Road Trip: The Black Hills of Dakota

Evan and I decided to tack on a side road-trip to South Dakota when planning our visit out to Colorado.  It made sense because we weren't that far by car (approximately six hours) and we weren't sure when we'd get another opportunity since we couldn't envision planning an entire trip around seeing Mount Rushmore.

We were more than pleasantly surprised by our short 36 hours in South Dakota.  In hindsight, I could absolutely envision planning an entire trip around the sights and sounds of the area.  We got our fix but it left me wanting more!  

Friday, May 29

Evan and I took a couple of detours on our way to Keystone, South Dakota, again, because we weren't sure when we'd be in the part of that country again if ever.  

Our first stop, Cheyenne, WY, wasn't too long into the road trip.  The sun was shining but there was a slight chill in the air. It was consistently chilly for this portion of the trip but nothing we couldn't handle.  

We spent the better part of an hour just walking around Downtown and enjoying the feel of the "Wild West".  It was palpably different.  Cheyenne is very sleepy for a city but it was charming and we really enjoyed our time there.  

The Capitol Building:

Downtown/The Old Depot:

From Cheyenne we drove to Alliance, NE.  That's one place we'll never have to go again.  We went to the Homestead Diner for brunch where the service was very friendly and attentive but the clientele kept giving us looks that reminded me of Pace salsa commercials.  As in, they must've thought we were from New York City because their demeanor said - get a rope!

From there we went to Carhenge, another place we'll never need to visit again.  It was equally, if not, less exciting, than its inspiration.  We weren't all that jazzed by Stonehenge but I can't tell if it's because of the weather at the time or if it's because it's just a pile of rocks.  We got the same bad weather treatment at Carhenge as we did at Stonehenge.  It was rainy, windy, and cold.  And on top of that, the souvenir shop smelled like something had died in it but pooped one last time before expiring.  Evan and I had lots of giggles over that.      

  

Once we passed through Nebraska the scenery got a lot nicer.  I really didn't know what to expect from South Dakota but it was gorgeous to drive through on the way in and on the way out.  We experienced wide open spaces in Colorado but on this portion of the trip, A's rural environs looked metropolitan in comparison - that goes for South Dakota and Wyoming. Occasionally we'd see a farmhouse in the middle of a wide expanse of grassland and wonder where they went shopping or went to the doctor.  That is some seriously off-the-grid living.  I also saw more free-range cows than I've ever seen before. They looked so natural and content.  I wish all livestock could have the freedom and roaming abilities that they seemed to have.

We arrived at Elk Ridge Bed and Breakfast early evening.  Our room was comfortable and cozy and the host's breakfasts (we requested them to go both mornings) were inventive and delicious.  We also enjoyed meeting Cat, their orange tabby cat, and Abby, their black labrador.  Despite being perhaps the nicest option in the area, though in the future I'd probably look into renting a cabin or something, I don't think I'd stay with them again.  First of all, I have an extremely sensitive nose and immediately upon entering the house I detected a smoky smell.  As our time progressed I identified the odor as pipe smoke. Either way, it was extremely unpleasant and even though our sleeping quarters were separate from the hosts' main dwelling area it gave me a stuffy nose.  I also found the hosts to be a bit rigid.  Fortunately, we spent most of our time away from the house.

It was still bright outside when we arrived so we decided to make our first of three forays to Mount Rushmore.  As we were approaching Mount Rushmore I said something to Evan along the lines of, I'm sure it'll be cool but it's probably the type of thing we'll see, take a picture of, and then never have to see again.  I was so wrong!

It was so much more powerful in person than I ever could've imagined.  This'll sound really cheesy but it made me feel really proud of my country, our (past) leaders, and our accomplishments.

There's a lovely promenade with all the flags of our states and territories leading up to the monument:

              
George Washington's profile from the road:

From there we drove to Crazy Horse Memorial.  The Colorado couple we met in Panama was spot-on with their local food recommendations but they gave us some bad advice when it came to Crazy Horse.  They told us that we could see it from the road and not have to pay to go in, that it was an unnecessary waste of money.  (They definitely gave off cheap vibes.)

I'm glad that we inadvertently ignored their advice by getting caught up in the drive and proceeding all the way to the ticket box without a way to turn around.  First of all, it's only $11 a person so it doesn't cost a fortune.  Secondly, once you go inside and see the 20 minute documentary explaining the construction of Crazy Horse Memorial you realize why you should pay. It's solely funded through private donations.  When you pay to enter Crazy Horse Memorial you help to carry on its legacy and the legacy of the sculptor's family who continue to carry on his work today.

Korczak Ziolkowski, his wife, and their ten children have worked tirelessly to build this monument to the Lakota leader, Crazy Horse.  When completed it's supposed to portray Crazy Horse on top of his horse pointing toward his land.  Ziolkowski was courted by Lakota elders to build a monument to honor all native peoples after he won first prize for a sculpture at the New York World's Fair in 1939.  He devoted the second half of his life to Crazy Horse, living and dying in the Black Hills.   His wife was also heavily involved until her death and six or seven of his adult children still contribute to the project.

Unlike Mount Rushmore, which had 400 workers at any given time, Crazy Horse's construction crew has never consisted of more than fourteen people. Another fun tidbit - Ziokowski worked on Mount Rushmore as one of Gutzon Borglum's crew.

It's a beautiful story and I truly hope that Crazy Horse will be completed in our lifetime because I'd love to see it again.

This is the closest we got to the Memorial but there are at least two options to see it closer provided you're willing to pay extra once you go inside the Visitor's Center.  They're currently working on his hand and his horse's mane.

We had a very ho-hum dinner (the food was disappointing across the board so I won't mention it) and then made our way back to Mount Rushmore for the 9:00pm presentation and lighting ceremony.

A park ranger gave a short 5-10 minute speech and then a video was shown in the outdoor amphitheater explaining the origins of the monument and what each President represents.  I learned that the monument was originally supposed to feature Lewis & Clark.  Who knew?  But the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, decided on the final four that we see there today. And did you know that the Presidents were meant to be constructed as far down as the waist?  The government cut off funding on the eve of World War II, understandably, Borglum had passed away prior to that, and Borglum's son lost interest in doing any further work.

Each man represents the growth and ideals of our country.  George Washington was the father of our nation, Thomas Jefferson was the father of the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln preserved our Union, and Teddy Roosevelt fought to conserve our natural resources.  It's because of him that we have national parks.  Thanks Teddy!    

After the video they turned the lights on Mount Rushmore and had a special ceremony honoring veterans.  I couldn't tell if that was something they do every night or if it was related to Memorial Day.  Either way, it was very touching.  Each serviceman and servicewoman in the audience went up to the podium and announced their names, ranks, hometowns.  It was a lovely way to end the evening.
          

  
Saturday, May 30

We got up extremely early because we knew we had an ambitious day ahead of us.  With 12-13 hours to "see it all" we had to hit the road hard!

Our first stop was Mount Rushmore.  Again.  It felt special to see it at all times of day - afternoon, evening, and morning. Evan and I discussed and agreed that it's better and more meaningful to visit it as an adult than as a child.  We had so much more appreciation for it and what it represents as thirty somethings.

A bust of Gutzon Borglum:

From Mount Rushmore we drove to Custer State Park and did the 18-mile Wildlife Loop.  We were in there for a good two hours taking our time to spy as much wildlife as possible.  While there we saw yellow-bellied marmots (fancy-looking groundhogs), white tail deer, pronghorn, prairie dogs, turkey, and of course, buffalo.

Babies in the foreground!

Burro were introduced to the park at some point and then they became wild.  We saw people get out of their cars to pet them. Didn't your parents teach you anything?!

A little more than midway through our drive we stopped at a visitor's station to ask them about buffalo sightings.  They recommended going down a dirt road a little ways off the loop and there they were - dots on the horizon.  

As we were exiting the park we saw some buffalo that were a little closer than the last ones.

We saw pronghorn everywhere.  Such beautiful and graceful creatures.

We felt pretty satisfied with what we had seen and so we ended that portion of our day by taking pictures at the Custer State Park sign (we must have come in the backend of the loop and ended our drive at the start).  

While there we chatted briefly with some other tourists.  They recommended turning down Iron Mountain Road, which is perpendicular to the park sign, for some up close buffalo watching.  They said there was a herd of 400.  We thought, great, we'll definitely do that.  Not even two minutes later we were back in the car and making the turn down Iron Mountain Road when several buffalo with their calves began to rapidly progress toward us.  I've never seen Evan back up so fast!  It wasn't exactly a stampede but they were moving like a flowing river.  There were brief breaks but we must've seen at least a hundred pass through as we were alternately trying to get away from them and take as many pictures as possible.

One of the men we spoke to had just gotten done telling us that he knew or had spoken to someone who had their car "creamed" by buffalo.  We definitely didn't want to risk that, not to mention that we didn't want to get creamed.  All I could think was that each adult had a calf in tow and we all know what mothers are like when they sense that their young are in danger.  

Fortunately, we made it out unscathed.  We were a little scared but also exhilarated by the experience and glad to have had the opportunity to witness it while also being safely tucked away in our rental car.

I think what scared us the most is that we were standing right in front of that sign just minutes before.  What would have happened had we been two minutes later?!?!?!

It took a little while for our adrenaline to die down but we had plenty of time since it was about 30 minutes to Rapid City where we stopped for a forgettable lunch.  

From there we started an hour long drive to Badland National Park.  On the way there you see signs every 100 feet for this ridiculous, too-kitschy-to-be-cute tourist trap called Wall Drug.  If you can, skip it.  It was good for a pit stop but I wouldn't be caught dead buying anything edible from there.  The whole place has an "ick" factor.  

We did the 35 mile loop around the Badlands and took our time absorbing it all.  It's not like anything I've ever seen before. It's absolutely gorgeous and no single picture could capture the immensity of it.  It looks like the ruins of an ancient city or an alien empire.  In some places it looked like melting rainbow sherbet.  Yum!  

       

As we were driving out of the park we saw two big horn sheep, ewes, I believe, because their horns were small and not curved around their ears like rams.

Last and least, we ended the evening with a cursory visit to Deadwood.  It wasn't worth it.  There are casinos and saloons and really trashy people walking around.  Even as early as 8:30pm it came across as a seedy place.  I had heard or read that nothing of the original Deadwood remains, which is why I didn't care to explore it any further.  We made the right choice to spend our time elsewhere during the day.

Sunday, May 31

We got up bright and early to head back to Colorado since we had to fly home the following day.  Fortunately, we were able to skip Nebraska on the way back.  We drove solely through South Dakota, Wyoming, and of course, Colorado.  South Dakota and Wyoming have some of the most beautiful grassland that goes miles and miles in both directions.  

I'd absolutely go back but more urgently, it whetted my appetite to visit western Wyoming and do Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons.       

Spring Mooching: Greater Boulder, CO

Evan's brother moved to the Greater Boulder area almost three years ago.  About a year ago we decided it was time to pay him and the area a visit. I had a pretty well-planned out itinerary (as usual) but with three different personalities involved, a lot of the specifics of the itinerary like restaurants and museums were set aside.  I'm extremely happy with all that we saw, ate, and did and I wouldn't have changed a thing.  My brother-in-law, A, shared some fabulous local food and haunts with us and because of that we got a more authentic experience.  We didn't spend much time in Boulder or Denver, especially, but we can focus on the cities on our next visit!

Our Itinerary (Saturday, May 23, 2015 - Monday, June 1, 2015)

Saturday, May 23

We'd heard so much about the beautiful Colorado weather that our expectations were set high.  Needless to say, it's never good to have high expectations because you're inevitably disappointed!

We arrived in probably the wettest May on record and the weather was so severe that our flight was diverted to Colorado Springs before we were allowed to follow through to Denver.

While in Colorado we saw many kinds of precipitation - rain, hail, and snow.  And I alternated between a light jacket, a heavy jacket, and no jacket that I felt like I was in San Francisco!  All that being said, we were extremely lucky throughout the trip in the sense that whenever it was picture-taking time the skies reined it in.

We didn't do much today.  We arrived at A's house late afternoon/early evening and got the house tour as well as a home-cooked meal!

Monday, May 24

Evan and I got up at a leisurely pace and went to Lucky's Cafe in Boulder.  It's located in a fabulous little complex with a Lucky's Cafe, Lucky's Market, and Lucky's Bakehouse and Creamery.  The food is all locally-sourced and organic, I believe. We had a fabulous breakfast between the two of us.  If I could eat their huevos rancheros everyday I'd be more confident in vegetarianism.

When we regrouped with A we took a little road trip to Fort Collins.  It's an adorable small to mid-sized city.  The downtown has a plethora of restaurants, boutiques, and shops.  It seemed like a really fun, vibrant place.  I'm sure that's due at least in part to Colorado State University being nearby.

Our specific intention when going to Fort Collins was to pay a visit to the New Belgium Brewery and take a tour.  We didn't realize until we got there that the tours fill up quickly so they were actually booked up.  Fortunately, there's a waiting list and after waiting about 45 minutes we were able to join a tour.  We wouldn't have known what we had missed but I'm so glad it worked out.  It was so much fun!

First of all, New Belgium has a brilliant and employee-supportive business model.  You can tell that success as well as making their employees happy are of equal importance.  Or rather, that their success depends on the happiness of their employees.

After completing one year of employment employees get a 12-pack of beer and a bike.  Employees can tell what year other employees have started because each year offers a unique bike model.  At five years, employees get a complimentary trip to Belgium where they retrace the bike tread of their leader and learn where he got his inspiration to start his own brewery.  At ten years, employees are given a four week sabbatical to do whatever their hearts desire.  This was inspired by the brewery's first employee, Brian, who loved rock climbing.  On his tenth anniversary they built a rock-climbing wall in the brewery for him to climb whenever he wanted.  Since they couldn't build a rock-climbing wall for everyone they gave everyone the opportunity to pursue what they love in those four weeks.  How awesome is that?  Doesn't that make you want to quit your desk job and join the New Belgium revolution?

On the tour we sampled four different beers, one of which was Fat Tire.  Fat Tire is pretty prevalent around the country.  We can get it at our local grocery stores for example.  Fat Tire was named in honor of the mountain bike the founder, Jeff, rode on his tour of Belgium.  Everyone who saw him asked about his "fat tires" because they stood out against their thin ones.

We also sampled a pear and ginger beer which I really liked!  That rarely happens.  Our guide informed us that it's called a "heartbreaker" because it's a speciality beer that makes a brief appearance and then goes away.

It was a thoroughly fun and informative tour that ended with a ride down a slide!  I can't remember the last time I did something like that.  I actually bumped my knee on the way down.  Still fun.  And did I mention that the tour was FREE?

After all that beer we were ready for dinner.  We stumbled upon Stuft Burger and had some seriously delicious made-to-order burgers.

We had frozen custard or maybe it was soft-serve ice cream (?) at Culver's closer to A's house.

Monday, May 25

Evan and I got up and went to a local chapter of our gym about 20 minutes from A's house.  Very close by is the Frederick Recreation Area.  There's a lovely reservoir/pond/lake body of water there with a walking path.  People also fish there.  You can also see the Rocky Mountains in the distance.

Early afternoon the three of us took a road trip to Estes Park, the town leading into Rocky Mountain National Park. While A's car was charging (he has an electric car) we walked up and down the main street of restaurants and shops.

For Memorial Day:

We found ourselves at The Wapiti Pub for lunch.  Evan and A both got elk burgers and I got a red bird (local chicken) sandwich.  It was surprisingly good.  I judged the book by its cover and didn't think the food would be great but we were all very satisfied.

For dessert, we went to the Danish Cone Factory where I had the best ice cream of the trip.  There must be more ice cream shops per capita in Colorado than any other state.  Haha.  Or at least, that's what it felt like!

    
Afterward we drove about twelve miles through Rocky Mountain National Park.  It's the farthest we could go due to several feet of snow still being at the top.  It was a bit of an overcast day but the environs were still gorgeous.

And of course, we couldn't leave without at least driving by The Stanley Hotel, the "setting" of The Shining.  It wasn't actually filmed there but the outside of the building was used.

We closed out the evening by taking a tour of A's work building and then eating at a brew pub down the street from his house.  The Old Mine produces its own cider and I got a deliciously and amusingly named Jurassic Pork sandwich.

Evan had a Left Hand milk stout nitro on tap:

I saw this adorable sign that disappeared a day later so I'm glad I captured it when I did:

Tuesday, May 26

Today we all got up a little bit early because we had a long day ahead of us.  We road-tripped to Manitou Springs, almost two hours away by car. We had a great lunch at Adam's Mountain Cafe, a place that very proudly serves all-organic food.

From there we did an abbreviated drive through the Garden of the Gods.  I'm so glad we got a chance to go back and do it properly later in the day but at the time we were in a rush to catch our ride on the Pike's Peak Cog Railway.

That's Pike's Peak in the background:

The train ride was extremely long and two-thirds of it was mind-numbingly boring.  That being said, the middle 30 minutes when we were at the highest point of the ride (we made it to almost 13,000 feet) were totally worth the wait.  We didn't make it to 14,000 feet because there was too much snow. Even so, there were points where the snow was as high as the sides of the railcar.  Insane!

  

As I mentioned before, we made a return-trip to Garden of the Gods and completed our previously abbreviated driving loop. I'm so glad we did because it's breathtakingly gorgeous.  And the time of day was perfect because the sun was hitting the rocks toward the end.

One more shot of Pike's Peak:

By then it was close to 6:00pm and we were all pretty hungry.  Figuring we couldn't wait to get home we had dinner at Nosh in Downtown Colorado Springs.  It was probably the most "posh" place we ate at but it was pretty dead since it was a random Tuesday night.  The food was interesting but it was more enjoyable to look at than to eat.  My pupusas were pretty dry.

When we got back to Boulder we stopped at Pearl Street to grab some gelato at Fior di Latte.  I had a hankering for pistachio but since they didn't have it I had to settle for coconut chocolate crunch.  It was pretty good.  I was generally disappointed with their selection because when we went back another time I got my all-time favorite flavor "bacio" and it tasted nothing like the bacio I used to eat in Florence.  Bah!

Wednesday, May 27

Today was pretty low-key.  Evan and I got up and went to the gym.  After we got back the three of us ate a local chain called Beau Jo's.  They serve Colorado-style pizza (I had never heard of this before) which is similar to the Chicago deep dish but what sets it apart is the braided, thick crust you pull off and dip in honey.  That part was good but in general I wasn't impressed with the pizza.  

  

Afterward we took a stroll down Pearl Street in Downtown Boulder.  

Not long after Evan and I struck out on our own.  We had a bit of a trek ahead of us since we were going to Red Rocks for a concert.  We did things a bit in reverse by having dessert prior to dinner.  Directionally, it made sense!  A couple we met on our Panama trip highly recommended the Rheinlander Bakery and it sure didn't disappoint.  I got an individual pistachio cake which was marvelous.  If I was a local I would've made it my wedding cake too (that's what the couple we met did).  

    

This couple gave us really good local advice because they also recommended a cute and quick spot for us to have dinner before the concert.  We had dinner at The Cow Eatery in Morrison, CO not more than a few minutes drive to Red Rocks.  It wasn't actually over the top great but it was decent fare.  

The absolute highlight of the day was Red Rocks.  Frankly, I barely noticed the concert.  The environs were so awe-inspiring I couldn't take my eyes off the rocks.  The entire way up to the venue, and there are A LOT of ramps and stairs, I kept breaking to look from left to right to behind me to in front of me.  I didn't want to miss anything.  My one regret is that we didn't get a chance to explore the park outside the concert venue.  Still, it was quite the experience!  

  

Downtown Denver in the distance:

We enjoyed the first act and then the first of two headliners, Spoon, before the skies opened up.  From our seats we saw the most incredible lightning.  I was actually a little scared.  We had never planned on seeing the second headliner, The Decemberists, so the timing was perfect. Apparently, their part of the concert was delayed for more than an hour due to the weather.  We were home before 11:00.

I almost forgot to mention the pot.  Every ten minutes or so I'd get a whiff of "skunk" so it was there. Red Rocks was pretty clear about its use being illegal but their enforcement was nonexistent.

Incidentally, despite the purchase and personal use of marijuana being legal in Colorado, it's very easy to avoid.  We saw only a few dispensaries from afar.  The places we saw up close sold paraphernalia only.  I also didn't notice any more stoners than I would normally.  You can still go about your business and have nothing to do with pot or people doing pot if that's your intention.

Thursday, May 28

We returned to the gym for the last time though I don't think it helped since we consumed so many extra calories on this trip.

A took us to his favorite barbecue place called Wayne's Smoke Shack for lunch and it was AMAZING.  I felt like I had been lied to all my life.  No barbecue I've had before can compare to this guy's barbecue.  Evan and I followed A's lead and got his usual 1/4 lb. brisket, 1/4 lb. pork shoulder, and two ribs.  The brisket was coated in a textured sweet and peppery mix. The ribs were coated in something with a little more kick.  The pork shoulder was melt in your mouth tender.  Truly, it was the best meal of the trip and something that makes my mouth water just thinking about it. It's the first place we'll eat when we have a return visit.

We had dessert at another of A's favorite places called Sweet Cow.  That's right, more ice cream!

We made our first and only foray into Downtown Denver for dinner and a comedy show.  We parked on Larimer street and stopped for a quick bite at Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs.  Neither of us were starving but it was good food.  Evan's reindeer (flown in from Alaska) dog was excellent.  In hindsight, it was probably too much meat in one day.

Then we made our way to Comedy Works in a suburb of Denver to see Natasha Leggero.  The venue was fantastic - a lot newer and classier than our local comedy club.  And the talent was fantastic.  Two local comics opened for Leggero and they were more talented than some headliners we've seen. Leggero was fun and someone I'd look forward to seeing again if she made it to our local area.

Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30 -

http://onthegowithevananddenise.blogspot.com/2015/06/road-trip-black-hills-of-south-dakota.html

Sunday, May 31

We returned to A's house mid afternoon and bummed around until dinner.  He took us to his favorite sushi place called Sushi Yoshi.  I'm not a sushi person so I only tried a piece of what the boys were having but my teriyaki salmon was excellent.  It was so tender and just flaked right off.

For dessert we had ice cream, yet again, at a place called Glacier.  What makes them stand out is that they make new flavors constantly and they have hundreds of flavors in their repertoire.  I had rice krispie treat ice cream, for instance.  It was good but I stand by what I said earlier when I declared Danish Cone Factory the best ice cream on the trip.

We discovered Glacier by surprise.  Two mornings in a row we stopped at Sweets, a cute neighborhood coffee shop and hang out.  The boys sampled some of their butter pecan ice cream and found out that it's not made in-house.  They get it from Glacier.  So of course, we had to go straight to the source.

Monday, June 1

Not much to report today.  We got up at a leisurely pace and made our way to the airport around 11:00.  The eventful part of the day was that our flight was inexplicably delayed two hours and we saw Chuck Hagel exit the gate right next to ours. Neat! I can't remember the last time I had a celebrity sighting.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip.  We enjoyed our visit with A and we enjoyed exploring the area.  We didn't have any concept of where A lived until we visited so we didn't realize how isolated his community was in relation to Boulder and Denver.  As a result, we didn't spend much time in either place. I'm sure we'll rectify that next visit.  Still, I loved all of our day-trips and wouldn't have traded them for time in either city.  It was a very low-key trip and honestly, one of my favorites.  We saw some amazing natural beauty and for once, we actually took a break.  I composed my itinerary very diligently but I was quite happy to cross off things to appease the crowd and make our days less harried.