We have journeyed to Southern Utah near the Arizona border and we are enjoying the beautiful weather. Enjoying Fika with our old friends at River Rock Roasting in La Verkin. Camping in the Dixie NF under breathtaking night sky. Phenomenal scenery, hiking and scrambling! Not sure what else to say…..life is good. 0065,0066,0067,0068,0069
Red Cliff Recreation Area
Dixie NF, Silver Reef, Utah
Fish Lake NF, Kanosh, UT
From Rapid City we looped back east to spend some time in Badlands NP. We had fabulous weather which enhanced the spectacular scenery. We did several short hikes and were fortunate to catch spectacular sunsets. We also took advantage of the Baja Motorized Travel Area within Buffalo Gap to spend some time driving overland and putting the “Beast” to the test on some great terrain.
Iron Mountain Road and Mount Rushmore
Route 16A , also known as Iron Mountain Road, is a very exciting drive on a narrow winding road which climbs through and over Iron Mountain. The drive presents distant views of Mt Rushmore as you exit tunnels and from overlooks along the way.
Iron Mountain Road is only 17 miles long but has 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, three pigtails and three tunnels (pigtails pictured below).
Seeing this monument is far more impressive in person than the photos you have seen all your life. The history is just as fascinating as the entire genesis was to boost an ailing economy by creating a tourist attraction. During the 1920s the mining based economy in the area was ailing. Initially this effort was completely a private endeavor until President Coolidge became a supporter and pushed funding through Congress. Today the monument draws three million people annually so I would have to say that it was a heck of an idea. Fourteen years in the making and not a single worker fatality (obviously a former insurance underwriter)! 0040
Custer State Park
CSP is the largest state park in the United States and would stack up well against many national parks in regard to scenic beauty, wildlife and opportunities for recreation (hiking, biking, horseriding, kayaking, canoeing and ohv). 0038,0039
Mickelson Trail
This 109 mile trail runs through the heart of the Black Hills NF. The trail is the former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad which came about as the result of the gold rush which started in the 1870s. This particular line was abandoned in 1983.
We biked several sections of the trail and were treated to many spectacular views and the opportunity to bike through rock tunnels and across numerous trestles. 0037
We were able to camp on the banks of the Little Missouri River while visiting Theodore Roosevelt NP. We camped and hiked in both the north and south unit. The south unit is in Medora which is about 70 miles due south of the north unit. Both units abound with wildlife. We saw prairie dogs, bison, feral horses, deer, pronghorn antelope and turkey as we hiked. The south unit is in the heart of the badlands of North Dakota and our hikes presented tremendous panoramic vistas. We also hiked through a petrified forest area in the south unit that has a significant concentration of petrified wood that is estimated to be 225 million years old. The petrified wood now rests on the surface as layers of stone, clay and coal have been washed away over many millions of years.
Good coffee in short supply here (along with connectivity) but nonetheless a worthwhile segment of our first road trip.
Next stop is Custer Gallatin NF before traveling to South Dakota. 0033,0034,0035,0036
From Traverse City we traveled north on M31 and over the Mackinac Bridge onto the Upper Peninsula. Several coffe recommendations from Erik at Planetary Coffee paid off handsomely. Dripworks in Petoskey and Veladrome in Marquette featured below were outstanding! We also stopped in at Superior Coffee Roasters in Sault Ste. Marie while in town to watch lake freighters move through the locks.
We have been able to take full advantage of the Hiawatha NF camping along small lakes each night.
Additional highlights on the UP included visiting the Whitefish Point Light on Lake Suprior, a 4WD drive out to the beach at Vermillion Point and hiking to the falls at Tahqueamenon Falls.
ON THE ROAD with Maria + Stephen 