Today was long and fun-filled in the shadow of Mount Rushmore, despite the gloomy weather. It rained much of the morning, so we cooked inside – Tom and Scott both ate eggs, bacon, and toasted English muffins while Anthony ate boxed Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Scott bought at the Walmart, since it reminded him of his college days.
As we were leaving the campground in the morning, we saw a fairly large number of WWII/Korean War era military vehicles – mainly jeeps – parked in the campground parking lot. We got out to take pictures and talk to a man who had a jeep with river-fording snorkels for air intake and exhaust. He was very nice and informed us that the army was still buying carbureted gas engine jeeps in 1984, and showed us that this engine – completely sealed – was designed to be easily removed and replaced intact.
After lunch we decided to do some off-roading in the Jeep, and headed to the trails. We found some pretty challenging trails – apparently on Federal land though one had several mineral claim notices on trees. We found many piles of dead trees, and evidence of a previous forest fire. We speculated about why and how the dead trees had been moved, but while it did not seem that much of the land we drove over was covered in dead trees and branches, we can’t be sure. After we got to the “Hippy Hole” trailhead and turned around, Tom offered to have Anthony drive us back, despite Scott’s concerns for his Jeep. While it took a few minutes for Anthony to get the hang of avoiding high-centering the differential, he became pretty proficient and Scott relaxed – a bit. We got the jeep adequately muddy.
After lunch, we decided to hike to the nearby “Spokane Ghost Town” that the campsite alleged to be a 1/2 mile away. There was, indeed, a sign and a trail, though there were some decisions to be made on which way to turn. Since Scott’s knees ached, we let Anthony go ahead and scout the “Ghost Town”. Anthony turned right to follow the horse trails. Tom and Scott turned left, found the “Ghost Town” which amounted to an abandoned house and garage, and several abandoned cars from the 40s and 50s. While we would not see Anthony for over an hour, we did manage to text and talk to him and he assured us he was not, in fact lost. We took him at his word and returned to the campsite. He did return eventually.
Next Anthony and Tom took a strenuous but short hike up a nearby hill where you could see Mount Rushmore from the top. Scott took the opportunity to do some research on Instant Pot Pulled Pork recipes, then take a nap.
When Tom and Anthony returned and woke up Scott, we went on the Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway – multiple tunnels, pigtail bridges, and cool views of Mount Rushmore. We then went past Mount Rushmore to see the Washington Profile view. By the time we returned to the campground it was too late for pulled pork, so Tom grilled an excellent steak. By 7:30PM Anthony was snoring away. By 8:30PM we were all nodding off. Tomorrow we leave for Sheridan!
