Then things got interesting! We came over a hill to a clearing just FILLED with buffalo on both sides of the road! There were 100+ all just hanging out doing their buffalo thing. Mamas, babies and big, mean dudes roaming the prairie, crossing the road wherever they please. Boy those things are BIG!! I even saw a mama nursing a baby! What a sight!
You may have deduced that since we entered the park through what was "the end" last time that we also took the reverse route through The Needles. This, too, was another great ride and gave a new perspective. We stopped off a few times for photos but by this point it was about noon and we were getting hungry for lunch.
So, back to Hill City for a bite at The Bumpin' Buffalo, where the soup special was (no lie!) beefalo chili!! John and I had a good laugh about that. Then we get seated inside only to discover that our server's name was Mike!!!! So of course I said, "MikeMikeMikeMikeMike guess what day it is?" He didn't get it. I didn't care - we laughed some more. The food was delicious.
Once again we took the old railroad path headed toward Mount Rushmore. Turns out the road crosses the tracks for the scenic train 13 times (yes we counted this time). Mount Rushmore was awesome once we finally got up to the visitor area. Upon arrival, John and I both had to use the restroom. Imagine my surprise when I came out but he wasn't there yet. I saw Dan and Michelle right away and they said he was still in there and there was no way he got passed them. Well, after at least 15 minutes of waiting I was starting to worry. I knew that either he wasn't in there anymore or something was seriously wrong. Dan said, "trust me - he's just sweatin' it out in there." I said, "trust me - there's no way he'd spend this kind of time in a public restroom." But alas, Dan wouldn't go check. Finally I get a text from John asking where I am. All this time, he's been up in the visitor area photobombing people and eating ice cream! I was relieved and celebrated with a root beer float (with chocolate ice cream, of course).
We admired the monument, watched the brief movie about the creation and took in the sights at the museum. What a cool place!
During lunch, MikeMikeMikeMikeMike told us about a cool little back road that wasn't a tourist path, so we set out to find that as a partial new way home. But we didn't find it - could be because we had all eyes on the increasingly ominous skies. We decided to book it home. This time we made it to the other side of Custer before the skies let loose. We got rain jackets on just in time. Luckily it wasn't a true soaker but it was enough to make the haul home pretty miserable.
Of course it was supper time when we got back to Newcastle. We decided to take the truck on the 20 mile quest to Four Corners to try a steakhouse that the owner of The Sundowner kept telling us about. They're not open Monday and Tuesday so today was our day. What a great place! It was tucked pretty far off the beaten path and it was so worth the journey! The establishment itself was in impeccable condition and was sort of a mini museum, as they had many collectables around the place. The owners, Frank and Judy, had the best personalities and refreshing senses of humor. We all had steaks, which were delicious - perfectly seasoned, perfectly cooked. The stop was just what the doctor ordered.
We'll see what tomorrow will bring. There are still a few things to tick off the list. I can't believe there are just two more day left in which to try and do it all...
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