Well, Hello again! Welcome back to post #3! After our bison filled adventures through Custer State Park, we headed toward Mt. Rushmore. A little tip: if you are planning an RV excursion to Mt. Rushmore from Custer State Park, be aware of the tunnel heights on some of the scenic routes in this area. We started to take Route 16A but the tunnel on this route only has a clearance of 10ft. 9 inches. When measured from the bottom of the wheels to the top of the air conditioner on the roof, our Class C Coachman didn’t make the cut. I wish I could remember what route we ended up taking but I don’t, nor did I jot it down (rookie blogger mistake, I guess). The point of this tidbit- know the height of your rig and don’t be like these people:

So, after some amount of time on one of the scenic routes without short tunnels, we turned a corner and there, in all its glory, was Mt. Rushmore. My first impression of the giant rock sculpture was that it looked fake. I think after having only seen the monument in books or pictures or on TV for my entire life, it just didn’t quite register that I was looking at it in person.

We spent a couple of hours soaking in the magnificent sight, then we wrapped up our time at Mt. Rushmore National Park and made our way into the Black Hills National Forest to find a spot to boondock for the night. We found a pull-out spot on a bluff overlooking the Pactola Lake and it was perfect! Brian and Jackson spent the hour before night fall skipping rocks on the lake and the spot was the epitome of serenity.

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The next morning we were awaken to the sound of thunder roaring through the hills and hail bouncing off the roof. We didn’t mind though- we were appreciative of all the sounds mother nature was offering us. We waited the storm out then made our departure from South Dakota. There were so many things we wanted to see and experience in this state, but time just didn’t allow for it on this trip. There will be a next time, though!

We jumped on to Highway 212 and began the long and desolate- but beautiful- trek through Montana. This was Brian’s favorite drive during the whole trip. At one point, I nodded off and Brian woke me up saying, “Hey babe, look” and he was pointing out the front window toward the rising mountain peaks off in the distance.

“Omigod!” These were the highest mountains I had ever seen up to that point (the Tetons took that title later in the trip)- but being from Florida, mountainous terrain isn’t exactly something I’m used to and I was floored by the soaring mountain range that was hugging the horizon.

Highway 212 runs through the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and dead-ends at Interstate 90, right next to Little BigHorn Battlefield.

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After leaving Little BigHorn, we jumped onto Interstate 90 and continued our journey through Montana toward Bozeman where we exited I90 and headed south on Highway 191 toward West Yellowstone. It took about 10 hours to drive through Montana. Most of the time, driving through one state for that long can be tedious- but not Montana- this drive was nothing short of splendid.

In the next blog post, we’ll pick up in our campsite in Idaho where I’ll share stories and pics from gorgeous Yellowstone National Park and our rafting trip down Henry’s Fork.

For now, I’ll leave you with this picture of the sunrise over a Montana ranch and encourage you to seek out routes away from the Interstate. It may take you a bit longer to reach your destination but the scenic route never disappoints.