We stayed at Spokane Creek in June 2012 during our Summer roadtrip. FYI- We had to get here via trucker route due to the size of our RV, we couldn't fit through some of the rock tunnels on the winding roads in South Dakota. This was an adorable little campground located on Iron Mountain Road in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We arrived after hours and headed to our designated site # left on office. Our truck and trailer exceeded the length of our site dramatically, but a nice man on a four-wheeler relocated us to a much better site down the way, right next to the playground. We settled in for the night after speaking to our neighbors that were full-time RVers.
This campground has lots of amenities: a pool, mini golf, a creek to play in, cabins, tent sites, full hook-up RV sites and a cafe with the biggest homemade cinnamon rolls you have ever seen. (pre-order the night before) The kids had a blast running around the park meeting other kids.
There was so much to do in the area. We tried to map out our time for the next few days. Mount Rushmore was at the top of our agenda. We went on the perfect day. There was a ceremony at the base of Mt. Rushmore naturalizing 111 new citizens. This only happens once a year. What a cool thing to witness! There was flag presentation, singing of the national anthem, guest speakers and the oath. Each new citizen got to go up on stage and state there name and where they were from. A few even yelled out "God Bless America" as they went across. The kids thought it was funny to hear all the different languages/nationalities but I think they appreciated seeing it in the end.
We also learned about G. Borglum and his vision of the monument. It was neat to see how the figures were carved. 90% of Mount Rushmore was created by dynamite blasting. They used a process called honeycombing. Borglum died before it was completed but his son took over and saw it to the end.
The boys worked on their second junior ranger badge while we were there. They had to search high and low for answers in the test booklet. A ranger quizzed them to make sure they knew what a ranger's duties were and the history of Mt. Rushmore.
Friday June 15th, was Nathan’s 11th birthday. We started the day with a train ride from Keystone to Hill City aboard the historic 1880’s train. It was a pretty trip lasting about an hour each way. Wesley was the most excited passenger in our family. He was happy to be on the “choo-choo”.
Saturday morning, we drove into Custer State Park. On our way to Sylvan Lake, we finally saw some buffalo grazing by the road. Their heads are enormous and they don’t seem to be bothered by the visitors gawking at them. Sylvan Lake was breathtaking! There was a crystal clear Lake surrounded by huge boulders and lots of trails which lead to Harney’s peak.
We also took a guided ride to a valley for a chuck-wagon supper. Along the way, our host played the guitar and we sung western songs and got to know everyone in the wagon. We saw lots of wildlife including, deer, pronghorn and prairie dogs. When we arrived, there were long picnic tables set up and a table full of catered food. Hamburgers, steak, baked beans, cole slaw, corn bread, potato salad, watermelon, cookies galore! More music was played and then came the games…
Some of the men got up and acted like Elvis and yes, Jason was one of them. He never misses an opportunity to act like a fool. We also did the hokey pokey and chicken dance. On the way back to our camper, there was a herd of bison crossing the road. I could almost reach out and touch them. It was a really cool experience and a nice close to our time at Custer State Park in South Dakota.
