day 6 and 7: custer state park, black hills national forest, driving.

We had lights out at 9:00 on Sunday night so that we could wake up at 5:15 Monday morning. We had a 45 minute drive from our hotel to Custer State Park, and David wanted to start with a drive on the 18-mile Wildlife Loop. He heard that early mornings or evenings are the best time to spot wildlife.

 

 

We had seen a heard of bison at a distance the day before in Badlands (did I mention that?), but about 15 minutes onto the Loop we saw one up close and personal. He was huge! And enjoying a leisurely morning scratch on a rock.

Next we saw burros. They aren’t native to the park; we learned that they are descendants of burros that used to carry tourists up into the Black Hills and were released into the park upon retirement.

 

 

They were so friendly and just begging for some attention. So of course we had to get out of the van to pet them.

 

 

 

 

Amie has officially added burros to the running list of farm animals she’d like to own one day.

After the Wildlife Loop, we did some hiking. We actually combined three hikes into one: Cathedral Spires, Little Devil Tower, and Black Elk Peak, for a total of 8 miles. We started our hike at the Cathedral Spires trailhead on Needles Highway.

 

 

 

Custer State Park is absolutely beautiful. We enjoyed it just as much as Badlands, and loved noticing all the differences between the two.

 

 

 

 

This was a rigorous hike, and the longest we’ve done as a family. The kids were champs. I’m so sore today! It was well worth it though, for the challenge and the spectacular views.

On the Black Elk trail, we crossed into Black Hills National Forest. There’s a flight of stone stairs up to a fire tower at the top of Black Elk Peak. I am not big on heights, to say this least, so this was the hardest part of the hike for me!

 

 

Above you see “real life on the trail with the Gentinos”, as I hug the wall and try my best not to look at the plunging cliffs all around me, we all shiver in the billowing wind, and the kids are grumpy at their dad for taking yet another picture.

There were progressively more people on the trails throughout the morning, and there was a good bit of traffic as we got back into the van. We waited awhile to drive through a one-way tunnel; for some reason every biker on the road (and there are plenty in South Dakota) wanted to stop and snap pictures in the tunnel.

 

 

Next, we planned to drive to beautiful Sylvan Lake for a picnic lunch, but when we arrived it was packed with people. We finally found a parking spot, but couldn’t find a single free patch of grass in the shade, so we drove on.

By this point it was 1:00; we’d been up since 5:00, and were sweaty, hungry, and so exhausted. We exited the park, and David literally found a roadside parking area to stop and take a nap. Some of us ate a quick peanut butter and jelly, others were too tired to eat. David had just dozed off when somebody needed to take a number two “right now.” So we loaded up and were off again!

That was a low point.

But we regrouped and drove straight to our favorite coffee shop for cold drinks and some foosball. We relaxed for nearly two hours and felt much better when we left.

 

 

 

We were beginning to think ahead to the Yellowstone leg of our trip, and I really wanted to do laundry before we arrived. Thankfully, there was a guest washer and dryer in our hotel, so throughout the evening, Amie and I did two large loads. The dryer didn’t work very well, so we spread damp laundry throughout our small hotel room before bed. It looked like this:

 

 

I had a mini-melt down at this point. It didn’t involve actual tears, but it did involve, “This is so hard!” but not just in front of David, in the privacy of our room. In front of the whole family. Because we’re all in one room. All the time!

It’s hard to pack and unpack the van every night. It’s hard moving from hotel to hotel. It’s hard not eating real food, despite our best efforts. It’s hard living out of suitcases and not having alone time and spending evenings — when we’re exhausted — planning the next day. We were also a little overwhelmed at the crowds in Custer State Park and worried about what Yellowstone and Grand Teton will be like.

Road tripping is hard! Wonderful, but hard.

This one is so much easier because the kids are older, but also harder because we’re moving around so much more and staying in hotel rooms instead of Airbnbs.

David was very sympathetic. And truly, that’s all I needed. Sympathy. Because I wouldn’t trade this trip for any amount of alone time.

 

Driving to Montana

Things looked better the next morning.

David had a short hike planned for us, but we decided to just hit the road. We drove 45 minutes away to Spearfish, SD, for a cup of coffee. As we pulled out of the coffee shop parking lot, we saw a sign for a city park, so drove to check it out.

Turns out, it was exactly what we needed this morning. It was a lovely park, with big stretches of grass, shade, and a creek. There was a huge playground, where the kids played for nearly an hour while we sipped coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The quiet and beauty of that park restored everyone’s sanity, and we were ready for a day on the road.

The last chunk of driving west of our trip.

We watched as the rocky hills of South Dakota smoothed into rolling ranches of Wyoming. And then finally, as we drove west and north, the long, lonely grass-covered hills of Montana, with the majestic Rocky Mountains towering far in the distance.

We reached the charming ski town of Red Lodge, Montana, at 4:00, and discovered to our delight, that our motel was perfect. Family-owned, it was impeccably clean, and came with a lawn full of games for the kids to play.

David surprised me by upgrading our hotel room at check-in for a larger one that gave me space to unpack both suitcases, spread everything out, and repack for the four days in Yellowstone, all while the kids happily ran around outside.

 

 

We found a pizza place in town for dinner, then stopped to buy groceries for breakfasts and lunches for the next few days. It’s chilly here! We pulled out sweatpants and fleeces this evening, and it feels amazing.

We’re an hour from the north entrance to the park, so we’ll hit the road early tomorrow morning, and spend the next three nights at lodges inside Yellowstone.

I can honestly say that I’m ready for it! I’ll try to blog while we’re there, but we’ve heard internet is slow in the lodge, so we’ll see. If not, I’ll write from outside Grand Teton afterward!