Day 9 - Custer, SD & Custer State Park

We spent all day in Custer, SD today at the Roost hotel (5,300 ft. elevation). The town was hosting their annual 'Gold Rush Days' which was a really big deal! Everyone comes back home for the fun event. We explored the town, visited Custer State Park and went for two small hikes. 

Highlights:

Beer Tasting:
~'Red Medicine', homemade at the brew house
~SD Crow Peak Wheat

Miles on the Odometer: 1,466 

The Roost 

   Downtown Custer, SD. You can see the street sign that leads to Mt. Rushmore!

Buffalo are the town's mascot and they have crazy painted ones on every corner! And many dead ones on the wall!!

Custer, SD has a gold rush festival/celebration every summer and we happened to be there for that. Everyone who grew up here comes back for it! They have music (speakers all up and down the street playing country music!), a parade, car shows, dances, food, etc.

This is how someone rolls up to the saloon. 

Custer State Park 

The park has a 'Wildlife Loop' where you can drive and see all kinds of animals. It's really beautiful. 

 Purple Wildflowers!

Day 8- Bighorn National Forrest and Black Hills

Checked out of 'Cowboy Village' in Cody, WY and continued east to explore Bighorn National Park and the Black Hills! Really stunning drive. 

Animals Spotted:

Mama and baby Moose

3 Bucks

Wild Turkeys

Woodchuck

Bighorn National Park

Incredible topography..... 

Cloud Peak Scenic Byway 16

Really windy drive here. Elevation 9,666 ft Bighorn

Passed a little town called 'Ten Sleep'. The Indians named it that because it was was their tenth night of 'sleeps' between their point A to point B!

Bighorn National Park Mule Deer

Evidence of fires

 Sylvan Lake in the Black Hills

'Cathedral Spires Trail' in the Black Hills

Two miles round trip

'Gultch Trail' around Sylvan Lake in the Black Hills. Tough hike! Four miles round trip- spotted a woodchuck! 

Crazy drive through one-way tunnels in the Black Hills!

Newcastle, WY on the way out of Cody, WY! Who knew??!

Ending Spot: Custer, SD

Day 7 (cont.) Cody, WY

Headed out of Yellowstone Park and into Cody, WY. Very historic cowboy town with lots of character (the only use every kind of dead animals for decor). Lots of old, cute shops in the mini downtown strip and the place revolves around the rodeo which goes down every night in the summers. Fun town and we will definitely be back!

Cabin in Cody.

They have a nightly rodeo in Cody all summer long! This place is country and ONLY country!! They sang the National Anthem and all. BUT- They made a joke about Californians and I wanted my money back! We make fun of these kind of people where I'm from! They had four year olds on the bucking bulls!! Crazy!! It was really fun to go to a real rodeo in the country.

A huge story blew through when we arrived!

Buffalo Bill's 'Old Town' in Cody, WY. A man named Bob Edgar preserved old structures from all over Wy and MT from the cowboy days and set them here. They are all full of memorabilia too. Coolest spot!

Jeremiah Johnson's Grave

I've never seen so many dead animals in my life!

To scale...

EEEEEEEU!

Outside of Irma's hotel (where Buffalo Bill had his bar) this guy was singing some awesome Brooks and Dunn

On our way out of Cody in small town USA. We ran into so many towns with bars like this and tried a few of them out.