Our next stop was Custer State Park after a dismal visit to Gillette, WY for lunch. We were glad to get out of that city and away from all the traffic. We reserved a spot on the road for a campsite at Center Lake. We didn't want the stress of having to get a spot if we didn't arrive until latter in the day. However, our camp reservation specialist didn't give us a site that had any flat spots for tents. Again, I can't tell you how frustrating that is. Not everyone has an RV. It does matter if you have a flat spot when you sleep in a tent. Luckily for us the upper loop at Center Lake was pretty empty so we had our pick of spots. Unfortunately, we had to waste time driving through the loop writing down what numbers were okay and then find the reservation phone (cells didn't work) to change our tent site number. Way more complicated than it needed to be.
After setting up camp we went down to Center Lake for a cool off dip. It was a nice small lake with a little beach. It was just perfect for what we needed.
After dinner we drove the wildlife loop road and saw these deer,
and one burro eating food from the car ahead of us. We were disappointed not to see more. On our last trip here we saw so many.
We headed towards Mt. Rushmore next to see the lighting ceremony.
It was a pretty cool experience. The vets from any war were asked to come up on stage and the national anthem was sung. Cheesy, but rah rah American.
The view on the way out:
The ceremony didn't start until well after 9 so the kids were exhausted on the way home. It was still worth keeping them up so they could see it.
This is the map for Custer State Park:
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