After visiting Little Bighorn Battlefield, we stopped by Custer Battlefield Trading Post & Cafe on the Crow Indian reservation.
Swag:
Cafe:
Menu:
We’re big fans of Indian fry bread, so had Indian tacos for dinner:
exploring
Attractions and other places we visit.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
We visited Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana.
Just a quick visit, after a long drive of our coach on a one night stop.
Map:
Temporary visitor center:
Custer National Cemetery:
Battlefield drive:
Battlefield markers show where soldiers fell:
Custer’s monument:
Mount Coolidge, Wind Cave National Park, Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park
A scenic drive up Mount Coolidge in Custer State Park, then anti-clockwise through Wind Cave National Park (which is still not available for cave tours), and back through Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park, with lots of bison seen.
A fire lookout at the top of Mount Coolidge, at 6,020 feet elevation:
Views:
Bison in Wind Cave National Park:
Pigtail loop in Wind Cave National Park:
One lane bridge in Wind Cave National Park:
More bison in Wind Cave National Park:
Out of the park, along a dirt road:
To an entrance back into Wind Cave National Park:
Then joining Custer State Park’s Wildlife Loop:
Bison Center:
A map showing where the wildlife was at the time. We told the ranger that the burros were actually in the corrals in front of the Bison Center (the fence was open, so they wandered in to eat the tasty food):
Wild burros and fans:
Following that map, we found a large herd of bison:
Nice.
Iron Mountain Road, Needles Highway, Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park
We enjoyed a super scenic drive though Custer State Park, along Iron Mountain Road and Needles Highway, with multiple narrow tunnels, fun twisty roads, and impressive views. Then went along the Wildlife Loop.
The map from their website; click or tap to see larger:
An interactive map of our route; we started at the Legion Lake Campground, heading northeast towards the Norbeck Overlook waypoint along the Iron Mountain Road, continuing anti-clockwise to Sylvan Lake, where we had lunch and a walk, then through the middle and clockwise around the Wildlife Loop, back to the campground:
A narrow and low tunnel:
Two narrow and low tunnels:
The second tunnel emerges to a bridge and corkscrew:
Another narrow tunnel:
This one has a peek of Mount Rushmore:
We went past Mount Rushmore on the route (been there before; not worth stopping again):
The first tunnel on the Needles Highway:
A selfie at Sylvan Lake:
We strolled along the lakeside after lunch; one of our favorite places:
Needle’s Eye:
Needle’s Eye tunnel:
More interesting rocks:
Wildlife:
Legion Lake in Custer State Park
While staying at the Legion Lake Campground in Custer State Park, we wandered across the road to the Legion Lake Lodge and the Dockside Grill for dinner, followed by a stroll along the lakeside.
A view of our coach from the lake parking lot:
Lake and lodge:
Turtle:
Gift store:
Dockside Grill:
A stroll along the lakeside:
A nice lake.
Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village National Historic Landmark
We visited the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village in Mitchell, South Dakota, which includes a museum and a covered archeological dig site.
Exhibits in the museum:
Sculpture:
The “Archeodome” covers an archeological dig site:
Interesting stuff.
Mitchell Corn Palace
We stopped by the World’s Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota (Wikipedia info). It’s a multi-use arena decorated in corn and other grains, with the decorations changing each year:
Inside continues the corn theme:
Sheets for coloring:
The arena was set up with swag for sale, with more corn art around the walls:
We bought some interesting popcorn:
An interesting place.
Mall of America
We visited the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.
According to Wikipedia, it is the largest mall in the United States, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and the twelfth largest shopping mall in the world.
We had dinner at Shake Shack (first time we’ve seen one since we visited New York years ago):
In addition to being a huge mall, the center is filled with an amusement park:
Minnesot-ah!:
It’s an impressive mall… but still just a mall.
Baseball: Minnesota Twins vs Philadelphia Phillies
We attended a baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the Philadelphia Phillies, playing at the Twin’s ballpark,Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Target Field entrance:
Seating:
Selfie:
Team store:
Cheddar brats and pretzel:
A citizenship ceremony:
Map:
Ballpark from outfield:
Putting:
Winnebago camper van:
More ballpark angles:
“Win! Twins!”:
Rotating ball and big screen:
Concessions:
Mascot TC Bear, kid, “animal control” handler:
Lots of screens:
“Unapologetically Loud”:
Mascots:
Dippin’ Dots:
At one point the lineup screen showed the Mariners lineup?!
Then the screens blanked out while they fixed that:
Run scores:
Twins win:
Final score and stats:
Baseball: Field of Dreams Movie Site
We visited the Field of Dreams Movie Site in Dyersville, Iowa, location of the classic Field of Dreams baseball movie, starring Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones.
We were fortunate enough to be able to time our visit for one of the four annual Ghost Players shows.
Us in front of the house from the movie:
Corn by the numbers:
Field of Dreams swag shop:
The three messages from the movie:
Speech from the movie:
Snack shop:
The field, with the house in the background:
Ghost players emerging from the corn:
Plus some guests:
Ghost player antics:
Our seats and cart:
Selfie by the corn where the ghost players emerged:
Jenn amongst the corn:
We also signed up for a guided tour of the house from the movie (which people can actually stay at), with a bunch of memorabilia:
Switch for the field lights (in the movie):
View of the field from the house:
Sitting on the porch swing seat:
A special place for baseball movie fans.