Mount Rushmore & Custer State Park

Note: This is a continuation of the previous post.

After a night of sub par sleep, we stumbled out of the car with our crumpled bodies to greet the new day. Due to the chaos of the night before our camp was already packed up making moving on easier. Off we went toward Mount Rushmore. When we got there it was colder than what we were used to and also misting rain, but nothing was going to keep us from enjoying this giant landmark. I have to admit that my first impression was that it was bit smaller than what I had always envisioned it being, but impressive nonetheless. We walked the Presidential Loop trail leading us to an up close and personal view that then circled back to the start. We hung around a little longer taking in the view, then we moved on toward Custer State Park. On the way there I started getting the most insane migraine that got worse with every mile. Once we arrived the headache worsened and started to affect my vision that made me so sick I couldn't even enjoy lunch (which was a grilled cheese...so that was sad). After lunch I was beyond miserable and could barely stand so Tommy put up my hammock for me to nap while he put up the tent.

When I woke up I was nearly back to normal (thank goodness) and suggested we head out to drive the wildlife loop. I wasn't exactly as back to full health as I acted, but the whole reason we came to this park was for all of the advertised wildlife (and no headache was keeping me from them). We finally spotted our first bison on the side of the road. Tommy was relieved I finally got to see one due to it being all I had talked about during the planning phase, on the plane, in the car, at every stop....I think you get the point. Honestly, no picture can capture their enormity. It was on my side of the car and as we slowed down to take a picture, it was in that moment I lost the urge to give it a hug. It's head was the size of a human tucked into a ball and you could hear it ripping the grass from the root while blowing massive amounts of air and snot out as it chewed. Not something I would want to anger so we quickly moved on. The loop consisted of prairie dogs, elk, bison, and wild burros (that you could get out of your car and feed). As soon as we made the curve and saw the burros, I jumped out of the car and started a petting/feeding frenzy. Tommy finally got me back in the car and we continued to finish the loop. At the end was the Game Lodge ("Summer White House") that we walked through before heading to dinner to end the day.

An uneventful full night of sleep was just what we needed and got. We packed up camp that morning and drove on Needles Highway to take in more views on our way to coffee and out of Custer. This was going to be another long grueling day of driving but we were so excited to make it to Yellowstone that we didn't mind it. Eight hours of driving later and we were thirty minutes away making great time. Then it happened...a sign saying the entrance that we were headed to was currently closed. This could not be happening to us again. We checked online and sure enough the entrance was closed and we were going to have to enter through the West entrance. Obviously this wasn't ideal but we'll just reroute to the new entrance and be there in no time...right? Nope. After submitting the new entrance into Maps we discovered that particular entrance was actually in Montana and would be an additional two hours of driving. Feeling very defeated, we turned around and made our way toward Montana. We reached Yellowstone as the sun was setting which ended up making the perfect backdrop for our first impression of the park. Shortly we discovered giant herds of bison walking in the middle of the road and on both sides of it. I rolled the window down and began taking more pictures of them then the paparazzi did of Brittany Spears in 2007. I was mesmerized by them all over again. After the initial magic had worn off, we realized that to reach our campground we would now have to make another hour drive back down through the park. The sun was almost completely gone as we reached our campsite. I left Tommy to set up camp and drove back to the general store to find something for us to eat for dinner. At the end of it all, we were grateful to be in Yellowstone and to be out. of. the. car!