Rest day. We booked a “Buffalo Jeep Tour” at Custer State Park for 10 am. There were 7 of us plus the guide.

We drove on roads open to the public but not suitable for the vehicle we drive.

The 71,000 acres of Custer State Park can support a herd of about 1400 bison. Every September, the third weekend, the herd is rounded up and evaluated – it’s a management tool to prepare for the annual buffalo sale in early October. The number of buffalo in the herd must be compatible with the available forage. There are man-made watering holes that look like they’re natural, but there’s a nearby pump and well.

A family of Pronghorns:

These pictures do not do the park justice. There are so many incredible vistas and sights to appreciate. After the tour, we ate lunch at

Excellent bison burger! The 1922 original fireplace was embedded with local rocks, minerals, rose quartz, milk quartz, petrified wood, cave boxwork and various crystals.

On to our next stop, the Crazy Horse Memorial, under construction since 1948. The 87-foot face and head were finally finished in 1998, they have a long way to go. This was as far as we got, we were underwhelmed.

On to Mount Rushmore.

These faces are about 14 feet in height.

We felt lucky to get a week-long reservation during part of the Sturgis motorcycle rally. Sturgis is just 34 miles up the road. Our site backed up to a gurgling creek and then (noisy until 10 pm) US-385, a major route through the Black Hills. An endless parade of motorcycles all day – quite entertaining actually, I saw a white Jedi Knight go by and a motorcycle that looked more like a missile.

I took a 30 second video and later counted 35 motorcycles go by.

The main downtown street of Hill City is closed to all vehicles except motorcycles, so you can probably imagine, we won’t be going there.

On Tuesday we drove to a campground in Oacoma and today we’re in Interior SD at Badlands KOA. Motorcycles are abundant (understatement) – the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally is this week. We arrived early, set up and went for a drive. I was completely surprised by the beauty of Badlands National Park. Add this park to your bucket list.

Yellow Mounds:

We drove just 29 miles from Sioux Falls to a one-night Harvest Host: Porter Sculpture Park.

It was a slow curvy drive on a dirt road through a cow pasture to the fenced area where the sculptures were located.

Setting up went fast since there were no hookups available.

Our view from the “patio” –

The wind was blowing which cooled the air. We didn’t walk the grounds until early evening. Wayne Porter is the sculptor and proprietor. You can easily see some of his biggest pieces from I-90.

There was usually a hand-painted poem to go with each installation.

And finally, revenge for my persistent use of a fly swatter, inside and outside:

We met the tour group at Covert Artisans Ales and Cellars at 1 pm.

We sampled one wild sour beer called Blackberry Crumble and a “rainbow sherbet” seltzer called Project Inclusion.

A short walk to Ode to Food and Drink

to try Chislic – a South Dakota specialty, pronounced chiz-lick – or fried red meat served with a Thai pepper peanut sauce and a ghost pepper sauce plus a delicious white sangria with peach schnapps.

Dana, the owner of Sioux Falls Food Tours did a great job of sharing stories about the city and some of its history.

Stop #3: Monk’s Ale House.

Mashed potato pizza and ..

a hummus platter.

A short walk to R Wine Bar.

The R is for Riccardo who came over to our table to share a bit about his history – he came to America from Italy when he was 5 years old – and how the restaurant came to be. Fascinating.

Pasta pomodoro with meatballs and paired with the perfect red wine.

Final stop, dessert at Prairie Cocoa and Confection.

This was called Strawberry Hot Chocolate.

This was the best food tour I’ve taken so far. Great food, everything timed well, restaurants ready for us with very prompt service, a few chef or owner visits, excellent guide. Dana leads 4 different food tours during a month. Great job Dana and Sioux Falls Food Tours!