spirobulldog

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Above is my Photo Book.

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The 2 links above are to 2 sets of just the photos

Stayed one night in Rapid City at Cambria Suite and it was great
Stayed one night in Rapid City at Country Inn and Suites and it wasn't so good
Stayed 3 nights in Sylvan Lake Lodge Cabins in Custer State Park--Good, but not what I was expecting. None of the cabins have a view of the lake. Furthermore, they are all about a mile from the lake. I'm not sure if I would stay there again or not.

Had so so meals at Blue Bell, State Game Lodge, and Sylvan Lake Lodge. Meaning, only one of us at each meal really liked what we ordered. Pie at Bobkat's Purple Pie Place in City of Custer was very good.

We thoroughly enjoyed Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Mammoth Site, and Custer State Park itself.
We were surprised at how much we enjoyed Badlands National Park--specifically The Notch Trail. Also were shocked at how much we liked Devils Tower. Mount Rushmore was great. All three of us were very dissapointed in Crazy Horse. Not sure what we expected, but were very underwhelmed and would not go back to this one.

We saw more wildlife at Wind Cave than any other place. Tons of Prairie Dogs and a lot of Buffalo(not as many as Yellowstone). We were even lucky enought to see a Badger. The ranger told me he had seen 3 in his 47 years there, so to consider ourselves lucky on that one. Of course, I didn't get a photo. The Badger was in a hole with a lot of prairie dogs nearby. He was 3 feet from the road. He popped his head out 3 or 4 times within a few seconds, but never surfaced again(we waited on him 15 minutes). Also saw Mountain Goats, Bighorn Sheep, and Pronghorn in several spots.

The only thing I felt like I missed out on was the Wild Cave Tours at Wind and Jewel. They aren't offered until later in the summer. I don't think my wife or daughter would have done them anyway. While Jewel and Wind Caves are nice, they don't come anywhere close to Carlsbad Cavern, in my opinion.

The hike to Harney Peak was very nice. Only bummer about the entire area is there are TONS of trees that are dead. I mean, it is horrific really.
Both the Iron Mountain Road and Needles HWY are both really cool drives to check out. A drive thru Spearfish Canyon with stops at the waterfalls are good. We were surprised by how good the waterfalls were. The short side trip drive up to Coolidge Fire Tower Lookout is also a nice option.

WhereAreWe

How long were you at Badlands? IMO it is consistently under-rated on here, I think mostly because people do a drive thru on their way to the Black Hills. I did a 5 night camping trip there and it's way better as an overnight.

Never been to Crazy Horse and I don't plan on it until it's more complete (if that happens before I die). Good to know it's underwhelming, that was my general impression already.

Lucky you on the badger sighting. I grew up in Wisconsin out in the country and have never seen one anywhere except a zoo or at Wisconsin football games.

emalloy

Sounds like a nice trip. Thanks for reporting.

rizzo0904

We love the badlands as well.

spirobulldog

WhereAreWe,
We were at the Badlands about a half a day. Nearly always, I find the longer I stay at a spot(National Park) the more I enjoy it. Camping there for a few days would be nice. We are Tent Camping 3 days in Great Basin at the end of June. I haven't been to that one and looking forward to it.

lindsyb

Thanks for the report Spiro! I love the photo book that you made. We are leaving for our Black Hills vacation in a couple of weeks and have several of the same things planned.

I am glad to see that you liked Cambria Suites - we are staying there first night. Our last night is at the Adoba Eco. Then we have 2 nights at Cedar Pass in Badlands NP and 3 nights at State Game Lodge - Creekside.

The Purple Pie place looks fabulous - any other restaurants/meals you all really enjoyed? Sounds like it was hit / miss on your meals.

wtm003

A friend had the same comments about Devils Tower. Still need to go there and to the Badlands. I've had pie at two places you've recommended so I'll have to put Bobkat's on my list. Good to know about the cabins at Sylvan Lake.

Sounds like you had a good trip!

spirobulldog

lindsyb,
Creekside looks like it might be the way to go! I would suggest eating at Sylvan, State Game Lodge, and Blue Bell. We probably enjoyed Blue Bell the best. Some of the dishes were pretty good, some were pretty blah--perhaps we just didn't order the right things. I would have something at Wall just for the experience. I actually enjoyed my roast beef sandwich with potatoes and gravy there. Very commercialized, but sometimes that's not a bad thing(sometimes a person just wants taco bell or mcdonalds fake food)
Baker's Bakery in Custer is a good option for Lunch or for Breakfast. Pizza Works in Custer was pretty good place too.
We did have Donuts in Rapid City at Jerry's Cakes and Donuts that were very good.

wtm003,
Bobkats gets mixed reviews on yelp and tripadvisor. We are somewhat pie snobs. Frankly, my wife and mother make KILLER PIES(and yes, I do 95% of the cooking--but they have piecrust down)(my wife pretty much uses Pioneer Woman's crust and my mom's is similar)(freezing the crust before baking it does make a difference-much flakier). I don't get very many good pies out, so for me to say one is good is not the norm. I could not figure out the filling/liquid part of Bobkat's--It had a whiteness to it that I've never seen in other fruit pies. It is still puzzling me. Almost milky in color. My wife loves Rhubarb and she had the rhubarb/strawberry and said it was good. They leave their fruit and rhubarb cut in very big pieces. Most people cut them much smaller).

longhorn55

The death of the trees in the Black Hills, particularly noticeable at Harney Peak is a tragedy. The cause is the mountain pine beetle and the efforts to contain the infestation by a process called "chunking". I was in the Black Hills last summer and was simply amazed by what I saw when I climbed Harney Peak. It didn't even look like the same hike that I had last done in 1995. So sad.

I am glad to hear, however, that I didn't miss anything by skipping the Crazy Horse Monument. I've visited the Black Hills many times since the 1960's and I've always thought that seeing the Crazy Horse Monument from the road was sufficient. Guess I was right.

Googs

Awesome! You are a wealth of fresh knowledge. We leave Thursday for a similar trip and I appreciate your trip report. Love love love the photos. Wall Drug is a hoot too.

How long is The Notch Trail? Was the log ladder part of it? If so I probably cannot conquer with my lower leg cast. Did you see any rattlesnakes?

I booked Blue Bell Hayride & Chuckwagon today. Were you tempted to do that or the jeep or horse rides in Custer SP? We are staying three days at a VRBO and then one night at Blue Bell before off to Devil’s Tower, Deadwood and Badlands. Did you encounter roads under construction? Did you do anything in Sundance, WY?

spirobulldog

We did not see any rattlesnakes, but myself and a lady that was hiking in front of me both thought we heard one on Harney Peak Trail.

Ladder isn't that bad on The Notch Trail. It can be done in an hour. Probably more than an hour is your in a cast.

Only major road constuction was around Jewel Cave and it didn't delay us much. Did not do Sundance. Just drove through Deadwood. Hay Ride and Jeep didn't interest me, for some reason.

Googs

It looks like a lot of rain in the 10-day forecast. What were your best indoor experiences?

spirobulldog

It rained every afternoon while we were there. Mammoth, Jewel Cave, and Wind Cave can all be done in the rain.

gnomemom

Thanks for your report! We leave for our Badlands/Black Hills/Yellowstone Adventure in June. It would not be possible without all the help from those of you have have traveled before us and reported back!

Loved your pictures, too!