South Dakota

 We went where?

 After the long drive to Rapid City, SD, we needed a little fresh air but weren't in the mood for much more driving. In the past, we always enjoyed the Black Hills and Mickelson Trail. This time we stayed closer to the city.

We found nestled at the foot of the Black Hills, in Rapid City, the Chapel in the Hills,

, which is a quiet place to stretch our legs. The chapel itself is an exact reproduction of the famous Borgund Stavkirke of Laerdal, Norway and was built in 1969.

Bell tower

 The Meditation Trail winds its way into the hillside behind the chapel, complete with benches and statuary.

We were greeted at the "Stabbur," which is an authentic grass-roofed store house, built in Norway and assembled on site.

 Also on the grounds is an authentic log cabin museum. Built by a Norwegian prospector who came to the Black Hills during the gold rush, it houses articles brought over from Norway or made by Scandinavians in this country during the 1800's.

Just down the hill from the chapel was Canyon Lake Park, one of the oldest city parks in Rapid City and a nice place to continue our walk along the river.

 Rapid City's downtown has the City of Presidents, a series of life-size bronze statues of our nation’s past presidents up to George HW Bush, along the city’s streets and sidewalks.

Douglas, WY

Douglas has been a stop off on our way to somewhere else. This time, the forecast was predicting strong winds and stronger gusts for our drive. We delayed our trip and checked out what Douglas had to offer.

 We made a stop at the Douglas Railroad Museum and Visitor Center, housed in the historic

FE & MV Railroad Passenger Depot to find a geocache. It turned out to be one of the better train museums we have visited.  

Dining car dates back to 1886.

Old sleeper car

Then we headed to Camp Douglas

 

During World War II, Douglas had the primary prisoner of war (POW) camp for Wyoming. The U.S. military held 1,900 Italian and 3,011 German prisoners at Camp Douglas from 1943 to 1946, when allied POW camps in Europe and North Africa grew overcrowded. The camp was one of 155 built in the U.S. during World War II, the site chosen for its relative isolation.

Many of the POWs worked in the town and ranches. Appreciating the way they were treated by the US, many returned to become US citizens after the war, relocating in Douglas. (I bet a girl may have been involved.)

Wellington, CO

Finding a campsite available on an August weekend in Colorado can me frustrating. We were fortunate to find an overflow spot for two days in Wellington just north of Fort Collins. After finishing our honey do list, we headed over to the Bud Brewery for a tour, lunch and music on the patio.

The Clydesdales and Dalmatians were out on tour. We used our imaginations.

We had our 6 ounces complimentary Shock Top and a sample of their Copper Lager that is aged in Jim Beam barrels. Mike purchased a 6 pack of the Copper Lager to go. He said he should have got a case. It would take him a year to drink it.

Heading south.

The ghost town of Mystic

The Mickelson Trail

Imagine a path where the ghosts of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane still roam; where bicyclists, hikers and horseback riders can explore spruce and ponderosa pine forests; and the very young, the very old and people of all abilities can enjoy.

The George S. Mickelson Trail is in the heart of the beautiful Black Hills. Its gentle slopes and easy access allow people to enjoy the beauty of the Black Hills. Much of the trail passes through National Forest Land, but there are parts of the trail that pass through privately owned land, where trail use is restricted to the trail only.

The trail is 109 miles long and contains more than 100 converted railroad bridges and 4 rock tunnels. The trail surface is primarily crushed limestone and gravel. There are 15 trailheads.

We had ridden part of the Mickelson Trail towards Crazy Horse the last time we were in Custer. Our neighbor from Florida was familiar with the Mickelson Trail because he had ridden the entire 109 mile trail in the past on his bike with the help of a shuttle. He mentioned that the most interesting section in his opinion was from Rockford south to Mystic.

Most of the Mickelson Trail is without shade. We decided to wait until a cold front came in and drove to the ghost town of Mystic. Mystic was established when gold was found. There were several active mines along the way.  It was down a dirt road with very little traffic or buildings. Since it is an old railroad track, the grades are not more than 3-5%.

There were trestles.

Three tunnels on our section

The old church that was part of the gold mining ghost town of Mystic.

Beautiful walls that had been blasted for the train tracks.

and a waterfall to keep our interest and our peddles turning.

We enjoy geocaching but some of our favorites are caches that are gadgets. This one was easy to find but took a bit to figure out how to get the combination for the lock so we could get the log out and sign it.  I think it is ok to post this since I am not identifying where this cache is or which one it is.

Below are the instructions.

This is no normal bird house though. This bird house has metal objects protruding from it. What do I do you ask? Well first let us look at a few FACTS:

FACT: This cache uses electricity.
FACT: Electricity WILL flow through your body in order to complete the circuit.
FACT: You have to make the choice of which two bolts to grab and squeeze! Being afraid to squeeze will result in no smiley!
FACT: DC voltage can be felt at as little as 5mA! How much will this cache produce?
FACT: Calling 911 will get you medical emergency help if needed.
PLEASE ATTEMPT THIS CACHE AT YOUR OWN RISK !
Before attempting this cache, ask yourself this! Is there enough electricity (voltage) in this cache to cause me pain! After completing the circuit, the cache will provide you with the necessary combination to the lock, as long as you are looking at the cache correctly! To complete the circuit, you will need to select two of the protruding metal objects and squeeze one with each hand. Continue to choose combinations of metal objects until the cache reveals the hidden code. The combination lock can be opened by entering the first 4 letters of the middle color the cache revealed when you completed the circuit.

No pain was felt and we did find the two bolts to grab that show the middle color to get the cache.

Hiking in the Black HIlls

Lots hills to climb

On our way back to Colorado, we didn't want to drive the entire way without a stop. The Black Hills was a good stopping point with so many hiking options. It was hard to decide where to begin. Every trail we took was a climb, hence the name Black Hills. We were staying a couple of miles outside of Custer, we started with a nearby trail.

Big Rock Park

In the town of Custer is Big Rock Park with Custer Skywalk. Trail with 55 steps to an overlook of the mountains and spires. Once we got to the top, we could only make out a shadow of the mountains because of the smoke. But it was still a good walk.

Once we reached the top, there were more stairs to climb. The smoke was still heavy from the Montana fires. 

The Willow Trail

The next day we drove north to hike the Black Elk National Forest and do some geocaching since there were 11 on this trail.

Mike had to climb for this geocache. My legs were a little (a lot) too short.

Sylvan Lake

It was a beautiful morning as we headed by Sylvan Lake to the Sunday Gulch Trail. It was Sunday after all. This trails had many boulders to climb over.

Sunday Gulch Trail

This trail was for walking under a boulder.

This narrow tunnel was for driving through one vehicle at a time. Our mirrors almost touched the edges.

The Cathedral Spires

Raspberries all along the trail were tasty.

 

We could hear the climber calling to each other while climbing the side of the giant rocks.

Heading to Harney Peak we made a wrong turn but managed to get back on track. Sometimes GPS and a map don't work.

The Black Hills are a real treasure. We could see ourselves returning since we missed many places we would like to explore.