What started out as a one day hiking trip to Blue Mounds State Park ended up being a two day trip to Mt. Rushmore and back. The spontaneous trip brought us straight through South Dakota, and into Wyoming. We had no intentions on going to Wyoming, but we needed a place to crash, and rooms in Rapid City were full all the way through to Gillette, Wyoming. After ten hours sitting in the car, spending the night sleeping in the car just didn't sound appealing. We opted for the extra 1.5 hours for a comfy bed and renewed excitement.
I am not sure why we decided to go, but it could be in part to the disappointment we felt after seeing that Blue Mounds State Park was mostly prairie land, and the bison were fenced in 500 acres of land where they all stayed in a cluster in the middle of the land. So, we could only see them from very very far away. Then, we finally found the red cliffs of the park, and were more satisfied, but still unsettled. The whole time at the park, we could hear traffic on 75 and at the highest points we could see traffic passing on the road. The park is small, and after walking 4 miles on a short trail, we really were not interested in seeing anymore of the park. What started out as a joke about going the extra six hours to Mt. Rushmore became more appealing, and though we did not have anything packed, we decided to go anyway.
There are a lot of ghost towns on the way to Mt. Rushmore. There was one right outside of Murad that I'd like to visit some time just to take pictures. Other places that I'd like to see and/or spend more time at are; I'd plan a day for Black Hills, a day for Jewel Cave, a day for Mt. Rushmore and Keystone, and a day for the Bad Lands. I would stop by the Missouri River, and when going 16 SE from Gillette to Mt. Rushmore, I would take the Buffalo trail.
Over all, the trip was great!!! It's easy to travel when you're with like minded people, and everyone is laid back. I would definitely do a trip through SD again.
