Monday, June 23, 2008
South Dakota here we come
This morning we left Steamboat Springs at 7:30. We got up at 5:45 and baked some bran muffins to entice the girls up at 6:15.
As soon as we got out of town we began climbing. Steamboat is at 6600 feet and we climbed over 9400 feet as we passed over the rockies. The next 100 miles in Colorado and Wyoming were relatively flat but at an elevation around 8500 feet!
We had a long way to go to get to Custer State Park in South Dakota. We decided to take the most direct routes on minor highways instead of taking the longer, easier interstates. As is usually the case, this was an excellent choice. The roads were very scenic, there was very little traffic, the speed limit was almost always 65 (which is slightly faster than we drive anyway) and the roads were in very good shape. For the record, we took CO-40 to CO-14 to CO-127 to WY-230 to US-30 to WY-34 to I-25 to US-18 to SD-89 to US-385 to US-16.
When we got to the town of Custer we were clearly approaching some thunder storms. It was another 15 miles or so to our campground in Custer State Park. We’re in Grace Coolidge Campground which has 19 sites along the creek. It’s a pretty little area. Everything was dripping from a recent downpour, but it wasn’t raining as we set up camp. We decided to put out the awning so we could sit outside even if the rain started back up. Sure enough, the rain came just as we finished setting things up. The girls and I sat outside under the awning watching the lightning and rain and listening to the thunder (and the rain) while Patty made dinner. When the rain stopped we were just about to setup for dinner outside when two rangers drove by and said there was an extreme thunderstorm watch out for the next 10-15 minutes and to plan accordingly, so we decided to eat inside. Good thing - it absolutely poured throughout dinner. The girls kept being frustrated that the lightning strikes were 1-2 miles away and wanted them to be closer. After a pause, we saw some lightning and almost immediately a huge crash of thunder. Kelly practically heat the ceiling with a start.
We had to pass on what was going to be our first campfire of the trip because it was too wet, but we played a family game of Flinch and then Patty and I took a walk around the campground. We’re having a quiet evening of reading and plan for a fun day of sightseeing in the area that should include the needles highway, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse.
As soon as we got out of town we began climbing. Steamboat is at 6600 feet and we climbed over 9400 feet as we passed over the rockies. The next 100 miles in Colorado and Wyoming were relatively flat but at an elevation around 8500 feet!
We had a long way to go to get to Custer State Park in South Dakota. We decided to take the most direct routes on minor highways instead of taking the longer, easier interstates. As is usually the case, this was an excellent choice. The roads were very scenic, there was very little traffic, the speed limit was almost always 65 (which is slightly faster than we drive anyway) and the roads were in very good shape. For the record, we took CO-40 to CO-14 to CO-127 to WY-230 to US-30 to WY-34 to I-25 to US-18 to SD-89 to US-385 to US-16.
When we got to the town of Custer we were clearly approaching some thunder storms. It was another 15 miles or so to our campground in Custer State Park. We’re in Grace Coolidge Campground which has 19 sites along the creek. It’s a pretty little area. Everything was dripping from a recent downpour, but it wasn’t raining as we set up camp. We decided to put out the awning so we could sit outside even if the rain started back up. Sure enough, the rain came just as we finished setting things up. The girls and I sat outside under the awning watching the lightning and rain and listening to the thunder (and the rain) while Patty made dinner. When the rain stopped we were just about to setup for dinner outside when two rangers drove by and said there was an extreme thunderstorm watch out for the next 10-15 minutes and to plan accordingly, so we decided to eat inside. Good thing - it absolutely poured throughout dinner. The girls kept being frustrated that the lightning strikes were 1-2 miles away and wanted them to be closer. After a pause, we saw some lightning and almost immediately a huge crash of thunder. Kelly practically heat the ceiling with a start.
We had to pass on what was going to be our first campfire of the trip because it was too wet, but we played a family game of Flinch and then Patty and I took a walk around the campground. We’re having a quiet evening of reading and plan for a fun day of sightseeing in the area that should include the needles highway, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse.
# posted by Craig @ 10:00 PM 
