Greetings from Larry and Jan. We are back in South Carolina after an enjoyable summer adventure. Finding time on the trip for the blog post is a challenge so this post is not as timely as I would like. Finding the balance between getting out on the trail and sitting behind the computer screen is a push, pull effort, well at least for me. This is the third post for our National Park Tour – 2019 covering the last four NPs. FYI, there will be two more posts. The fourth post will be the time spent with the Snyder Clan in Michigan then finishing the blog posts with our time in Michigan back to South Carolina.
This phase of the summer ended up being a wind down as we worked our way towards the mid-west. These parks were not as dramatic as those earlier in the south and west, although we found them interesting in their own rite.
After leaving the Nevada and Utah desert we headed to Hot Springs, South Dakota to the Wind Cave National Park. The main attraction is the cave. The bad news was the cave was closed due to a broken elevator and would not reopen for several weeks. However, we were able to regroup and find plenty to do. The park is not just about the cave. The setting is great plus lots of diverse wildlife. If you are looking for prairie dogs and bison this is a good stop for you. The park is close to the Custer State Park and Mt Rushmore which were nice side trips.
Wind Cave National Park – Sadly the elevator was broken
Getting to Wind Cave was half the fun. Fun stop along the way in South Dakota. Love the West!
Hot Springs, South Dakota the home of Wind Cave National Park
Had plenty of time to tour the countryside plus found interesting hikes.
The Wind Cave Park Service proud of the pure Bison gene pool. Yes, they can be found everywhere.
This stop confirmed there is still a large number of Prairie Dogs in South Dakota.
Although no big mountains to climb at Wind Cave, found some nice hiking trails to explore.
Nice stop along the trail. This country has a charm all of its own.
Looking north to the Badlands…
…also found some nice drives. Fun country!
Took a nice drive through the South Dakota Custer State Park ending up in the Badlands.
Passed by Mt Rushmore without stopping…
Rained the last day, produced a fun rainbow!
Our next move was north to North Dakota, the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The heart of this park is the Little Missouri River and the Badlands setting. This park also has a lot of bison. Nice trails along the river plus the Badlands are just fun to experience.
Onward to North Dakota, the Theodore Roosevelt National Park
…more bison at Theodore Roosevelt.
This area is the Little Missouri River Badlands. This it in the south unit.
South Unit Bad Lands.
Nice South Unit Drive, not many places to hike.
The North Unit is a 80 mile drive from the South. Cool day trip to the Nouth Unit. Just over a 80 miles one-way.
The North is just a little different.
The North Unit still has that “Bad Lands” look.
Found this guy on a short hike. Thought he had an interesting expression.
On the way back, just outside of Medora found many fields of sunflowers. Of course it took several shots to get just that “right one”.
Moving from the Badlands, the next stop was International Falls, Minnesota and Voyageurs National Park. This park is all about the water and the historic waterway made famous by the French-Canadian Voyageurs. The park’s history is grounded in the era of fur trading in the 1700s between the Ojibwe Indians, the traders and filling the demand of the European markets. The Voyageurs were the transporters of their day. Lots of lore that made this an interesting and educational stop. Today this area supports a large sports fishing effort plus there is a strong environmental focus on the ecosystem. At this point we wished we had brought the kayaks. It was fun to poke around International Falls which reminded us of cities we had visited north of the border.
Moving north to Voyageurs National Park at International Falls, Minnesota.
No hiking here but lots of water. Over 200,000 acres to explore by boat.
Rainy Lake…got very wet on our tour plus had to duck a bit of lighting!
Fishing camp of the past. No more commercial fishing here.
Had fun checking out International Falls. Even got to meet Smokey the Bear.
…more rain! The upside another rainbow.
Our future travel plans include spending time along the Mississippi River. On the way back south, we stopped at Sandy Lake, a Corps of Engineers park at the head waters of the Mississippi. Stay tuned as we take on that adventure in the next year or two. Again, we wished we had the kayaks and a fishing rod.
Just had to check out Sandy Lake. Head water for the Mississippi.
Interesting area…lots of wildlife and plenty of fishermen.
The final national park was Cuyahoga Valley. Our RV site was near Akron. Over the years had been by this park many times and did not know it existed. The park is centered around the canal between Cleveland and Akron opened in 1827. The park has over 125 miles of trails for hiking and biking. The park includes the Cuyahoga and Crooked Rivers. Here we hit the trails but wished we had our bikes to take full advantage of the canal tow path. Lots of history to check out. The plan is to go back and make this a destination stop.
Last National Park on this tour – Cuyahoga Valley National Park…between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio.
Stayed at a RV park in Akron, the Nimisila Reservoir Metro Park.
Early morning shot at Nimisila with ducks in the background and a slight feel of fall in the air…
Cuyahoga Hiking Trail follows the canal and the river.
Brandywine Falls an awesome view along the trail.
Ended our time here along the Cuyahoga Gorge Rim Trail.
The rest of the trip was more about visiting with friends and family. Made a stop at Traverse City to see if we could go back home again. The next posting coming very shortly.
God bless,
Larry and Jan