Day 34-38: Sonora CA (Eric)

Day 34-38 (July 2-6): As we left Salt Lake City, we passed the famous lake from which the city derived its name. We didn’t stop at the lake as we were trying to get to Sonora as soon as possible, but we couldn’t resist a stop at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats…

I was so tempted to drive out onto the flats, but Jenny reminded me of our friends, the Stovall’s, who got stuck while driving on the flats. So I resisted, and we continued on our way. 

The next dramatic thing that happened was as we crossed into California, the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains were on fire due to a lightning storm. The lightning storm was still in the area, and it was dramatic to see the hills on fire and the lightning and rain in the background. Luckily, we passed through the area with only a little impact from heavy rain that didn’t last too long. 

The next few days were spent with Jenny’s family…

We enjoyed some home cooked meals and spending time in the mountains. We could do some wildlife viewing from their beautiful yards (see below). This time was a much needed break from the numerous days on the road and bouncing from destination to destination. As much as we enjoy travel, building a little downtime to spend with family was equally awesome. 

Our next destination was Jenny’s hometown, Pacific Grove, to spend a little more time with Jenny’s parents and visit her 92 year-old grandmother. 

Day 33: Salt Lake City (Eric)

Day 33 (July 1, 2022): As we left Custer State Park on our way to Salt Lake City, we passed through Wind Cave National Park, and it was appropriate that this guy was alongside the road to say farewell to us (you can also see a herd in the background)…

The journey was scenic, but uneventful. Since it was a long driving day, we didn’t stop much along the way. 

Once we got to Salt Lake City, we didn’t spend too much time exploring the city as it was hot, and we were both tired from the drive. Having said that, we did head to Temple Square to explore the downtown area and see the famous Mormon temples. Unfortunately, the biggest temple was undergoing some renovations…

But there was still a smaller temple and some statues that were cool to see…

We walked across the street to the City Creek Center shopping center. It was an outdoor shopping center with interesting decor and a number of shops and restaurants. If it wasn’t for being hot and tired, we might have explored the area a little more. As it was, we grabbed dinner at a local chain, Blue Lemon. It was a casual place with good food. 

I only took one picture after entering the center, and that was of trout that were kept in the “creek” that runs through the entire length of the shopping area. It was a nice touch…

On the way back, we found an interesting art piece outside one of the museums…

Our favorite memory of our brief visit to Salt Lake City was a broken crosswalk signal that seemed to say “wait” in a rather demonic-sounding voice when you pushed the button to cross the street. I know it was a little thing, but we both chuckled over finding such a thing near the center of a fairly religious city. We spent a few minutes pushing the button and chuckling. It might have been because we were both hot and tired, but one of the cool things we find about travel, is that we both find joy during some simple moments. 

We went to bed fairly early as we had another long driving day to get to Sonora, California to visit Jenny’s family. 

Day 32: Wind Cave National Park (Eric)

Day 32 (June 30, 2021): The next day, we got up early to arrive at the Wind Cave Visitor’s Center before it opened to try to get tickets to an early cave tour. If you’re planning a visit to the park in the near future, this is a must as they sellout in the first few hours. We weren’t sure if this was a pandemic issue or an all-the-time issue. 

Our other reason for getting up early was to hopefully get some more wildlife viewing as the animals tend to be more active in the morning. We still hadn’t spotted an elk, and there’s a meadow in Wind Cave where elk are frequently seen. We got to the spot, climbed out of car, and immediately started hearing a male buffalo making what sounded like rutting noises. After our experience the last time we were in the park, we didn’t take any chances and retreated to the safety of our car. We rounded the corner and saw a few bulls, including this guy hanging out close to the road…

Even though we got to the Wind Cave Visitor’s Center at 7:40, twenty minutes before they opened, there was already a long line. It was kind of a fun experience hanging in line talking to other visitors. Part of the joy of travel is meeting new people, and the good news was we were still able to get tickets for the 9:00 a.m. tour. There were only three tickets available for that time when we got to the front of the line. 

The tour itself was interesting, not the best cave tour we’ve ever been on as Wind Cave is no longer an active cave, meaning not as many formations that you would normally see, but it was still cool overall. What added to the experience was that directly behind us was a little girl, maybe three or four, who was in a cave for the first time. Her running commentary and constant questions were funny and endearing. My favorite was about if she made it through the caves bravely she would be getting gummy bears. She also had some wild theories about why grandma didn’t like caves which her parents tried to dismiss, but she wouldn’t be dissuaded. It made the tour more unique than it might’ve been otherwise. 

But there was still some interesting things to see…

Below is a picture of the only natural entrance at the time the cave was discovered. It has a breeze that is either blowing in or out depending on the outside weather, hence the “Wind Cave” name. The earliest explorer of the cave was a sixteen year old son of a rancher who was given mining rights to the area. He used to crawl in and out of the tiny cave entrance with only candles and a ball of yarn to find his way back. Unfortunately for the ranchers, they weren’t able to find any valuable minerals, so the enterprising, young boy started conducting tours by candlelight. At one point on the tour, the ranger showed us what that would’ve looked like by lighting a candle and turning off the electric lights. It was eerily dark. At some point, he blew out the candle to show how dark it would’ve been if the young explorer didn’t time his trips carefully. 

Some additional sights from inside the cave…

After completing the tour, we spent a little time looking for wildlife on our way back to Custer State Park, and we spotted these little guys…

Prairie dogs are cute and can be found in several places around both Wind Cave and Custer. 

On our way back to our cabin, we decided to take the drive up a dirt mountain road to the top of Mount Coolidge. At the top, we were rewarded with amazing views of the surrounding areas. You could even see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument in the distance with binoculars. You probably won’t be able to make out either one in the pictures below…

After a busy few days in the park, we decided to take it easy for the rest of the day by visiting Legion Lake, a smallish but beautiful lake in the center of the park. It has a lodge, a store, a beach and a restaurant. It was a nice place to spend the rest of the day. While the water was cold, it was a hot day, so it felt good. 

At some point, I decided to take the relatively short walk around the lake and took pictures along the way. It was fun as Jenny stayed on the beach, and we were able to exchange waves from different places along the path. 

We finished the day with an early dinner at the Legion Lake Restaurant which was closing early due to staffing shortages due to the pandemic. This is another example of making sure that you do a little bit of research if you’re planning on traveling at any point in the near future. 

As our plan involved a rather lengthy drive to Salt Lake City the next day, it was good to get home early to start packing and be ready to leave early in the morning. As usual, Bitey was “helping” us pack…

Overall, we enjoyed our visit time in Custer State Park and the Black Hills area, and we would gladly return at some future time. 

Day 31: Custer State Park (Eric)

Day 31 (June 29, 2021): Our next day in Custer State Park involved getting up with the sunrise to go on a Buffalo Safari Jeep Tour. While we had already seen a fair number of buffalo at this point, we were excited for the opportunity to see more from the safety of a vehicle. The Jeep Tour goes on roads not accessible to the public, so your chances of seeing wildlife are greater than sticking to the park roads. 

The ironic thing is that as we were heading to the pickup point for the tour, we spotted a group of female bighorn on the road. The roads in the park can sometimes be a little hairy as deer and other animals can be found on the road. We managed to avoid hitting any animals, and these bighorn trotted past us. Some of them were wearing a kind of tracker, probably used by the park rangers. Anyway, our morning had already started with a wildlife sighting before the tour even started. 

The tour itself was amazing as our driver knew how to handle a Jeep and brought us within a few feet of the largest herd in the park. There were probably at least 500 buffalo - males, females, and babies - all around us. It was difficult to decide where to focus our attention. While we took a number of pictures, they will not capture the emotions that being surrounded by these amazing animals evoked. I highly recommend doing a tour of some kind if you’re planning on visiting the park. 

After the Jeep tour, we stopped by the cabin to check on our Bitey and eat a good breakfast at the Blue Bell Lodge before heading up the Needles Highway to Sylvan Lake. 

The Needles Highway is a beautiful but slightly hairy drive up into the Black Hills ending at Sylvan Lake. This is all part of Custer State Park and is a highly-recommended adventure if you visit the park. The Needles themselves are eroded granite pillars that make this drive particularly scenic…

The coolest and scariest part of the drive is a famous tunnel called the Eye of the Needle. It is a particularly narrow tunnel that can only fit cars going one direction. The tunnel is so narrow that both driver and passenger can literally reach out and touch the walls as you drive through the tunnel. What made our journey through the tunnel also interesting is that apparently mountain goats like to lick the walls of the tunnel as there’s moisture and minerals they enjoy. It’s a frequent occurrence, and they block traffic which makes passing through the Eye impossible until they are cleared which apparently sometimes isn’t an easy task. There are no park rangers directing traffic nor managing the goats, so it is up to the visitors to do both. It made for an interesting journey. 

We didn’t capture any pictures of the goats as they were scared off by the time we passed through the tunnel, but we did have to wait quite a while for this to happen, and apparently, one stubborn goat kept coming back. 

Here’s a picture I found on the internet of the goats licking the walls…

Here’s a picture we took of our drive through the Eye as we were being blocked by the aforementioned stubborn goat…

We finally made it through the drive to Sylvan Lake without damaging our car or any goats. The lake itself is quite a sight to see as it is a beautiful alpine lake. 

 

Our primary purpose in coming to the lake was to complete one of the more popular hikes in the park, the Sunday Gulch Trail. It’s interesting to note that while the parking lot of the lake was full (we had to create our own spot), and the lake was particularly crowded, the trail itself, while popular, was still not as busy as we were expecting. What we’ve noticed during our travels to popular parks is that if you’re willing to do a little bit of hiking, you can escape the crowds. 

Anyway, the Sunday Gulch Trail is nothing short of amazing, but it is labeled as strenuous, so be prepared if you decide to complete the trail. The trail is a loop, and we took the online advice to start in a counterclockwise direction to complete the most challenging part first. It involved hiking over boulders  and across streams and waterfalls using railings to help you. Even with the railings, it was still an adventure. 

The rest of the trail is also amazing with some cool views and beautiful scenery. Of the hikes we’ve completed on this trip, this one was my favorite. Jenny liked it too, but she didn’t enjoy the strenuous aspects of the hike as much. 

And it also had some cool flora and fauna…

The final stretch was mostly uphill and had us both fatigued by the time we finished. Be forewarned that the strenuous label is accurate and that we’re not convinced that all of the mileage signs associated with this trail are accurate, or it at least felt that way. 

Making it back to the lake and crowds was a welcome sight…









After finishing this challenging hike, we decided to reward ourselves with an early dinner at the Sylvan Lake Lodge Restaurant which was the best dinner we had while in the park. The lodge itself is worth checking out and has some amazing views of the surrounding area. 

This concluded another remarkable day which left both of us ready to get some rest as we were planning on getting up early to revisit Wind Cave National Park with the intention of being able to tour the caverns.