hog Day

Posted on by

I know I still have more to tell you about South Dakota but I had to acknowledge my little friend, the Ground Hog. Last summer I had saw a little Ground Hog that seemed to have made his home right by RT 44. I saw him almost every day when I went to work. When fall came around he disappeared. I don’t know if he died, moved his den or was trapped and moved. I still look for him but there aren’t even any tracks in the snow. Still in honor of Ground Hog Day I am posting his picture.

Since it’s sleeting and storming, we can assume the ground hog didn’t see his shadow but the way this winter is going, I really don’t think it will matter. I am fairly certain that we will have more than 6 weeks of winter to get throughJ

 

NEWS FLASH!…The weather is so bad even Woodstock Willie plans to stay in on Wednesday. No word yet on Punxsutawney Phil’s plans.

TOP HEADLINES:

Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early spring!

 

Wind Cave National Park, SD

Posted on by

After another splurge for breakfast at Perkins Restaurant we headed back south to explore Wind Cave National Park. We were nearing the end of our time here in South Dakota and wouldn’t have enough time to check out all of the many caves and cave systems in the Black Hills so we asked for guidance. The cave most locals recommended was Wind Cave although Jewel Cave was a close second.

Red Wing Backbird outside the Foothills Inn

Our luck with the weather seemed to have run out as well, as if to tell us our time was up! So as we headed out there was a light mist and no sun. Well, we weren’t planning to sit on a beach or hike the mountains . We would be in a cave so I guess it doesn’t matter if it’s raining or not.

On our way to Wind Cave National Park we cut through Custer State Park again and followed the Wildlife Loop Road. I guess even the animals figured it was too nasty to be out as there was very little activity. We spotted a couple of antelope in the distance but this was the lightest day for animal sightings since we’d been here.

As we neared the entrance to Wind Cave National Park we thought we saw a Pronghorn with a baby in a ravine by the road. We turned around and tried to get back to see for sure. We had to wait for a lot of traffic to pass before we could turn around and by then the animal or animals had disappeared. So we turned around again and headed into the park.

The Visitor Center is a clean, modern facility and it was quite busy for a rainy day. I guess everyone felt like we did about the weather.

There were a lot of tours to chose from but it was almost lunchtime so we decided to take the shorter Natural Entrance Cave tour. Since it was almost lunch time I checked my blood sugar and it was fine. There is no food, candy or gum allowed in the cave so I wouldn’t have any “reserve” with me. The tour was about an hour long so I figured I’d be fine. (Boy was I wrong but more on that later)

We were directed out to a roofed pavilion to wait for the ranger. It was definitely cool and damp but everyone on the tour seemed to be enjoying themselves in spite of the weather.

Pretty soon our ranger arrived. I think he said he said his name was Ranger Nick. He is a teacher by profession and does the ranger gig part time. He was a slight man but he knew how to project his voice so there was no problem hearing his stories and instructions. Our tour was made up of all ages and physical abilities.

Ranger Nick's orientation

Ranger Nick gave us an orientation doing a great job of involving the children in the group. Then he led us off down the path toward the cave entrance. There was one more stop before we entered the cave and that was at the spot where the cave “breathes”.

Wind Cave is a huge cave system and it is still being explored but for years no one even knew it was there. The Native Americans spoke of the “hole that breathes cool air” and they may have explored some of the cave system. Following up on those legends, explorers finally found the “hole” and sure enough a breeze was blowing out of it.

At this point in the narrative, Ranger Nick climbed down into a depression next to a hole in the rock wall. He asked for a volunteer and one of the kids joined him. The little boy was given a ribbon and told to hold it in front of the hole. We could all see the breeze lift the ribbon and blow it out like a flag.

The "Hole that Breathes"

We turned around then and headed back to the entrance and into the cave itself.

Down we go

Almost immediately the cave started to slope downward. Before we would finish we would climb down around 300 stairs.

As we progressed through the cave, Ranger Nick stopped often and pointed out various formations. The rarest but  most abundant of which is the boxwood formation. Wind Cave has more boxwood than any other cave in the world. It’s hard to believe but Ranger Nick said early miners actually used the fragile formation as post office boxes leaving letters and notes in the natural boxes. A partial list of the types of formations we viewed , I can’t remember all of them, is: Boxwork, helictite bushes, quartz rinds, dogtooth and nailhead spar, quartz, button popcorn, sawtooth flowstone, gypsum luster, flowers, starbursts, and hair and conulites.

Bottom of the Cave tour

Again I don’t know if I am remembering correctly, but when we reached the last room on the tour I recall that Ranger Nick told us how many feet it was below the surface. I think he said 228 ft but I could be wrong. If anyone knows the lowest point on the Cave Entrance Tour, please post it in the comments!

It was about this time that I began to feel really shaky and weak. I was glad the tour was wrapping up because I suspected that the mild walking had made my blood sugar drop more quickly than I had anticipated. We all loaded into elevators that took us back the the surface. I think I’d have been fine then if they had opened into the visitor center and I could have gotten something to eat but turned out that we still had a short walk but a small incline. It was the incline that was about to do me in. Ranger Nick came over to see if I was ok and said that arrangements could have been made for me as I have a medical condition, (diabetes). With Sandy’s help I made it back to the visitor center. They didn’t have a snack bar but they did have a room with some vending machines. I got something from there. I don’t even remember what and sat for about 15 minutes after eating. By then I was feeling better and we headed out to find someplace for lunch.

I was feeling a bit foolish but lesson learned. Take the glucose tablets or something even when food is not allowed!

　

　

　

　

　

The Longest Dirt Road In the World

Posted on by

I believe this was the day after Mount Rushmore. Sandy had wanted to see some Native Americans and I suggested we take a drive to Badlands National Park. The White River Visitor Center is staffed by members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

Looking at the Park Map it seemed that the visitor center we wanted was on the southern part of the park. Sandy had also discovered that she had left her souvenirs from Mount Rushmore in the gift shop and wanted to go back there to see if they still had them there. She had her receipt so I figured we could go to the visitor center and then back track to Mount Rushmore.

This was the first morning that we didn’t have a tour scheduled so we didn’t have to rush to get up. We decided a break from Jimmy Dean was in order and we walked over to the Perkins Restaurant next door for breakfast.

Southern End of the Badlands

After a leisurely meal we headed to the car and south to find the Visitor Center. It was a little confusing at first but eventually we arrived and true to the advertisement it was staffed by Native Americans.

The displays were wonderful and the staff great to talk with. They answered all of our questions. One of the staff said they were having a Pow Wow at Pine Ridge and suggested we go there next. We could see Wounded Knee at the same time as they were all in the same area. We just had to drive across the Pine Ridge Reservation.

I left Sandy to get directions and headed out to the car. I met another Native American Staffer on the way in. He stopped me and said “Snow tonight”. I laughed and said “ Oh no, I hope not!” he laughed too and just said “ Yes, snow.” Sandy and I laughed about the snow predication as we climbed into the car.

Sandy said to take a right onto a dirt road that ran right past the Visitor Center. We had learned that because the reservation is considered a sovereign nation , that they do not get federal funds to maintain roads or other infrastructure. Therefore almost all of the roads on the reservation are dirt. Still, this one seemed to be well maintained and graded so we set off at a fair clip.

Pronghorn racing through the field

As with everywhere we had been so far the scenery was just amazing and there was wildlife everywhere. This continued to amaze me because seeing wild animals out like this during the day just doesn’t happen in the northeast. Spotting a deer during the day is unusual in spite of road kill to the contrary.

Deer by the roadside

 

Now remember it had rained hard the night before. I’d had the pleasure of driving from Mount Rushmore to Rapid City in the dark and downpour. So Sandy and I are chatting as we drive along this dirt road when all of a sudden it was mud. The car swished about a little and I made note to watch more carefully for the puddles. Most of them didn’t look like much but looks are sometimes deceiving. Sure enough, we began to hit more and more muddy patches finally hitting the biggest mud puddle of all!

Muddy road

I tried to swerve around it but it covered the whole road and the car just slid sideways into the middle of that mess. Water flew everywhere and our white car wasn’t white anymore. There was even mud on the sunroof. With a little fish-tailing we were able to get ourselves out and on our way again but first I had to stop to laugh. It was the funniest thing that had happened the whole trip and it really tickled my funny bone.

Our muddy White car

I don’t know how long we drove but it seemed to be forever. I pretty much figured we’d gone in the wrong direction but we’d been driving for so long that I wasn’t going to back track. Sandy said the Staffers probably saw us drive off in the wrong direction and said something like “stupid white women”. Well after that mud bath that just hit me funny again so I had another laughing fit.

Just as we were joking about being lost on the reservation forever we bumped onto pavement. We drove through a small settlement and then saw a sign for one of the main roads. As we pulled onto it, Sandy said she wanted to get out and kiss the pavement. That set off another round of giggles.

Longest Dirt Road in The World

I did take a picture of the dirt road. It seems to go on forever. In additional to the road just going on and on, there’s nothing on it. There are no little villages or stores or gas stations or signs. You just drive. It must have been what the first settlers experienced when they began to cross the prairie.

 I should mention too that we made it back to Mount Rushmore and Sandy went into the gift shop where she had made her purchase last night. She showed her receipt and they replaced her souvenir.

But we never did find the Pow Wow. Going to one is now on my bucket list for a return trip but we had a lot of fun driving the “Longest Dirt Road in the World”.

Next Post: Thunder Falls