First thing this morning we went back to Cascade Springs and Cascade Falls. We had time to do 1 thing before driving on that day and considered going to Mammoth Site, Wind Cave National Park, or Custer State Park. Custer State Park was $20 admission but it's actually a 7 day pass to all of the South Dakota State Parks. The first thing we came to was a beautiful visitors center with information about the state park. I liked the huge rain chains outside of the visitor's center.
Next, we drove the wildlife loop road. We had heard from others prior to our trip that the wildlife viewing was amazing here and even on our trip kept overhearing people telling others how great Custer State Park was. We were greatly disappointed. We only saw a buffalo heard at a great distance the entire way. When we stopped at the Wildlife Station Visitor's Center mid-way through the wildlife loop.
We think it was just too hot for any animals to be seen. Also because of the heat we didn't stop to do any of the hikes which I have seen amazing pictures of. It was just too hot for our animals and us to sit in the car while the other took a short walk. We hope to visit again when it's cooler and spend some time here exploring. We did get to see a buffalo herd up close on the way back to the East entrance.
Next, we headed for Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit. On the way we drove by Sturgis which was about to have it's annual motorcycle rally. It didn't even occur to us to check our route or dates for this so if you're traveling in this area at the end of July and beginning of August you may want to check your routes and dates to either avoid traffic or check it out. When we got to Theodore Roosevelt National Park we were able to get a spot in Cottonwood Campground. At 8:30PM we took a sunset drive on the scenic loop. We saw a large buffalo herd, turkeys, mule deer, white tailed deer, elk, and a mustang. It was mostly dark on the way back to our camp and a badger crossed the road in front of us! It was the best wildlife viewing of our entire trip.
