“One does not sell
the land people walk on…” Crazy Horse,
Sept, 23, 1875
The Roads
From the endless prairies through the Badlands National
Park and into the Black Hills National Forest, each offered a vista of beauty
punctuated with nature’s wonders.
Pronghorn Antelope, geese, songbirds, conifers, and rock cathedrals
graced our journey and the scenery was a feast for the eyes. Leaving I 90 shortly after Sturgis (home of
the great motorcycle gathering that occurs each year) we ventured onto a small
byway (Hwy 34) that cut through Belle Fourche, South Dakota where we connected
to Hwy 212. This small highway traversed
through peaceful landscapes where the trip took on a leisurely pace as we
passed through the Northeast corner of Wyoming before entering Montana from the
Southeast. Picnicking along the way, we
were able to enjoy nature at some of its best as we meandered to Red Shale
Campground in the Custer National Forest, our destination for day 4.
The Sights
Badlands National Park houses an abundance of fossil beds
where the remains of rhinos, ancient horses, saber-toothed cats and others once
roamed. Now the home of bison, bighorn
sheep, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs…and tourists, it encompasses almost a
quarter a million acres. Striking
geological formations were the result of sedimentation known as Sharps,
Rockyford, Brule, and Chadron deposits, all with different colors and exposed
through erosion to create a mosaic of colors.
The Black Hills have a rich history as once the home of
the Cheyenne and Lakota tribes until the discovery of gold when white
prospectors displaced them. Rising out
of the plains, these series of peaks reach 7000+ feet and extend from western
South Dakota into Wyoming. Perhaps best
known for Mount Rushmore, the area is a welcome transition from the great
plains and is rich in scenic beauty, lush forests, and an abundance of
game. Soon we will be passing through
Custer State Park where George Armstrong Custer and 263 of his soldiers died
fighting the Lakota and Cheyenne and were buried where the fell.
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