Custer State Park Wildlife Loop Road: Bison, Burros, and 18 Miles of Open Prairie

Buffalo in South Dakota's Custer State Park

We took it with Gracie and Loki — both in the car, which is the right arrangement regardless of your dogs’ temperament — and saw bison close enough that stopping felt involuntary rather than optional. The road winds through open grassland and rolling pine hills, and the wildlife doesn’t observe any particular schedule about when … Read more

Categories USA

Cody, Wyoming: The Complete Travel Guide

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

When we pulled into Yellowstone Valley Inn & RV Park and stepped outside for the first time, the canyon was right there. Not a backdrop, not something visible through a gap between buildings — walls of rock rising on both sides, the road west already cutting into the landscape. That was the moment Cody stopped … Read more

Categories USA

Wind Cave National Park from Hot Springs, SD

Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota

Wind Cave National Park sits about twenty-five minutes north of Hot Springs, and it does something most cave systems don’t: it gives you two completely separate experiences for the price of one. Above ground, there’s a mixed-grass prairie with bison, elk, and prairie dog towns. Below ground, there’s one of the most complex cave systems … Read more

Categories USA