Both of us woke up a little after 5am this morning thinking it was much later since it was so light out. Worked out well since we wanted to drive the Needles Highway before it got busy. Needles Highway is a spectacular 14 mile ride through the granite Black Hills mountains. The road is named after its needlelike rock formations that pierce the sky along the route. This iconic parkway was planned by former SD governor Peter Norbeck, who scoped out the entire course by foot and horseback in 1919. The views were breathtaking as we weaved around the narrow roads that climbed up 2000 feet. The climax was the Needles Eye Tunnel which is only 8 foot wide and 9 foot 9 inches high. After successfully threading 2 tunnels, we parked and took some pictures of the formations including the “eye of the needle”. We saw several whitetail deer and hawks but no mountain goats or bighorn sheep so I took some pictures of “my old goat” ;) climbing the rocks. The air was so fresh and sweet unlike back at our campsite which is literally clouded with pine pollen. The highway ended at sparkling Sylvan Lake which is surrounded by boulders and pines and also, unfortunately, masses of tourists even at an early hour. Ate a scrumptious Mexican lunch at the Begging Burro, walked around the very touristy city of Custer, then back to the campground to do some laundry. After dinner, we took one last ride around French Creek and visited the Gordon Stockade, a recreation of a gold rush settlement of 28 souls who violated the Fort Laramie Treaty by illegally inhabiting this area until the army kicked them out. Ended the day attending a SD birds program. Tomorrow we say good-bye to the Tatanka (the Lakota word for Buffalo) and hello to Montana via Wyoming.
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