Arrival Friday, June 19
344 Miles | 5.5 hours
To break up the long drive, we do our workout in the parking lot of an abandoned motel, but succumb to get eaten alive by ticks as well as get chased down by dark storm clouds.
Mari worries that we are going to get hit by a tornado so we drive a little faster and the door ends up falling off the refrigerator twice, spilling food everywhere, leaving the floor is covered with slippery syrup.
Custer is a touristy slice of Americana but clean and well-provided with interesting shops restaurants, and attractions. We preview the nearby state park and several campgrounds before finding The Roost, and even though it’s half an hour past closing time, our host Alicia answers the bell and registers us in space number 11, which she confirms is somehow available, after triple checking with her husband Tom because it has the best views in the campground, Site 11 is set alongside a giant grassland complete with deer and a majestic granite mountain backdrop.
While we are checking in we are greeted by the Emerson family who are returning from a bike ride to the park and had noticed our Airstream earlier on the road. They’re on the maiden voyage of their brand new Flying Cloud which they purchased back in their hometown of Saint Petersburg, Florida. They're on the road for the summer and are loving the lifestyle.
We are punch drunk after the longest leg of our journey yet but Sibri has hit the ground running with Baird, also 8, who evokes a young version of our recent pro tennis player guest, Maxime Cressy in that he's incredibly friendly, energetic and athletic.
They invite us over to their campfire and Mari enjoys a much-needed glass of wine, while Datta takes extra time setting up the Gypsy facing the wrong direction before deciding to undo it all and turn about so that she's set up the right way, as night falls.
We enjoy drinks, s’mores and our new found company well into the night by a well-stocked fire with good music and comfy chairs amidst the peaceful setting. It’s a clear sky so the stars and Milky Way are particularly bright. We sleep extra well that night.
The next day we take a bike ride by a stockade and into Custer State Park landing at Bismarck Lake where Sibri gets some bouldering in. Later we meet up with Tim, Marci and Baird for mini golf which gets briefly interrupted by a small hailstorm. They recommend Custer Wolf for food, which includes pickle chips and falafel burgers, and is amazing.
After lunch we run back into them. Baird has had a wipeout and we happen to have 3 open racks so we load up their bikes to take Tim and Baird back to the campground while Marci stays in town and shops. Sibri stays to play at camp and we and take an afternoon excursion to Mount Rushmore, driving through the windy back road enjoying the scenery along the way which includes a natural granite archway over the road.
The parking lot and the facility look like a slice of Washington D.C. has been dropped into the middle of the wilderness, but the monument is impressive and worth the journey. Oddly the main promenade is closed "for construction", but later we connect the dots when 46 does a July 4 speech from there.
We coast back into town with under 20 miles of diesel in the tank for the second time in 2 days and the check engine light pops on which is additionally unnerving. The Emersons head out the next morning after Mari & Sibri whip up an amazing Father’s Day brunch of Huckleberry pancakes and the kids treat the dads to a treasure hunt for gifts and handmade cards.
We exchange phone numbers and tips on travel sites like Harvest Host and they make a point of booking spots 10 and 11 for a reunion trip next year. Mari notices one of the tires on the Gypsy is pretty treadbare but no shops are open on Sunday in Customer. Since our spot is open for another night so we decide to stay, taking a day trip past the Wind Cave Park (which looks incredibly impressive but is closed) down to Hot Springs, North Dakota. We enjoy splashing around at Evans Plunge, which is the largest indoor spring-fed pool in tbe world, compete with rings, water slides and giant pebble-lined pool at 87 degrees that recirculates every 90 minutes with the water from several nearby springs.
We drive back through the wildlife scenic loop of the park and get held up by the largest bison jam ever along the way, counting no less than 36 mamas and “red dog” babies. After enjoying another restful night we head out the next morning for Rapid City where we plan to get the check engine light assessed and the alignment fixed on the Gypsy.
Departure Monday, June 22
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