Custer, SD: Threading the needle - scary!

Yesterday: Cell service has been negligible. Even the Weboost is not boosting. So to catch up…..We went to Wind Cave National Park, a very tiny, sacred, and very tiny cave! Wind Cave is the longest and most complex caves in the world. It’s named for barometric winds at its entrance. The Lokata believe it to be the emergence of their tribe. Unfortunately their elevator has been down for repair since last year so the cave was not open.

The good news was that their campground had availability and we decided to stop early and camp there. We went to the natural entrance where there is Texas-sized watermelon hole in the rocks with cold rushing wind constantly blowing. Disappointing not to be able to go in.

Today: The Black Hills and Custer State Park are very intriguing. LOTS to explore. The 18-mile wildlife loop in Custer is filled with bison along the road. Like driving through Yellowstone. Then there was the gathering of burros and their young that you can get up close and personal with. But the highlight was the needles highway!!! Check out these photos to see why it was a hairy drive through the tunnels. We barely made it through with our mirrors folded in. Definitely felt victorious at the end.

Next highlight was the Crazy Horse Memorial, considered the 8th Wonder of the World in progress. Mount Rushmore pales by comparison. The size of the carving and the years in the making are astounding.

An eventful day topped off by actually finding a first-come first-serve forest service campground, Orville, at the end of the day. Crotchety camp host, but we were just relieved to find a site.