Black Hills

"the strength of the hills is His also"

In 2017 we had planned a family vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota and decided to go ahead with the plans in spite of my hospitalization and surgery in May.  Just before we left in early July, I ended up back in the hospital with blood clots in leg and lungs, but though not feeling very well we left July 5th and traveled by way of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, meeting our daughter, her husband and their family on July 7 in Custer State Park where we camped together for a week at Stockade Lake.  I did little hiking and did not take a lot of photos because I was feeling so poorly (ended up going to the clinic in the town of Custer), but did take a few.

Needles Highway

We did a lot of driving, mostly for my sake, and Needles Highway was one of those drives.  On one of the photos the highway itself can be seen at the point where it threads through the some very narrow turns and formations.

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore, not one of my favorite places, was one of our destinations.  I dislike the crowds, the parking fees and the shrine-like character of the place, but most of the family had not seen it and so we went.

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake was the only place where I did any hiking.  We walked around the lake, letting the children climb the rocks and enjoying the scenery and a very beautiful day.  The lake is a very popular place in the Black Hills but was not very busy when we were there.

Wind Cave

At Wind Cave we were able to get a substantial discount since one of the grandchildren had a special pass to the park from school.  The tours are worth the money, though and the cave is very beautiful with its formations, especially the "boxwork".

Jewel Cave

Jewel Cave was another destination but the tours were all booked and the place was a madhouse of people and so after letting the children try the "box" which is supposed to represent some of the narrowest passages in the cave, we went on.