(2019 Grand Teton Ep 9)
After enjoying the bison, burros, pronghorns and prairie dogs of Custer State Park, we decided to drive the Iron Mountain Road (US 16A) from Custer State Park to Mt. Rushmore National Monument the next morning. It took nearly an hour to drive the 20 mile road. Included were three single lane tunnels (e.g. very narrow and around 10 foot tall) and several pig tails, where the road makes a complete 360 degree loop under itself. Glad we weren’t towing our camper!
When we drove through the first tunnel we realized Mt Rushmore was visible through the tunnel. We turned around and drove through it a second time to get the full impact and to take photos. The third tunnel has a similar view of Mt. Rushmore. Tip: it is better to drive the Iron Mountain Road from south to north for the Mt. Rushmore views.
Although the previous day was overcast with occasional showers, we arrived at Mt Rushmore under crystal clear blue skies. The presidential views were awesome!
A large parking garage has been built just outside the entrance because lots of people visit the memorial, so finding a parking place was easy. From the entrance, a wide stone courtyard extends up to an amphitheater below the stone faces. There was construction on the front part of the courtyard so we were unable to walk only about halfway to the amphitheater. The views were fantastic nonetheless.
We also walked the trail that goes immediately under the sculptures. We climbed more than 200 stairs to get a special nosehair view of the presidents. As we returned we stopped by a studio that had the original sculpture from which Mt Rushmore was modeled.
We left Mt Rushmore and reentered Custer State Park at the Sylvan Lake/Needles Highway Entrance. We hiked around Sylvan Lake, a tranquil lake at the top of the Black Hills, and then continued along the Needles Highway.
The highway makes its way through some stunning needle-like formations that culminate with a tricky drive through a very narrow (8.5 ft) tunnel. We had to fold in our truck side mirrors to avoid hitting the sides!
There were delays as cars drove through the tunnel – some more than 10 minutes. Our turn came and as we exited the other end of the tunnel we discovered the reason. There were two white mountain goats perched on a rock outside the end of the tunnel. During breaks in the traffic, the goats reentered the tunnel and began licking the minerals on the inside of the tunnel. Only after some assertive coaxing by drivers would they move and let cars pass!
We returned to our campsite and anticipated our drive the next day to the interesting formation made famous by the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Take the LONG Road... 