Day 12

 June 28 (Custer State Park, SD)

We had preliminarily planned to visit Wind Cave National Park on this day, but we learned yesterday that the elevator used to descend into the cave wasn't working, so the park was closed (which was a bit of a bummer). So instead, we woke up, made breakfast, then headed to Center Lake for a Hook 'Em and Cook 'Em program offered by the park. The park provided free fishing poles and bait for children (and adults) who wanted to fish or learn for the first time.

No one caught anything, but everyone had a fun time (there were at least a dozen other kids there), and Ev and Til got their first taste of something they've both wanted but never had the chance to do before. They really want to learn and spend more time fishing, which will be fun for the future on camping trips. We spent two hours fishing and eventually watching them restock the lake with fish (and we still didn’t' catch anything!). The next time we visit Custer, we are going to hike along the Coolidge Hike-in Fishing Area that connects Center Lake with our campground (and bring along our own poles).

After, we drove along Needles Highway to Sylvan Lake, which is the premier lake in the park. It is high in elevation and absolutely stunning.

We spent hours on the beach, the kids swimming and using one of our inner tubes for the first time, and we eventually eating a delicious picnic. They had so much fun making friends and Evelyn didn't leave the water almost the entire time (of course). The scene was so picturesque - and I understand now why Brad's next stop after leaving us in the Tetons was to raft in Sylvan Lake). 

It was a magical morning and afternoon, and we spent the evening relaxing, breaking down camp a bit, and gearing up for our drive day - we knew we had a long drive to the Grand Teton National Park the next day. This was a perfect way to end our time at such an amazing place. This has been my favorite place so far (other than the Badlands, which has a mystical quality to it). We were hoping to see bighorn mountain sheep descending the slopes behind our campground (via a well-worn hoof path), but the ranger mentioned that everything was late that year with the seasons, so he hadn't even seen the sheep yet. He thought they were late in rearing since winter was an extra month and a half long this winter. How interesting and tricky for the animals. It's not as though summer will necessarily be any longer. Sounds like they are going to have a short, fun summer…

 Throughout our time here and on the rest of our journey, Cassandra and I reflected on how Custer State Park had a "national park feel" - there is a vastness of land, an accessibility to wilderness, a host of park-sponsored environmental and educational activities that makes this park an absolute treasure. We would have all been content and thrilled to spend a week at Custer. Of all the places we've visited so far, this is the one that we all resoundingly wish to visit again (as soon as we can, at that).

Tomorrow night, we are hosting former-colleague Brad at our campsite in Grant Teton National Park as he heads eastward on his own cross-country adventure. I shared with Brad all our plans all along the way, as well as our final itinerary. Going into the summer, we weren't sure where we were going to meet; just that we were going to! What a great place for that to happen…