Riding Around Custer

 One of the nicest things about being at Custer State Park is simply riding around the fascinating roads here.  

One of the highways, South Dakota 61A, takes you up toward Mount Rushmore through a series of over and under pigtail wooden bridges and through two very tight tunnels.  The charming thing about the two tunnels is that they exactly frame Mount Rushmore in the distance so that you emerge with the mountain in their framed view.

On another drive, the Needles Highway, the road wanders through towering granite “needles” where you are actually “threading the needle” when you come to certain crevasses and tunnels as you drive.

The unique scenery makes these rides in themselves something to see with appreciation for the wonder of the creation.  What insight South Dakota had to preserve this land for the whole future to love and enjoy.