Custer, Presidents, Buffalo History, Needles Highway, and Osso Bucco

The State Game Lodge, in Custer State Park, was lovingly crafted in 1921. It was a stone and log beauty. Sadly, the place promptly burned down 72 days after it opened! What you see there today was rebuilt on the same foundations and is still a grand old structure.

The lodge is famous for being the Summer White House of President Calvin Coolidge in late 1927, and was also visited by President Eisenhower in the 1953. I do love history and historic places, but we opted out of the Presidential rooms at $300/night and, instead took the late-season rate in the attached and wholly adequate motel rooms.

Speaking of history, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to a couple of Black Hills ranchers. Pete Dupree is the guy who saved 5 buffalo calves from the last big hunt in 1881. James "Scotty" Philip got the calves from Pete and grew them into a herd of a thousand. Part of that herd is now roaming free in Custer State Park as living history. We never saw them on our afternoon wildlife hike and assumed they were at some kind of bison happy hour somewhere. The photo is what we would have seen had the big guys not been away.

The next morning, while the sun was in the East, we drove two scenic loops in the park. The first was the Iron Mountain Road. The road itself is a seventeen mile, curvy work of art. It ever so gently takes you through the park at a relaxing, twenty mile per hour pace. The jewels of the road are 3 tunnels carved through granite. Two of them were built to perfectly frame the Presidential faces on nearby Mt. Rushmore. The road also boasts what are known as pigtail bridges which corkscrew your vehicle down in spirals. Amazing construction. Here are some great pictures of the road.

The second loop was the Needles Highway, which took us literally through the towering and often pointy (geological term) rock formations. I hate to put it this simply, but there were big, grand vistas around every (sharp) turn. The rock spires seemed to actually be lit up in the morning sun. In this picture, Gwen is the very small "spire" in the lower foreground. More pictures of the Needles Highway at this link. It was a cold and windy morning and we were only dressed for driving or we'd have struck out on a hike. But we did hear the call to action!

We went back to the lodge, changed clothes, got out our hiking poles, and headed out from the lodge on a three hour loop hike called Lover's Leap. It was a really steep start for two people who been sitting for days and now found themselves at five thousand feet. When I finally got my heart back in my chest, we crested at yet another grand rocky view point. It was that kind of day! (See more tidbits from the hike at the end of the post.) The trail then wound back down to a rocky canyon and paralleled a small mountain stream for about an hour. When we got back to the lodge we realized we had accomplished the three-hour hike in two hours!

In honor of our hiking victory and the first phase of our trip, we splurged on a 'fancy' meal in the old lodge dining room. The lodge was closing the next day, and we literally had the dining room to ourselves. Felt oddly Presidential, as though the Secret Service guys were just around the corner. Gwen had Elk Osso Buco (Italian specialty made with elk shank stewed in stock and deep red wine, and seasonal vegetables), served with risotto. Earl had Bison Tenderloin and bacon infused mashed potatoes (not really fu-fu). We had a nice McManus Petite Sirah with dinner. Gwen's meal was the best, but we were both really winners. The beauty, the hike, fresh air, the meal and wine, I was sleeping by 9:30.

In closing this post about a truly wonderful day, we will leave you (just below) with the message we came across on the trail, and a moment of Zen from the hike!

Tomorrow we're off to visit friends and family in Salt Lake City. The next you'll hear from us will be from Zion National Park in Utah.

Blessings to all, and onward!

Earl and Gwen

And for those of you who need a little taste of that kind of serenity, here's a short clip from the hike.

If this clip doesn't show up use this link.

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