July 14, 2021 - Laundromat, Needle Eye Tunnel and Wildlife

What we thought was going to be an easy day turned out to be a long but surprisingly fun day out. We started by going into to town to do laundry at the Lost Sock. I actually don’t mind going to the laundromat while traveling because I can get 2-4 loads done in about an hour. 

Since we finished that chore pretty fast and because we had Jett with us we decided we would go to a section of the park we had not been to because there are single lane tunnels with 8’ width restrictions. 

The decision was to get to that point, measure the truck again, to make the final determination. Prior to getting to the Needle Eye Tunnel we came across the Silvan Lake area. Wow! Just spectacular views of the lake and granite cliffs surrounding the edges of it. This is the crown jewel of Custer State Park! We have missed so much!!

We pressed on to the Needle Eye Tunnel stopping to get out right at the entrance to see if another truck our size went through without harm. And within minutes here came one in the opposite direction unscathed. However we could now see through the tunnel to the far end and right after him came a massive tour bus! Is he coming through? The rig inched along and we even thought he got wedged in there at one point. Eventually we figured out it was all an act and it wasn’t the bus drivers first rodeo through the tunnel. That’s all we needed to see to know that we would fit. 

Next up on this scenic Highway was the Iron Creek Tunnel. No worries here. This tunnel is nine inches wider than the last one and not crowded with tourists in the road. 

The remaining scenic drive was just beautiful. Some of the most spectacular scenery in the park. The Needles Highway is fourteen miles long taking you through needle-like granite formations along the mountain ridges. We even saw a heard of elk along the way! It’s located very close to Mt Rushmore. 

Since we had just made that big loop and since Jett was with us we decided to drive the Wildlife Loop Road. It was on our way back to basecamp. It’s 18 miles long and takes you through the open grasslands where the bison are. 

Our return to basecamp was right before nightfall with bad storms that had just skirted around us. We were catching just the edges with some light rain. Then we drove through sections of the road that looked like snow. Uhhh … noooo … wait … that’s hail accumulation. Finally back at the Airstream we ate dinner and tried to finish the dominoes tournament. With six rounds left I was ahead! After realizing how late it was getting and how tired we were we only got three more rounds in. I’m still ahead!!