The meme I live by.

It was already 88º at 9:00 am. The sun was oppressive. That pretty much dictated a road trip in the air-conditioned van. The Black Hills boasts several scenic byways and QTs. We pulled out of the campground at 9:35 am.

The visionary, Peter Norbec, provided our first scenic route. Peter designed this route with severe switchbacks; circling wooden bridges; tiny tunnels; plenty of turnouts and overlooks; and, in places, even splitting the road into single lanes with each lane taking different paths, to force drivers to slow down and appreciate the natural beauty. It worked. The road is a perfect compliment to the hills.

We learned that the Lakota Tribe originally named the area, “Hills That Are Black”. This is because the primary tree in the Black Hills is the Ponderosa Pine. The odd thing about Ponderosa Pines is that when they are young their trunks are black. They actually look charred. Later, when they mature, their bark turns bright orange. Apparently the Lakota were impressed by the younger blackened Ponderosas and that name stuck.

Peter’s tunnels have two unique features: 1) They are narrow and short. The smallest one is 9’9” tall and 8’ wide. 2) Three of the tunnels are orientated to face Mount Rushmore as you pass through them.

The circle-drives, called pig’s-tail, that spins either up or down, depending on the direction you are going. These are the ultimate switchbacks, or the least annoying traffic circles.

The single lanes where the road separates. Each direction of the road goes off in their own way.

The granite rock outcrops of the Black Hills.

The Black Hills version of a natural bridge.

Since the Byway passes Mount Rushmore National Monument, we had to stop. Saturn’s thermometer broke the 90º mark, and headed to 93º, well before noon. Mount Rushmore has a hiking trail that is only a mile long, but it was a trudge in the heat. Near the end of the walk, we listened to a presentation on the making of the sculpture that was far more interesting than I expected. It took 14 years to carve and technically, it’s not finished. Coats and shirts were supposed to be added, but WWII and the death of the artist in charge, Gutson Borglum, stopped the project with only the heads completed.

The town of Keystone was our first QT to visit. The small downtown is very nice with one side of the street under a roofed two-story boardwalk. Unfortunately, the outskirts of Keystone was kind of marred with glitzy tourist trap attractions. In Wisconsin, we have a similar town, Wisconsin Dells, where the water-slides and go-cart tracks overshadow the beauty of the Wisconsin River dells.

We did make reservations to ride the steam-driven train from Keystone to Hill City on Friday. I love trains.

As 2 pm rolled around, we noticed a distinct change in temperature. The sweltering 93º quickly dropped to a pleasant 81º. A dry cold front, with no clouds or threatening rain blanketed the Black Hills. It was just so lovely. I had never seen such a quick cool-down without a storm before. The fever broke.

The side of the street with the two-story boardwalk.

The helicopter tours were doing a booming business. Actually, the racket was kind of annoying, and this coming from an aviation enthusiast.

I was worried that all the Black Hills towns would by overly touristy, so when we pulled into Deadwood, I was delighted. The city is still an old fashioned town, devoid of long string streets of strip malls and goofy attractions. The downtown is intact, original, and vibrant. The only bow to tourism was the 4 pm street shooting re-enactment.

I had to get a beer in the bar that Wild Bill was killed in. Of course, I paid a hefty premium for the privilege - $6 a pint for a very good stout.

There was a lot of historical references to the lawless Deadwood of the 1870s, making it all sound very fun. However, nothing was mentioned on how the US government swindled the Lakota out of their land once gold was found on it in 1874. The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty guaranteed no white man would set foot in the Black Hills forever. That was just before gold was found. Forever turned out to be about 6 years.

The 4 pm street shoot-out was a bit schlocky, and it did glorify gun-play, but this is “Merica.

The Wild Bill Bar.

This photo is for the 1000s of times I played Mustang Sally.

I was impressed with this combo art-antique shop devoted to Harleys. They had two perfectly restored 1915 models.

Next, we drove up the road about a mile to the town of Lead. Lead sits on top of a bluff overlooking Deadwood. It too, was a genuine QT.

Lastly, we drove the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. It was a canyon with tall cliff walls carved out by a swift running creek, just like Utah, except it had lots of Ponderosa Pines camouflaging many of the bluffs. It was a beautiful drive.

By this time it was pushing 8 pm. We doubled back to Keystone for a sirloin tip dinner with grilled mushrooms from a BBQ food Cart. We didn’t return to camp until nearly dark.

Glossary of terms used for newcomers: 1) V-Jer. The name of our camper. 2) Saturn. The name of our Van. 3) Duende. Our mischievous gremlin that breaks things. 4) Tata. The good gremlin that helps us fix Duende’s dirty work. 5) The Black Hole. This is what we call Walmart because every time we go in for just a couple of items, we come out spending way more than we figured. 6) QT. Quaint Town. 7) Little Buddy. This is what we call our Dyson cordless stick vacuum.

Dave and Wanda

Get Vaccinated To Save Lives.

Virtual Business Card

North America . Europe . Mexico . Asia . Product Reviews . Books & Maps

Please send us your thoughts and any errors we may have missed. We're on the road and cellular service is intermittent in the remote areas. As soon as we get online, we are eager to read all of your messages.

Text: 715-252-6664 | 715-252-3326

Email: [email protected]