Black Hills – Custer, S. Dakota (Part 4)
Our morning began early as we wanted to beat the crowds that would soon transcend this beautiful Lake Sylvan. We were lucky to find a parking spot to launch the kayak. The lake is surrounded by rock formations which adds to its appeal. It was a beautiful morning for a kayak ride and finishing before the crowds descended to enjoy picnics and walk around the lake.
From there, we eagerly started our car ride thru Needles Highway. This is a windy fourteen-mile drive through pine and spruce trees peppered with birch and aspen along the way. The story of the construction of this drive is impressive. Governor Peter Norbeck and his friend marked out the course on horseback. He intentionally wanted the road to be filled with switchbacks so visitors would need to go slow and take in the beauty of what lay before them. Initially, Mitch was apprehensive as there were two highly narrow tunnels. The second one is more narrow than the first. Should we risk taking our dually truck through? Of course, Mitch hesitated for maybe a few minutes and then gave me the “look.” The one that says, “Let’s do it.” Just in case, I got out of the truck on both to watch. In the second tunnel, Mitch slowly crawled to the other end as cars lined up to wait their turn to go in. Happy to have made it, I and some bystanders watching greeted him with cheers. When we looked up at the rock formation, we understood why it was called Needles Highway, as the hole looked like an eye of a needle.
How else would we end the day? You got it – a hike. We went for a two-mile hike called the Cathedral Spires Hike. If you have been following us for the previous vlogs, you can understand our infatuation with the Black Hills and hope we can visit again one day.
