Tuesday morning I woke up early and headed out of Colorado City towards Hot Springs, South Dakota. It started off with a beetle sighting – in fact, the largest beetle I may have ever seen in person.
Long day ensued – about 9 hours on the road, crossing through Wyoming on the way.
It’s a strange feeling these days to drive across so much land with no cell phone service and very few other people on the road. Kind of nice, actually. I also enjoyed the drive – I no longer get that “are we there yet” feeling. Time sort of ceases to exist out there – there’s just so much to look at. On to South Dakota.
It’s amazing the way the landscape changes so abruptly between Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota, which is pretty close to the border. I don’t have very many pictures of the approach of the Black Hills, but what a surprise once you get into them… Spent the night in Hot Springs, which unfortunately has turned into a bit of a ghost town. Lots of commercial spaces closed down and not many choices for dinner. The last time I was there — 20 years ago — I believe it was a much more bustling community. One major plus – my hotel was right next store to the Mammoth Site – an old sink hole containing the remains of 50+ mammoths. Pretty amazing to see them in the process of being excavated. And then I tried on a buffalo hat.
Wednesday, I spent the majority of the day in Custer State Park – perhaps some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever laid my eyes on. I wish I could live in there.
My pictures don’t really do the park justice.. I’m going back for more tomorrow, and then on to Spearfish. Setting up for the Festival in the Park on Friday morning.