Uploaded from Hulett, Wyoming – where I could get Internet access…
From 6/27/2026
I tried out a two of the scenic highways in the area – a section of the Needles Highway that runs through Custer State Park and the Iron Mountain road.
The section of 87 through Custer State Park was fun. It started out by crossing a one lane bridge.
The scenery was nice, winding through the hills and ponderosa pines. There are also lost of interesting rock formations. Lots of rocks and boulders are revealed at the tops of hills. Other times, huge sharp boulders will be in the middle of a field like someone trust it up from underground.
I also saw a scattering of wildlife in Custer State Park and the Iron Mountain Road – bison, a big horn sheep, and a wild turkey. There are elk in the area, but I heard a rangers say that they next to keep in the trees this time of year. There is also a wildlife loop road in Custer State Park, which I didn’t drive. But it should have good wildlife viewing opportunities.
The Iron Mountain Road was hard to drive in the van. The lanes are pretty narrow and there are lots of sharp turns. After about an hour of that I was ready to get off. I exited at the city of Keystone to head back to a regular highway. On the way to the highway, we passed Mount Rushmore. It was interesting to see it from a distance – didn’t feel like making a stop to see it close up. On the way back to Wind Cave National Park on highway 385, I also got a glimpse of the Crazy Horse Memorial.
There are some really interesting rock formations in the Black Hills National Forest. But there aren’t any overlooks for photographing them. If I go back, I’ll need to figure out a way to photograph some of those rock formations – they look so cool to me. But I don’t want to be that person that stops in the middle of the road to take a picture…
