Scenic Drive – Page 13 – ON THE ROAD with Maria + Stephen

The Brinton Museum

26/09/201812/06/2020 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Art Museum, Museum, Scenic Drive

The Brinton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming is located on the Quarter Circle A Ranch. Bradford Brinton purchased the ranch in 1923. He came from a prosperous family, graduated from Yale and was general manager of the family business, Peru Plow and Wheel Co. Brinton renovated and expanded the ranch house, which became the museum in 1960 upon his sister Helen’s death. He and Helen agreed that the ranch property would be open to the public upon the death of the last surviving sibling.

The newer museum building, pictured below, built in 2013 with money donated by Forrest Mars, Jr. (think Mars Candy Bars) is beautifully embedded into the ranch landscape, providing spectacular views of the Big Horn Mountains.

The museum collection is dedicated completely to Western and American Indian art and is quite impressive. There is an entire gallery filled with Plains Nations clothing, some of which dates back to the 1850s. 0050

Remington Pembina Half-Breeds with Red River Carts ca 1901

0BB75318-CC7E-4B4E-8EF1-673CC9BD553F — **Brinton Museum (museum photo)**

A6A36A35-445A-4283-A4F9-F4B63B4D7542 — **Remington *Trappers Going to the Pierre’s Fight* ca 1904**

Devils Tower National Monument

24/09/201824/09/2018 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Camping, Hiking, Scenic Drive

We camped and hiked at Devils Tower NM near Moorcroft, Wyoming. This is the rock structure that was prominently featured in the Spielberg film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This formation rises over 1200 feet including the base. It is a sacred site for Native Americans and as you hike around the formation you will see prayer flags hanging from rocks and trees.

The bottom left photo was the view from our campsite. The formation so dominates the landscape that you just find yourself drawn to it and staring at it for several minutes at a time.

Heading further West and North today and hoping the weather cooperates for a bit longer. The nighttime tempertures are dipping down into the thirties already and snow is falling in the higher elevations.

D0512587-5253-44F0-A233-FF5E8F6DDE2A — **Belle Fourche River**

Badlands National Park and Buffalo National Grassland

23/09/201824/09/2018 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Boondocking, Camping, Hiking, National Park, Scenic Drive

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.

23F13305-F829-4B62-A695-47350E847A3A — **Baja Motorized Travel Area**

Rapid City, South Dakota

22/09/201806/09/2022 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Art Museum, Cities, Coffee, Dining, Museum, Scenic Drive, Shopping

Dahl Art Center

Dahl Art Center is a small art museum located in downtown Rapid Center. We were fortunate that one of the current exhibits at the center is the photography of Chuck Kimmerle. This exhibit consists entirely of black and white photographs which are all depictions of the prairies and and grasslands of the west. His work creates stark images of landscapes which lack notable features. The second exhibit was a water color exhibit featuring notable regional artists.

1A2D2FC5-766C-4FC9-A637-DE1C61440B69 233711E8-7C0D-4D4C-A283-6E25E04769A0

South Dakota Air & Space Museum

Yes one of us is an airplane geek! Nice collection of Air Force aircraft predominately consisting of bombers. The museum is adjacent to Ellsworth AFB which is the home of the B1 Lancer long range bomber.

45DC4962-8EED-41F9-B67F-0444E368ABB7 — **B1 B Lancer**

DB5677B9-DE63-42AC-AE62-5677C21AE980 — **Boeing B29**

Fika & Wine

Rapid City played well with three local roasters producing quality beans delivered well in their own cafe, I highly reecommend you visit The Essence of Coffee, Harriet & Oaks and Pure Bean on your next trip to Rapid City. In the event you wil not be in the vicinity any time soon you can order their beans online.

We also had a fun time at the Firehouse Winery. There reserve cabernet is made using 100% Napa cab sav grapes and proved to be worthy of the purchase of several bottles to support the next segment of our journey as we prepare to push west into Wyoming cowboy country.

Black Hills, South Dakota:

18/09/201808/03/2021 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Bike Trails, Biking, Boondocking, Camping, Coffee, Dining, Hiking, Kayaking, Scenic Drive

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

Mickleson Rail 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

North Dakota Badlands

14/09/201813/09/2018 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Camping, Coffee, Hiking, Scenic Drive

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

Lake Sakakawea and Oil Country

10/09/201811/09/2018 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Camping, Scenic Drive

From Bismarck we followed the Missouri River north and west along ND 1804 – which roughly follows the route that the Lewis & Clark Discovery Corps Expedition charted in 1804. As you enter Parshall and continue on to Williston the landscape changes radically as oil rigs and oil wells abound accented by numerous gas flares. This latest boom began in the early 2000s with the discovery of an estimated four million barrels within the Bakken formation. Hydraulic Fracturing spurred production on with almost 500,000 barrels a day coming out of these fields at the peak of the boom.

We camped at Lake Sakakawea (178 mile long man made lake) near Epping. It is a bit surreal to camp along the lake and see the lake encircled by gas flares once the sun sets. Mixed feelings about the trade offs between the signifcant economic benefit that North Dakota has experienced and the blighted landscape created by this massive oil field. 0032

Sheyenne River Valley

06/09/201807/09/2018 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Camping, Hiking, Scenic Drive

Sheyenne River Scenic Backway – typical Lutheran church found in this part of North Dakota. Most of the Lutheran churches in the area were founded by Swedish immigrants during the 1800s. This church conducted services only in Swedish until 1917 when they added a second service in English. 0027,0028

Kathryn, ND Pop. 50

Lunch Box Eatery, Fort Ransom, ND Pop. 130 Breakfast is serious business in ND!

Redetzke Ridge Hike – Fort Ransom to Kathryn

Sheyenne River

Heartland Bike Trail – Chippewa NF

31/08/201808/03/2021 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Bike Trails, Biking, Camping, Scenic Drive

Cool weather in Minnesota making for great biking and lots of firewood!

U.P. Michigan

26/08/2018 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Camping, Coffee, Hiking, Museum, Scenic Drive

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.