This last weekend we had a great trip over to Mount Rushmore. It's one of the trips I've had on my "to-do with the kids" list so we decided to do it this summer. I figured I'd do a separate trip report on it, as opposed to just putting it in our flying thread, so that it might be easier for others to reference in the future.

Friday morning we launched from our home base in Northern Utah and, with a nice 20-30 mph on the tail, we made good time getting to Custer, South Dakota. Once past the Wasatch front, we went direct at 11,500'. This route took us through eastern Utah, south and south eastern Wyoming, and into the southwestern corner of South Dakota. 3:15 minutes later, we were on the ground in Custer.

I chose Custer because it was centrally located to the things we wanted to see and do: Mount Rushmore, Jewel Cave, Crazy Horse, and Custer State Park including the Needles Highway. What a great little airport! Wifi, showers, nice leather couches with a flat screen tv and Dish Network, and two camping spots on the field with picnic tables, fire pits, and trees for shade. The facilities were very clean and, since it's not an FBO business, it was quiet and we had free run of the place.

For transportation, we rented a car from Custer Car Rentals. Once on the ground in Custer, I gave the owner a call and about 10 minutes later, he was there to pick me up to take me to his office to fill out the paperwork. Their small car ran $65/day and their minivans ran $85/day. A little higher than what you might get at Rapid City, but each car also comes with a pass for Mount Rushmore parking and Custer State Park. So that saves you $20-30. Overall, not bad for the convenience.

We spent the next day and a half exploring the area and eating some great food. Everything was within a 30 minute drive. Our sight seeing began with Mount Rushmore Friday after camp was set up. The kids really enjoyed that. That night, poor little Sadie got sick and it made for a short night for her, Dee and me. Saturday morning, she still wasn't feeling up to sightseeing, so I took the boys to Jewel Cave while Dee took care of Sadie at camp. Luckily the amenities at camp and the FBO made that comfortable.

Jewel Cave was a lot of fun. But if you want to do the scenic tour, get there early! After striking out the day before, we were told to be there when they opened at 8am. Tickets can't be purchased in advance, but once there you can buy for anytime that day. When we got there shortly after 8am, there was a line and it stayed constant. We got tickets for the next tour in 30 minutes and killed the time in the visitor center. $12 for adults, $8 for kids 6 - 16. This was cool for me because I remember my parents bringing me there when I was about Adam's age (8). The cave tour started at 260' below the surface, was a half mile long, 49 degrees, 95% humidity, and 720+ steps. We went as deep as 370' and exited from 300'. The boys really enjoyed it, especially Adam.

Back in Custer we picked Dee and Sadie up and headed to the Blackhills Burger & Buns Co. Again, very busy and popular place. Be there early or expect to wait 1.5 for a table. We were there early at 11am and still waited an hour. Great burgers!

The rest if the day was spent driving the Needles Highway in Custer State Park and soaking our feet in Sylvan Lake. Unfortunately, our second night didn't go much better. Sadie was better but Tyler caught her bug and had a rough night. Luckily he rebounded really quickly and had no problems on the flight home the next morning. We had a 20-30 mph headwind for the most of the flight home, which took just under 4 hours and was bumpy for a good part of it.

Despite everything not going smoothly, we rolled with the punches and had a great, memorable trip. I highly recommend it and recommend Custer as a place to base out of. Unfortunately I didn't get to do any extra flying. I had hoped to check out a few nearby places as well as the Badlands. Next time.

Loaded and ready to go.



Lots of empty space and landing opportunities in eastern Wyoming.


Camp ground off the end of the ramp.


Mount Rushmore


Big storms built all around us but none came close.



Jewel Cave





Burgers at BHB&B


Driving through the needles.



Sylvan Lake



Custer airport



Lots of ropes and chocks.


A cart to haul your gear to the campsite.


Clean showers and nice lounge area.



Wiped out crew on the way home.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Great trip report Cory. Even with the bug it looks like the kids were having a great time. When Jeanette sees this she'll be making plans for us to head that direction.

Rich

Looks like a great family trip, nice facilities, and a great airplane!

Thanks for posting

Looks like a great time was had. Glad you were able to have a good time even though the kids got sick.
Thanks for sharing!

Nice, Cory!

Very cool, Cory! Great TR.

Years ago my brother and I jumped off that rock that's in several of your pictures at sylvan lake! and some other large ones there I think they frown on that now days (probably did then too, it was maybe 15 years ago and we were young and dumb)

I've always liked it up there in the black hills. Looks like a nice trip

There was a sign there saying it was prohibited, fines up to $100, and "strictly enforced". Not so much. We saw lots of people jumping off of several places. Really nice place and very busy that day.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Beautiful images...great report... thanks for posting it...

...wow...there sure seems to be a lot of room in that Cessna 205 ..

Thanks! Yeah, 2 adults, 3 kids and 300#s of gear...and still 300#s under gross!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks! Yeah, 2 adults, 3 kids and 300#s of gear...and still 300#s under gross!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Great TR! Looks like a ton of great memories for the family! Looking back on the trips my family took when I was a kid, it seems like even the rough times on adventures like this are fun to remember.

Yeah, we are finding that too.

Also, I think I forgot to mention, as the sign on the building says, DA can be an issue here. We left and it was 8,000'. Full of fuel and gear, the 520 handled it really well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great trip report Cory! Awesome!