Custer, SD
What a perfect day for a train ride!
We took a ride to Hill City,
and boarded the 1880 train.
This train is part of the Black Hills Central Railroad,
and is the oldest continuously operating tour railroad.
There are 3 steam engines and 2 diesel engines.
Today we were able to ride the train pulled by the steam engine.
It travels 10 miles to Keystone,
at a top speed of 10 miles per hour :-)
The views from the train were spectacular!
Our conductor, Joe, came around and got our tickets..
The ride was narrated, telling us about some of the history
of the area, and why the train was there.
A lot of the track was former mining train tracks.
The engine put out a lot of steam and smoke!
We passed by Harney Peak,
the tallest peak in the Black Hills.
We saw a lot of deer grazing in the meadows..
An hour later we made it into Keystone.
The engine fills with water in preparation
for the return trip.
George and I had booked the return train at 2:30,
so that gave us time to check out the Borglum Historical Center..
We were able to get in free with our VIP pass.
It was interesting, but glad it was free :-)
Gutzon Borglum was the main sculptor of Mt. Rushmore,
among many other things.
Keystone is a great little mining town,
with all kinds of shops and restaurants.
We picked this place,
Ruby's House,
which looked to me like an old brothel :-)
George had spaghetti, something safe,
so good thing he likes it!
I had an Indian Taco, which I've been wanting to try.
It's refried beans, hamburger, cheese, etc.,
but on fried bread.
It was delicious!
Before too long the train was rounding the corner
to take us back Hill City.
We sat on the opposite side of the train,
to see what we missed :-)
I really like the effect the smoke has in the trees..
We're so glad we took the train!
Meanwhile..
the campground is coming along.
The pool is now open,
the mini golf has new turf,
and things are looking great!
We'll be working the next two days,
then Thursday George has his appointment
with the surgeon to talk about the next step.
More to come!
We did the 1880's train ride too a few years ago. We have sweatshirts to prove it, too. It was supposed to be a warm, sunny day, we got the sunny part right... :c)
ReplyDeleteGreat photos looks like a great area and very interesting.
ReplyDeleteWe have to do that train sometime when we are up there, it looks neat. We love that fry bread that the Indian tacos are on, we bought the mix for it and put all sorts of stuff on it. This week will be pork carnitas with queso fresca :-).
ReplyDeleteGlad you are able to use the VIP pass. We too were happy we did not have to pay for the Borglum museum! Make sure you do the Presidential Wax Museum. It was great!
ReplyDeleteThose old trains are so much fun but I'm sure glad all our trains don't pollute that much or maybe they do and we just don't see it. Love Indian Tacos! Good luck to George on the upcoming appointment.
ReplyDeleteJealous! Would love that ride. Sort of reminds me of the Strasburg RR near where we are now.
ReplyDeleteGreat trip, we love train rides:)
ReplyDeleteGlad the Drs appt went well:)
ReplyDeleteLove train rides, and that one sounds like fun. The Indian taco sounds delicious!
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