Memorial Day Weekend Camping Fest

Bobby only has to work a half day today, and he gets Monday off for Memorial Day, so we decided this was the perfect time to head back to South Dakota to see the Badlands. When we went to South Dakota last summer we were expecting to have a good weekend filled with Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and the Badlands. Much to our surprise, South Dakota ended up being way cooler than we ever expected, and we barely had enough time to fit in said historical monuments, Custer state park for seeing wild buffalo, Wind Cave Nat'l Park for awesome camping and a creepy cave tour, and the Mammoth Site on the way back (a totally rad working archeological site that is the world's largest center for researching mammoths). We realized we would have to return the following summer and devote an entire weekend to South Dakota once more, just to soak it all up.

As a result, this afternoon we're heading out to make camp in Jewel Cave Nat'l Monument, so that tomorrow morning we can tour Jewel Cave (apparently it's the second longest cave in the world, that's crazy). Then we head out to Badlands Nat'l Park to spend the day hiking around and then camping in the grassland. Sunday morning is more Badlands hiking, then a drive through the park to get to Nebraska, where Sunday night will be spent in Chadron State Park. Monday morning we'll see what Chadron has in the way of  trails, and then we'll hit up Nebraska's cheesy Carhenge tourist trap on the way home. Although I don't think anything could top the epic cheesiness of our experience with Moqui Cave on the way to the Grand Canyon.

I hope you all enjoy your Memorial Day weekend! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't get rained out. Although camping in the rain is when you really test just how much you like camping, right?

Gettin' Our Nature On

Karin and Hermes left yesterday morning, and I have to say that a great time was had by all while they were here. They drove 15 hours through the night on Friday, arriving at 7 a.m. Saturday morning. They took a well deserved 4 hour nap, and then Karin and I made food to pack and Hermes and Bobby went to REI to rent a tent. When they returned we packed up the ol' station wagon. Love this car, lovey love love.

I also love these boots. They have served me well this winter, and definitely kept my feet warm that weekend.

Bobby's fish eye lens had been in the repair shop, and he had just gotten it back a few days prior. He was excited to take it out and play around with it. Here we all are, ready to hit the road.

We were camping in the Poudre Canyon, which is only about a half hour drive from our house. This was our home for the night, a camp site right on the river with a fire pit, picnic table, and an old school water pump. The water was so good, I'll forgive it for being freezing cold and making my hands numb.

Tent set up time! The rented tent Karin and Hermes used was the same model as ours. I love REI. Not more than I love our station wagon, but definitely right below it.

This tent rolls up really small, goes up in mere minutes, and comfortably sleeps two. I highly recommend the half dome if you're in the market for a tent. This thing has been with Bobby about 3 times longer than I have and it's still going strong.

Hey mister. *wink*

Karin and Hermes are newly married, by the way, and this was their first camping trip as a married couple. Tent + knife pose = newlywed bliss.

Posing with our twinkie tents. Bobby is so kindly enveloping my face to keep it warm.

This was dinner- made from scratch veggie and bean chili with a sprinkle of cheese and a bit of green onions. Wheat crackers on the side because I was too lazy to make cornbread.

There was Shiner to be had for those partaking. Check Karin's hat. It's a cat. The tail popping out of the side makes me happy.

After dinner we explored along the river bank, and took advantage of the opportunity to take ridiculous photos like this. I'm pretty sure every martial arts choreographer in the biz will be bangin' down our doors when they get an eyeful of this sweet magic.

Down by the river, but without the van.

Once the sun started to set it was fire time. More importantly (or I guess, on a related note) it was s'mores and banana boat time. Banana boats consist of bananas, chocolate, and marshmallows, all wrapped up safe and sound in foil and then tossed into the coals of the fire. There they undergo a beautiful transformation into a gooey, melty, chocolately soup of sugar and happiness.

Bobby demonstrates proper s'mores building. You put the graham cracker + chocolate on the grill to heat up, so that by the time your marshmallow is toasted  covered in a fine black crisp everything is warm and melty and ready to be devoured.

Perfect.

Banana boat, after being fished out of the coals. I tasted this and said "heaven IS a place on earth!". It's that good.

We gathered around the fire waiting for it to burn out so that we didn't cause mass destruction, and then trundled off to our respective tents.

Our new sleeping bags worked like a dream. The sleeping pads were also great. I've never slept so well outside- well, ok, sleeping on the trampoline in a Texas summer is a little bit more comfortable, but sleeping bags are infinitely easier to transport than trampolines...

This is my Sunday morning worship service- hot cocoa by a fire, watching the sun rise over the mountains and light up the river, laughing and talking with friends in the cold mountain air. Amen and amen.

I got to share a tent with this guy. I'm a lucky girl.

Once the sun rose over the mountains and it was a bit warmer we broke down camp and changed out of our fuzzy pajamas. The agenda for the day was to hike the Grey Rock loop, and the trail head was about 6 miles from camp.

 At the trailhead- I think it's important to note that at this point, we though we'd be doing about 6 miles, round trip, and gaining about 1,000 feet in elevation... the reality? 8 miles, round trip, 2,300 feet in elevation gained.

 The bridge you cross right at the beginning of the trail.

 Since it's a loop, you can choose which route to go up/come down. We went with a steep, rocky trail with lots of tree cover for our ascent.

 Newlywed kiss break.

 Once you reach the base of Grey Rock (surely I don't have to point it out, but it's that big, grey, rock in the background :) you have the choice of going back down the way you came, going back down the other side of the loop, or doing the last .75 miles to summit the rock. Yes, that's right, in under a mile you go from here to the top of that rock! It was rad.

 But those last .75 miles are hard. I mean, this is the "trail". For more than half of it you're just scrambling over rocks, and the trail is marked by cairns- little piles of rocks that mark the way (they're arranged from bottom to top going large to small, like little totems). It's a bit ambiguous and we went off the trail once or twice, but eventually found our way back.

 The summit trail opens up into a little meadow right before the final ascent. It's nice to have this break because the last part of the trail is nothing but rock climbing.

 Case in point- that's the summit, and you climb over this to get to it.

 It's not crazy rock climbing as in "I need a rope and a harness, thanks" but it's definitely climbing, using hands and feet.

 I was so happy to be on the top! It was crazy to look down at the base of the rock and think how recently we were there.

 Karin and Hermes, surveying the landscape. We all had a snack and a water break, and then it started snowing pretty hard. Going back down was more tedious than coming up, because I really didn't want to slip and crack my tailbone on the rock, so it was slow going. Oh, and I was hiking in my snow boots, which, while warm, were quite cumbersome and lacked grip.

 To complete the loop we hooked up with the Meadows trail once we got back down to the base of the rock (Grey Rock is on the right in the background).

The Meadows trail was completely different from the trail we took up- very open, relatively low incline, and it snaked its way back and forth, switchback style, across the mountain. The view was great and it was just enough sun to be warm but not sweaty and uncomfortable.

Once we got back to the car we were all feeling every one of those 8 miles and 2,300 feet gained. After a quick stop at REI to return the tent we went home, showered, and then headed out for dinner. We were all in bed and asleep by 9 p.m. that night. I think that's a good indicator of how well the weekend went. Camping and hiking should wear you out, in a good way :)

Really, the only bad thing about the weekend is that Coloradans insist on pronouncing "Poudre" as "Pooder". Yes, I know, it's awful- Poudre Canyon is pretty terrible, huh? But I'll forgive them their pronunciation foibles since the Poudre namesakes- the canyon and the river- are a great place to camp in/by :)

Into the Wild (But Definitely With a Different Ending)

Karin and Hermes arrived early this morning, and while they're napping Bobby and I are going to make a grocery run for the culinary extravaganza we have planned for tonight and tomorrow morning. I'm excited to try out our new sleeping bags and tonight will be a great opportunity since it should get down around 28-30 degrees. Tomorrow morning we're hiking Grey Rock though, and at just about 6 miles round trip, gaining in elevation, I think that will do a good job of warming us up.

I'm looking forward to veggie chili and s'mores around a fire with good friends. Hope you all have a great weekend as well!

Mummy Bags, or, Always Be Prepared

The first time Bobby and I camped together was in Amarillo, TX on a very cold night. That kicked off a 3 week long Western U.S. road trip that involved another camping night in Moab, UT. Since we've been in Colorado, we've camped in Rocky Mountain National Park and Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. The point is, we like to camp, and we plan on doing a lot of it this summer- this weekend in fact, when our friends come into town, we're heading out to do just that! But another point is that Bobby and I have been using copious piles of blankets and old Army Surplus Store sleeping bags, coupled with too-short sleeping pads. The result is that we're often a bit cold, and we're always packing mounds of sleeping accessories that don't lend themselves well to hiking out in the woods and camping in the back country.

After every trip, Bobby mentions getting new sleeping bags. Last week, he called me from REI giddy over his new purchase- a clearanced mummy bag sleeping bag that was temperature rated to around 30 degrees. When he got home, he couldn't wait to show me. I don't know if it's just me, but I can't stop laughing anytime I see these pictures...

 I think you understand now why it's called a mummy bag...

 This. Picture. Every. Time. The first time I saw it I just laughed and laughed. I don't know why it seems so absurd to me.

Since I needed a sleeping bag as well, we went back the next night to take advantage of the clearance. I had to "try on" the mummy bags since they're more fitted than a regular sleeping bag. I ended up with the same one as Bobby, just the women's version. My picture isn't nearly as ridiculous...

 I dunno, maybe it is...

These things are fun to inch worm around in. They're a bit hard to get out of, but that's what makes them so warm. I'm excited to try them out this weekend when Karin and Hermes come in. We're camping up in the Poudre Canyon, which is only a half hour drive from our house. Once again, I love living in Colorado.

South Dakota

Bobby and I set off Friday night, driving North. The weather was perfect, it was cooling off, and we were thankful since we have no air conditioning. But, our little Toyota wagon was bartered in exchange for automotive work, it gets 35 mpg, and runs like a champ. We'll forgive it for not having air conditioning.



Wyoming looked like every stereotypical cowboy movie ever made. It was like the whole state agreed to commit to the "Wild Wild West" aesthetic.



Case in point.


As we drove further into Wyoming, the sun started to set. Everything was so wide open, mostly flat but hills here and there. We entered South Dakota well after dark, so we skipped the obligatory nerdy road trip "picture by the state sign" experience. Mostly, we wanted to "finally getting to sleep" experience. We hit our hotel around 11 p.m., and while every square inch was decorated with stuffed dead animals, it was comfortable, clean, and most importantly, didn't smell like funk. Good pick Bobby.



We stayed in Hill City, just a hop skip and a jump from Mt. Rushmore. The Black Hills were amazing, but I gave up trying to get a good picture because they turned out blurry from driving. Around every turn we kept waiting to see Mt. Rushmore. Then, suddenly we were back on open highway instead of forested curvy roads, and we were looking around, wondering where it was, when we looked back and left. We totally nearly missed Mt. Rushmore. We're awesome. This is the view from the mall entrance, apparently built recently. As a total history nerd, seeing Mt. Rushmore in person was probably more cool than it should have been to me. I'm ok with that.



This is the view when you go on the "Presidential Hike". Said "hike" is .5 miles of paved "trail". Bobby and I scoffed, and Bobby said "um, that's not a hike. That's a sidewalk". Agreed.

The faces are 60 feet high each, and you really get a good idea of how big it is up close.


View from up under Mt. Rushmore. South Dakota is *gorgeous* to me.



You could take a nature trail back to the parking lot instead of going through the mall, so we opted to avoid the crowds. We made a good choice.



Next we went just down the road to the Crazy Horse Memorial. They don't accept any government funds, which explains why they charge $10 a person for entrance. They have a really nice visitor center, museum, and areas where Native Americans sell crafts. This is what the completed memorial will look like, and you can see the actual memorial through it. I know, I'm so artistic.



The memorial, viewed from the deck of the visitors center plaza. We watched the informational video on it, and it's a fascinating story. The sculptor, Korczak, was recruited by the Lakota elders to carve the mountain, and he really threw everything he had in to it. He married a woman 18 years his junior, and they had 10 kids, 7 of which work on the mountain and with the non-profit founded around it. The head is 87 FEET HIGH. That little hole you see, which will be under his arm, will accommodate a TEN STORY building. When it's complete, it will be the largest sculpture in the world, at 641 feet long by 563 feet high. It was pretty impressive. Hearing about how Crazy Horse was stabbed in the back under a flag of truce made my blood boil, but then again pretty much any story about our holocaust of the Native Americans and terrible treatment of them is sure to set me off. I highly recommend checking this out.


After we had a truly terrible lunch at the Crazy Horse Memorial restaurant- ok, maybe not terrible, but cafeteria food- we headed into Custer to get food and water for camping. The town is pretty cute, and there was a car show going on and a parade, so it was bustling with activity.



Getting groceries. Notice anything particularly creepy about this picture? Look to the left...



The only thing that was planned on this trip was the hotel Friday night, and Crazy Horse/Mt. Rushmore Saturday morning. We decided on the trip up, after consulting National Parks literature that we borrowed, to try and camp in Custer State Park, because we could camp on a lake, go swimming, go hiking, and check out the nature preserve. Alas, all the spots were full, so we just drove through the park to check it out. This is the view from a short hike.


A pronghorn, standing still as a statue. He seriously didn't even flick his tail. I have no idea what he was looking at that was so interesting. I mean, it's pretty empty. Just sayin'.



We were most excited about seeing buffalo, but unfortunately, despite all the warning signs referencing them, despite the buffalo image on our little park pass, and despite it being a fine summer day, we saw no trace of them. Until this guy. We were on a very tiny two lane National Parks road, and he was walking right alongside it. He was pretty rad.



In our reading of the borrowed National Parks mags, we stumbled upon a reference to Wind Cave National Park. After there was no room at the inn in Custer State Park, I called them up to see if, perchance, there was room for us. There was! Here's an idea of the road conditions on the way there.



Our campsite. I've camped in the woods, and on rivers, but camping on the prairie was so peaceful and beautiful. This campsite was also downright luxurious- super clean flush toilets a hike up the hill, water pumps, gravel tent pad, picnic table, fire pit, and 6 pieces of free firewood. Lots of space between camp sites, and no one was on either side of us or across the little dirt road from us. You can't beat it for $6 a person.



We brought red beans and rice and wheat crackers for dinner, and Bobby cooked it over the little camp stove. I watched, and waited patiently to eat. Thanks babe.



Little tent on the prairie.



A nice fire, the beginnings of a full moon, and a chance to see the stars. We practiced our swing dancing a bit, talked a lot, and went to bed early. It was cool without being cold, and I could hear pronghorn rustling in the grass near our tent. I slept like a rock. But, since we were sleeping on the gravel pad, I woke up very much feeling like I also slept on rocks. Such is camping. It's worth it.


The next morning we woke up, broke down camp, and headed in for the first tour of the day of Wind Cave at 8:40 a.m. This is the natural entrance to the cave when it was discovered. Yes, that little black hole in the bottom left was it. And some brave spelunker crawled in it. No thanks. It gets its name because wind blows out of it, or it sucks in wind. Lakota legend talks about a cave from whence the wind, the buffalo, and the people came. There were little prayer cloths tied in the trees around the entrance.


One of the very few open areas in the cave. Don't let this fool you, it was pretty tight as we traveled underground. There are 134 miles of cave, making it the 4th longest in the world. And they're always crawling around in it. The ranger talked about getting lost, going down random holes, it kind of creeped me out.


Speaking of being creeped out- our ranger turned out the lights while we were down there, and talked about "true darkness" and the importance of taking extra lights. Then, in this last open room, he mentioned we were TWENTY STORIES underground. Ok, I was ready to be out on the prairie after that :)This is a terrible picture because right after it my camera died.

We got lunch at a trashy diner in Hot Springs, and then checked out the Mammoth Site- also super cool. It's the largest site of Mammoth fossils in North America, and they built a visitor's center around the open pit where they are still working and discovering new fossils.

We set out for home around 1 p.m., tired, dirty, and hot. The drive up was gorgeous, but man the drive back was brutal. We went back the way we came, and let's just say we didn't miss anything by driving up in the dark the first time :) After a much needed shower, we headed out for Indian food. Great weekend, and great to come home.