2020 Road Trip – Custer State Park

Stockade Lake North Campground – 8/12/20 – 8/14/20 – Site #42E

Today we left Lusk, WY at 9:45 AM MDT. We headed north on US-85 until US-18 split from it and headed east at Mule Creek Junction. When we reached SD-89 we took it north until it combined with US-385 and took us on into Custer, SD. The scenery was beautiful throughout the trip and for the second day in a row we encountered hundreds of motorcyclists going to and coming from Bike Week in Sturgis, SD. Apparently, a lot of them leave Sturgis and visit Custer because the town was packed with motorcycles when we came through around 11:30 AM MDT.

We arrived at our campsite in the Stockade Lake North Campground inside Custer State Park at 12:00 PM MDT. We are in site 42E which is right at the entrance road, but it is huge and the campground is fairly quiet (even with all the Harleys running in and out). The Verizon LTE coverage is excellent. There are a lot of tall trees, so satellite reception was tricky, but we managed to find the right spot to receive all three Dish Western Arc satellites after a couple of tries with our portable antenna (R2D2).

Game Lodge Campground – 8/14/20 – 8/16/20 – Site #21

We could only find campsites available for two or three days at a time within Custer State Park, so after two nights in Stockade Lake North Campground we migrated to the Game Lodge Campground. It’s back toward the eastern entrance to the park and somewhat close to the main road, but a very nicely laid out campground. The area is flat enough that the sites aren’t built up on mounds like they are in Stockade Lake North Campground. However, our site was downhill from back to front so by the time we got the RV leveled the front wheels were several inches off the ground. I had Beth lift it a couple more and then put two 2″ x 12″ boards under each tire and had her lower it back down onto the boards and re-level. This campground has a dump station and potable water so we filled our water tanks and dumped our black and gray upon arrival and on departure. It also had washing machines so Beth got caught up on laundry.

After setting up our campsite we decided to hike Lover’s Leap Trail. The trailhead was just a half mile from our campsite so we walked over to it. Along the way a ranger stopped to warn us that a herd of buffalo was grazing at the trailhead and to be very careful. We went behind a couple of buildings to get as close to the trailhead as we could without encountering the buffalo but when we got close the herd was about 20 yards from the trailhead so we carefully slid along weeds and ducked onto the trail.

We took Lover’s Leap Trail clockwise (it’s a loop) so that we could get the difficult climb over with first (this is what most reviewers recommend). It was a pretty serious climb and we had to stop and catch our breath regularly, but we eventually made it to the top and the view was worth the effort. Once you reach the top of the trail you still have to scramble up some boulders to get the best view. Scrambling up wasn’t too tough, but coming back down was a bit nerve racking. The remainder of the hike was downhill, but still not easy. The downhill hike back to the valley was steep enough to make our quadriceps burn and it felt like our toes were going to come out through the front of our hiking boots. Once we reached the valley it was a fairly flat hike along a creek (which we crossed numerous times). By the time we got back to our campsite we had hiked a total of 5.2 miles and enjoyed a cocktail while we built a fire to cook our steaks.

Legion Lake Campground – 8/16/20 – 8/19/20 – Site #5

After two nights at the Game Lodge Campground we migrated to the Legion Lake Campground. Beth went ahead of me to verify that our site was open. The previous occupants were just leaving when Beth arrived so she gave me the “all clear” to come ahead. As I approached the Legion lake Lodge (just prior to the campground) I had to stop for a lone Buffalo Bull that was walking down the middle of the main highway in the park. He eventually moved off the road and I was able to pass. As we were setting up our site he slowly meandered into the campground. He was one big buffalo and he slowly worked his way to the back of the campground and disappeared.

We like this campground. It is just across the highway from Legion Lake (which is beautiful). Beth kayaked on the lake later in the afternoon and when she was done we both walked down to the beach and swam in the frigid mountain waters (it was quite refreshing). Our site is literally just off the side of the main entrance road, but it’s still a nice site. The only negative is all that we are right across the road from the bathrooms and the trash, so we are often awakened late at night and early in the morning to the bathroom doors and the lids on the garbage bins slamming shut. On a positive note, it’s only a few feet to the public showers so we are able to conserve water here in our electricity only campsite hookups.

On our third day in the site we got up early and headed to Sylvan Lake to hike the Sunday Gulch Trail. This is one of the most popular trails in the park and we were glad we got up fairly early. When we arrived at 8:30 AM there were very few parking spots left near the trailhead. The trailhead is actually behind the Sylvan Lake dam so we hiked around the south side of the lake to get there with the intent of hiking around the north upon return so that we hiked the entire lake as well. This was definitely one of the toughest trails we’ve hiked. We ended up hiking 4.4 miles from the parking lot. Based on all of the reviews, we chose to hike the trail clockwise to avoid having to climb down the decent over the rock face near the beginning of the trail (if traveling counterclockwise). The first half mile was all uphill, but there were plenty of switchbacks so it didn’t seem too bad (although we still had to stop a few times to catch our breath). After that, it was mostly downhill into the valley until we eventually started the ascent up the rock face. Just prior to the ascent, I was starting to feel the need for fuel, so we stopped and ate the delicious sandwiches Beth had packed. We were glad we did because we needed the fuel to get back up to the top. The rock face had hand rails (and stair steps in some places) and we were glad it did. By the time we got to the top (after many stops to catch our breath) our legs and arms were jelly. It was all worth it for the incredible views.

Legion Lake Campground – 8/19/20 – 8/21/20 – Site #13

Today we had to move from Site #5 in Legion Lake Campground to Site #13. This site is near the back end of the campground so it provided a lot more privacy, but there were also a lot of trees so we were unable to receive any Dish Network satellite signals with either the roof mounted or the mobile antenna (now that’s roughing it). As an engineer it’s hard to give up on the challenge to find satellite coverage, but eventually I convinced myself that I was wasting my life away trying to win the challenge and kept hearing my Grandma McCally’s voice reminding me that as long as you have a book, you’ll always have a friend. So I took my book outside and watched my pyromaniac wife build a nice fire and cook the most delicious Eckrich hotdogs over it.

On Day #2 in Site #13 the forecast (which was accurate) called for afternoon rain. We decided it was time to send the chief sealant application engineer up on the roof to apply the Dicor Self Leveling Roof Sealant (using the new caulk gun we purchased at the Walmart in Pratt, KS) to address our roof leak. We think she was successful because we had light rain (sometimes moderate) throughout the afternoon and overnight and there are no signs of leaks.

Chief Sealant Application Engineer – Site #13

Stockade Lake North Campground – 8/21/20 – 8/23/20 – Site #42E

Today we moved back to this year’s original site at Stockade Lake North Campground (Site #42E). This will be our last stop in Custer State Park before we start heading east on Sunday. When we departed from the Legion Lake Campground in the morning we headed back towards the east entrance to use the dump station on the Wildlife Loop Rd and fill our water tank. Once we got setup at our campsite we headed into Custer to stock up on groceries and verify that the local Dairy Queen’s S’mores Blizzard was meeting corporate standards (it was).

On our second day back at Stockade Lake North Campground we got up, had a nice breakfast, and then drove down to the Stockade Lake Beach and plopped Beth and her kayak in the water. I setup my canopy on the shore and read a book while Beth paddled around the lake. When we got back to the camper we started a fire and cooked steak and baked potatoes over it. It was a great last day in Custer State Park.