Doane Mountain

When we set out on Thursday morning, we had goal to see some wildlife and try to make it to Mt. Rushmore, but I had no idea how varied and unexpected the day would be. Even with a mid-day rain delay, it was a full, full day that left us all smiles.

We started off the day with a drive down to the Wildlife Loop, one of the most recommended activities. It wasn't long before we understood why. First we came upon the prairie dog colonies, which charmed Holden to no end. A few minutes later we happened upon a herd of buffalo lazing in a meadow. Some were just laying around, others rolling in the dirt and some calves springing about because that's what kids of all species do.

We meandered down the road a little further and noticed cars pulled over to one side. We hopped out to check it out and found a gaggle of wild burros lazing under some trees by a dry creekbed in the late morning heat. Holden was particularly interested, while E preferred to hang under a tree by himself. More folks came to see the burros and we stepped back so the animals wouldn't feel overwhelmed and went to hang with Everett under the tree. Not moments after we got there, one determined white burro made its way over. Evidently we were milling about by its favorite neck-scratching branch. It came over and we cleared out and got some good laughs as it unabashedly scratched and scratched to get relief.

After that we headed back down the road and stopped by the newly built Bison Center. Our timing was perfect, as we pulled in a few minutes before the Rangers started their morning activity: Bison Olympics. We all learned lots of facts about bison, but more importantly the boys got to compete in things like long & high jump, sprints, etc. to see how they compare to the local buffalo.

With the boys slightly worn out (or at least not as crazed), we ate a picnic lunch, then started making our way to Mount Rushmore, 50 miles away. Nate suggested taking the Iron Highway. I did not realize what a great choice that would be. This is a legendary road that loops and curves and has tiny, crazy tunnels blasted through enormous rock walls and pigtail loops that made me very grateful for Kid's Dramamine. The design of the road is a love song to America's love affair with cars and was full of unexpected views.

One of Nate's favorite moments was when we pulled over to an overlook. He mainly pulled over to let a group of motorcycle riders pass us by. Since we were pulled over we took a moment to scope out the hills in the distance. Much to our surprise, the distant mountain had teeny tiny face on it. We laughed with delight that Mount Rushmore appeared for us out of nowhere. Or at least 3/4 of us did. For the life of him, Holden couldn't find the distant faces on the rock and began to whip himself into a minor panic. He was moments from tears when we gave him the binoculars and he FINALLY could see the faces. He was ELATED. We all celebrated with him. It was such a sweet moment and one of Nate's favorite memories.

Another favorite moment of Nate's was as we cautiously made our way through the first one-lane tunnel. We were all amused by how small and rough the tunnel was, then surprised again as we emerged to another, more prominent view of Mount Rushmore appearing in a clearing right in front of us. We looped and tunneled our way along the rest of the Iron Highway until we arrived at Mount Rushmore.

We pulled in as the rain started coming down in earnest. This did little to deter the boys. They had been amped up to see Mount Rushmore ever since watching National Treasure 2 a couple of years ago. In that movie there's a City of Gold behind Rushmore and it's taken multiple conversations with them to make sure they knew we wouldn't also be hunting for gold when we went to Rushmore.

They happily made their way up to the viewing platform in the rain. After a few pics, they agreed to move out of the rain and into the cafe, which conveniently was serving ice cream. We snacked and waited out the rain inside while they worked on their Mount Rushmore Junior Ranger workbooks. It was a good time killer. Finally the rain subsided and we found the museum and visitor's center and learned more about the Rushmore creation process. After securing their Jr. Ranger badges, we hiked around a bit to get closer views then made our way back to the car.

It seemed like that would be the end of our adventures for the day. But as we made our way back to the campsite, Nate suggested we take the Needles Highway. Again, I didn't know what I was in for.

The skies had cleared again and it was so incredibly scenic to see these huge granite fins burst through the forest canopy. The size and shape against the evergreen was so surprising, especially as we came to the lakes, which we're supremely picturesque. We pulled off to one spot and hiked around a bit. In many ways it made me think of the Fiery Furnace landscape at Arches. Lots of rock scrambling and meandering. We quickly made a mental note to add this hiking spot to our itinerary for the next day.

We loaded back into the car and wound our way up the highway and through more crazy small tunnels. My favorite was the Eye of the Needle, a truly bonkers example of road engineering that was a delight to drive through.

Eventually we made it back to camp and fixed a quick dinner. We arrived at a very drenched campsite from the afternoon showers while we were at Rushmore. Once things were sort of dry, we ate dinner and went quickly into chill mode. The boys watched a movie while Nate and I enjoyed a few moments of quiet and made plans for the next day and reveled in how varied, surprising and fun-filled the day had been.Read more