We woke up to another beautiful morning at the cabin. The park is filled with cottontail bunnies, turkeys that forget that they are a delicacy to many humans.
The horse trail was right beside the cabin, and the stables just a short walk away, so we were able to watch some trail riding early that morning.
After breakfast, we decided to hike up the ridge near our cabin, a steep hike up, but a more gradual slope carried us down to meet one if the horse trails.
With our gear locked up in the cabin and our bike lightened up, we headed out to ride the wildlife loop in Custer State Park first. We saw prairie dogs before turning onto Oak Draw Road, where we were told that we would see buffalo.
We did see ONE (out of 1300) buffalo on Oak Draw Road… (We swear that it was the same buffalo- ‘Larry’- as our first day).
We finished the Wildlife Loop and headed out toward 16A and Iron Mountain Rd: “17 miles, 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, 3 pigtails, 3 tunnels, 2 splits and 4 presidents”
We stopped at the Norbeck Overlook to snap another photo of Mount Rushmore after a series of switchbacks and 2 tunnels…
More amazing roads and another tunnel…
A stop for lunch in Keystone, SD at the Ruby House…
Then, we got back in the bike for some epic riding down 87 to Needles Highway.
We stopped at an area where we could hike out for a better view…
A view of beautiful Sylvan Lake…
The next stop on the road is the Needle’s Eye where you have to get out and take pictures before heading through the narrow, one-lane tunnel…
Once through the tunnel, the elevation is over 6000 feet, with Harney Peak at 7242 feet to the left. The Cathedral Spires jut out of the Earth for a spectacular display as you ride past…
One more tunnel to travel through…
And a final park area to explore before heading back to the lodge for dinner.
A dinner of back angus burger and buffalo steak tips with mushrooms and onions hit the spot after a long day of exploring. The fire and stars finished the night off right. Hooha! J & M
HooHa Adventures 
Awesome! What an awesome way to travel!
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Thanks for sharing especially with so much info as to what we are seeing 🙂
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