Peak Experiences

I thought I should blog about some peak nature experiences I have had and then tell you about the latest one.  As you read this, I invite you to think about your own memorable interactions with nature.  We are always interested in your thoughts so go to the bottom of the blog page and add your comments.

***  Sunset at Desert Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Watching the movement of the shadows, the colors of the rocks changing with the setting sun, seeing the first stars and listening to a Park Ranger reading from Thoreau’s Walden.  ***

*** Holding my granddaughter Sarah on my lap at a Fourth of July Celebration at Riverfront Park in Oro Valley, AZ.  We all held our breath as a giant bright full moon backlit the top of Pusch Peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains.  Slowly the moon rose as the Tucson Symphony Orchestra hit those first resounding notes of the 1812 Overture.  It was more amazing than the following fireworks display. ***

*** Sitting in the warm water of our backyard hot tub at midnight watching the Leonid Meteor Shower.  The dark navy blue sky sparkled with speeding comets while we enjoyed the bubbles and drank margaritas. ***

My latest peak experience:  After a day spent viewing Mt. Rushmore and then the even more magnificent Crazy Horse Memorial, we watched the Legends in Light laser light show projected on the giant sculpture.  The images and storytelling illuminated cultural diversity and was  an inspiring message, especially now when we hear so much hatred and prejudice. The  words of the Lakota chiefs speaking of dreams; the story of Crazy Horse; the continued spiritual life and connection to nature of American Indians; the inspiration of their leaders like Sequoia, Chief Seattle, Wilma Mankiller and Chief Standing Bear – who simply asked the sculpture Korczak to carve a mountain “so the white man will know the red man has great heroes also” – was very moving.  I’m a sucker for anything patriotic and tears streamed down my face as Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA”.  The audience sang along – an audience of travelers from all over the world – blessing us.  A night to remember – and a night to inspire.

***

We arrived in our home state of South Dakota (the 8th state on this trip) on Monday, August 1st.  We stayed 7 nights in Rapid City RV Park.  It’s great when we can stay a full week – we get a great discount and can settle in a little bit more.  We were busy most of the days we stayed around the Rapid City area.

Our first day we went to Deadwood.  We are watching the series “Deadwood” and had just watched the episode when Wild Bill Hickok was shot and buried.  So it was with great interest that we went to Boothill Cemetery to see his grave and the nearby grave of his friend Calamity Jane.  Deadwood itself was crowded with bikers enjoying the shops and saloons.  We went to the Adams Museum which is filled with relics of the old west.  We drove to Spearfish and spent time at the historical D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery.  Volunteers showed us around the refurbished homes and the special fish train car.  It was a great place and we made a note that this might be a good volunteer opportunity in our future.

Custer State Park is immense and totally beautiful.  We took Iron Mountain Road – a long narrow,  barely 2 lane road with many sharp switchbacks.  It is engineered to be a thrill ride, especially as you ride through very narrow tunnels with views of Mt. Rushmore in the distance.  Of course, we were on the road with all the motorcyclists that come for the huge Sturgis rally.  We also drove the Wildlife Loop through the park and saw bison, pronghorns, deer, wild horses and wild burros.

Our time at Mt. Rushmore included a short hike on the Presidential Trail which winds through the forest and includes the artist’s studio and a close up look at the “great faces”.  The monument was more interesting than I expected and I’m glad we went although I still think it was awful to carve giant white faces on a mountain that is sacred to the Native Americans.

At Crazy Horse we spent hours viewing the artifacts, art work and displays at the cultural center.  We ate an early dinner at Laughing Waters Restaurant and then waited for the light show that so thrilled me.

The day we spent in Rapid City was great – in the downtown area there are life-size bronze sculptures of 43 presidents.  President Obama is not there yet.  We wandered into the Geology Museum which is part of the University of Mining.  It had amazing displays of dinosaur bones and collections of rocks.  Very much worth the time.

We went back to Custer State Park on Sunday and drove to Sylvan Lake.  Our picnic lunch was enjoyed as we gazed at the placid blue water with huge boulders decorating its edges.  We took a short hike around part of the lake.  We drove through the park along Needles Highway another amazing narrow road that was built

among the tall skinny rock formations.  The tunnels on this road were even narrower and with more breathtaking views.

We left Rapid City on Monday, August 8th and arrived at Badlands KOA.  Our first night here was pretty scary.  We were hit with a prairie wind storm – dry lightning, ferocious winds that shook our RV.  We pulled in our slides and rode it out but it was a frightening experience.  We only got a little bit of rain.

The weather for the last few weeks has been really hot with a little humidity thrown in.  It hasn’t stopped us but some of our hikes have been pretty sweaty.  Yesterday we did the Fossil Trail in the Badlands.  It’s hard to describe the beauty and desolation of the Badlands.  I don’t think you can take a photo that gives you the sense of the immensity of these rocks and the incredible power of nature that formed them.  The short trails through the Badlands are designed for people like me – firm, flat boardwalks through the rocks.  We got away from nature for a short time to visit the famous Wall Drug – a complex of crazy touristy stores in the little town of Wall.  We made sure to drink ice water – the store became a favorite stop on a dusty road when the owners made signs inviting travelers to stop by for free ice water.  I also tried the yummy homemade chocolate ice cream!

Today we went back to the Badlands for a few more short trails.  The Cliff Shelf Trail was a 300 foot climb – mostly stairs – to bring you right up to the higher rocks.  It was really hot with a humidity of 59%.  We then went to the Minuteman Missile

Museum where we read the displays and saw a movie depicting the history of nuclear missiles.  We ate our lunch at the actual missile silo.  That was pretty impressive but inside the chain link fence that surrounds this underground silo, a bunch of cattle had wandered in.  They were unhappy because they couldn’t find their way out again and made lots of noise at the human intruders.  Finally as we were finishing lunch, a ranger and herder came and got them out.

Well, tomorrow we leave the Badlands and make camp at Heartland RV Park near Sturgis for 6 nights.  Doug will be spending most of that time alone as I fly to NJ to spend time with family to remember and celebrate the life of my brother Mike.  I’ll leave the blogging to Doug for the next week.