Day 9: “Rain Drops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”

We wake up to beautiful mist hanging in and around a sea of Ponderosa Pines. It is starting to sprinkle and the pop up campers next door are packing up. There is a 90% chance of rain, so I figure they are headed to higher ground. The girls and I head off to the “Komfort Station” which is KOA’s name for showers and laundry. No RV sized hot water heater can keep up with a family of 6, so we are using the campsite showers along the way. The girls and I could probably write a book on how to be prepared for public showers by now. Hannah has learned that you turn the water on, let it get hot and then, and only then do you step in. At the last campsite, she stood in the shower and turned on full blast shards of freezing cold water. The yelp she let out was barely audible over the roars of supportive laughter in the stall next to her (me).

Dave gets a minivan for the day and the kids are so excited they run out to play in it when he brings it back to the campsite. You would think they were at an amusement part. They take turns crawling about in it as their parents exchange worried glances that their children have completely fallen off the deep end. After the minivan attraction winds down, we load up and head to the Crazy Horse Monument. The “sprinkle” of rain is getting heavier and the skys seem ominous. We get some great shots of Crazy Horse’s arm and a whole bunch of clouds. Ever so often we get a peek at his nose, but it becomes obvious that we won’t be seeing much of the fearless warrior today. Nonetheless, we are inspired by the dreams of the sculptor and the Lakotas.

We head on to downtown Custer and find a cute little restaurant called Sage Creek Grille. Up until now, the culinary delights of our roadside dining have been less than par, so our expectations aren’t really high. I order a nice glass of merlot and notice the kids menu has real food on it. I comment to the waitress that I can’t believe they actually have grilled chicken for the kids and she tells me they do not have a deep fryer or a microwave. I fall in love with the Sage Creek Grill immediately. Even before I demolish my Open faced Wild Salmon on Rye with Dill Havarti and steal bites of Dave’s Bleu Cheese Buffalo Burger I’ve decided these folks are brilliant. We leave fat, happy and very, very pleased.

Next, we head to Custer State Park, where our dear friend Missy actually grew up. I’m jealous as soon as we pass the ranger station. What a great place to grow up. The gal at the entrance told us where to find a herd of buffalo, so we go there first. Sure enough, they are right there as promised. So we and about 6 other rental cars stop and take the obligatory 200 pictures. They seem so docile, yet they are enormous and certainly capable of charging a small minivan.

Then we take the wildlife loop, expecting to maybe see one or two animals, but are delighted to see almost all of the animals in our guidebook. We realize also that Tatum is a total nut. She begins to make up a song about Juffalo the Buffalo that goes on and on. She’s howling at her own humor. Dave and I laugh until we cry. Hannah suggests a rousing game of 1, 2, 3, quiet and still. Tate is quiet for about half a second and screams, Blaaaaah! I lose!” Along with our onboard entertainment, we get to see pronghorns (similar to antelope) and whitetail deer everywhere. The babies are so cute! Halfway through, we stop for the little herd of burros. Dave rolls down his window and two of them stick their noses right in. Squeals of delight from the back seat. Yep, we’re rock stars up here. After our drive, we stop at the visitor’s center and listen to the nature talk. The speaker pulls out different fur pelts and they get to touch everything from a fox, to a skunk, a badger to a wolf. I’m cracking up as the ranger explains that some of the pelts have feet and some do not because of the way the hunter cut the skin off. My sweet sheltered daughters look somewhat horrified, yet totally captivated.

We load up in our minivan, which Dave has now christened the “rent a wreck”. It obviously has been well loved by many. It has over 110,000 miles and one of the back doors refuses to open, which makes it very convenient to load up 4 children (two in car seats) in the rain. By now we’ve devised a method, with our typical divide and conquer approach. We’re headed into Rapid City from here to meet Dave’s cousin Scott, his wife Margaret and their three boys. We’ve exchanged Christmas cards for years, but I’ve never met them. Our 9th day of travel…I’m sure we’re not exactly at our best