About a week before we were supposed to leave, Carrie was in Durango working on the mountain. (She worked with fishies in rivers and that's the extent of my knowledge of her work. Most of it goes over my head and I just nod and smile. Works every time.) Anyway, she was climbing up a hill when she saw it. A terrifyingly huge, giant man-eating beetle! She got so scared that she ran away and slipped, tripped and down she went, smashing her ankle and ultimately breaking it. (Alright, so maybe it wasn't a man eating beetle, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.) She had to be carried off the mountain and was taken to the nearest hospital. They gave her crutches and a splint and sent her home. For the next few days, we iced her ankle, elevated it and did everything in our power to reduce the swelling. When she was finally able to get into the doctor, they informed her that it was broken and she would be in a cast. We were to leave in two days, not exactly the type of news we wanted to hear. There was a silver lining to this very dark cloud, it was a "nice break" (yeah cause any type of break is nice), but within a few days she should be able to walk on it. They gave her a boot and off we went. Despite the ankle break, Carrie still went. (It was not because she wanted to ride a train or even see a train. She wanted to get out of town and we were going to Mount Rushmore, something she had been wanting to go visit again.)
Flash forward it's Thursday and when my Mom got off, we packed up the car and headed to Fort Collins. Carrie and I were stuck in the back and I had the pleasure of having a pillow and giant green cast on my lap (don't you worry, I had a sharpie and busied myself decorating it).
It's eight hours to our destination and we decided to break it up. Carrie and I spent a sleepless night thanks to a very large bear sleeping in the room with us. (This bear shall not be named, but he sure did make quite the racket!) The next morning we met up with Ed, Milissa and Josh in Fort Collins. We had to drive separately because there wasn't enough room for suit cases, gear, crutches, casts and cameras. Anyway, we spent the next five hours driving through the riveting scenery of Wyoming and South Dakota. Oh, did I forget to mention that the weekend we decided to go was also the ending weekend of Sturgis? Oh yes, we saw bikers coming and going. We were definitely out of place with our car.
We arrived in Custer, South Dakota after several potty breaks and stretches. Now let me tell you a little about Custer. Custer is a quaint little town that closes up in the winter. When we arrived, we were at the end of their tourist season. However, thanks to Sturgis Week most places were still open and managed to stay open past six. Did you know that Custer also houses the Town of Bedrock? I kid you not, our hotel was right across from Bedrock City Theme Park and Camping Resort. Just the sight of the buildings took me back to my childhood. Who doesn't love the Flintstones??
After settling in, we headed down main street and searched for a parking spot. We're talking hundreds of motorcycles and no place for two cars. I will say that Carrie's cast came in handy because when we did find a parking spot we had to cross four lanes of traffic. A bright green cast gets people's attention and they let her and I cross, however, the rest of the crew wasn't as lucky. Finding a place that can seat seven people without a huge wait was a challenge and after several attempts, we found one. After lunch, we headed to Mount Rushmore.
It just so happened that when we were at Mount Rushmore, it decided to rain. Casts and water are not a good mix and we had to hustle indoors. I haven't been to Mount Rushmore since I was little, but every time I see it, it takes my breath away. I can't imagine taking on a task that huge. While we were there we had the pleasure of witnessing a very narrow-minded person. There were two young guys with accents out enjoying the view. They were taking pictures together and goofing around. Nothing major of course, but they were standing on the cement blocks acting like they were holding up the heads. Several others were doing the same. Then this lovely older gentleman decided to harass them by telling them to go back to their own country. He also asked if they would like it if he went to their country and desecrated their monuments. The two young men shrugged him off and tried to ignore him, but the man wouldn't stop. Finally, they explained that they were from this country and they were doing nothing wrong. I was taken back by such rudeness, it made me sad to call myself an American. These two guys were doing nothing wrong. His son and wife tried to steer the man away, but he wouldn't drop it. When he finally did leave, I realized it wasn't about the photos, the man had a problem with the fact that the two men were a couple. It took a lot not to trip this man as he walked by.
Back to the weekend. We drove around the mountainside taking in the beautiful views. It is sad to know that the pine beetle is making a huge impact on the forest, leaving hundreds of trees dead. They are trying to thin the forest to help, but it is a long process and they can only go so fast. It doesn't have to be said that this causes a huge fire danger. It was on our way back to Custer that I saw this sign and nearly died laughing. I do believe we need one like this in Colorado.
We also stopped at a local winery and had a tasting. Hey what can I say, we like our wine, beer and rum. The rest of the night we spent eating pizza and preparing for the day ahead (what else are you gonna do?) We woke early and headed to Hill City. Now let me explain a little about the 1880 Train. Although the name implies one train there are actually three different ones that will run on any given day. They have a few more, but these do not run. The first engine is quite magnificent: Steam Engine #7.
Now despite the way she is parked, she does run. She was built in 1919 and worked for the Ozan-Graysonia Lumber Company. I hope that one day I am lucky enough to see her run. She is quite beautiful.
The engine that we did get to ride was Engine #104.
She pulled the train backwards from Hill City to Keystone and then back. It just so happens that she crossed Old Hill City Highway several times. Along the ride we made plans for where we were going to stop when our ride was over. The ride was only a little over two hours which gave us plenty of time to chase. It was a pleasant ride and the mountains were beautiful. I wish that I could've been there when the colors were changing. I guess that will be another trip. Anyway, we got off the train and bolted to Keystone. We wanted to catch the engine when it was in front of the train, which only happens when it's coming back from Keystone. We quickly ate and got in position.
It had been cloudy most of the day and it became a challenge shooting in between bursts of sunlight. During one of our stops the clouds opened up and dumped on us. Again, how lucky can we get? It stopped within five minutes of starting, but we had been standing by the side of the road for those five minutes. You can see the rain in some of these shots.
Thankfully it only rained on us once, but it can make a person nervous considering our last run in with a storm. We climbed hills, stood close to the engine and took lots of shots. (Don't worry we were at a safe-ish distance.) Josh and I were a little disappointed in the shots because of the clouds making the photos dark and dingy, so we made a plan to hit the first train on Sunday before returning home.
It was after the ride that I learned that their third engine would be running on Monday. This engine was the whole reason I wanted to go to South Dakota. If I would have had another way to get home, you could bet that I would've stayed.
The engine I wanted to see was Engine 110 pictured above. I was lucky enough to get a shot from another perspective. Although it was out the day we were there, it was not scheduled to run. It is such a unique engine and here's why. This is a 2-6-6-2T Articulated Mallet built in 1928. Now for those of you who don't understand what I just said, here's the only thing you need to know. It is the only one of it's kind operating in the WORLD. Yes that's right, WORLD. It is my hope that in 2013 I can see her in action.
We went back to the room, relaxed and waited for the evening. While we were waiting, we perused the shops and ate ice cream. Yay for ice cream. We grabbed a quick bite and headed back to Mount Rushmore where we got some shots of when it was lit at night.
The next day, the sun was out and it looked like a better day than the previous. It was also when most of the bikers had left and there wasn't as much traffic to deal with. Things were looking good. The only problem we had now was making sure we were on the right side of the engine for the sun. This is what I ended up with.
It was during one of the last shots of the day that my Dad, Ed and I crossed the track. We crossed early enough, but the engineer did not feel the same way. He shouted from the engine "Don't do that again." We've chased a lot of trains and have had some close calls, but this was definitely not one of them. To this day we are still stumped as to what could have caused him to get so cranky.
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