A quick Labor Day weekend trip to western South Dakota helped me tick off five parks toward my goal of seeing 100 by August 25, 2016. It also proved the common adage that it’s not about the destination, but about the journey (sooo cliche, right?!). While I’ve already posted little snippets about each of the National Parks Service sites I visited, I had so many great memories and photos from other stops along the way that I had to share.

Everything Custer State Park is amazing. Luckily, the Airbnb that I was staying in was very close and made that route a nice short cut to some of the National Parks. The first evening, I drove through the park to go to the State Game Lodge, a lodge with a lovely restaurant. A sign on the large front porched noted that President Coolidge lived there in the summer of 1927.

Both driving there and driving back, I made frequent stops for wild life. The views were stunning:

Another great drive was on the north end of the park along highway 16A. While driving along the windy roads leading up and down the Black Hills, you’re able to peak through tunnels and see Mount Rushmore and great views of the Black Hills and valley. An overlook at the top provided one of the best views and was a great place to stop!

The final highlight of my trip was the Airbrb stay. This trip was planned pretty last minute so I found the spot on a whim and couldn’t have been happier. My dog, Zoey, loved being able to run around in the yard and the proximity to Custer State Park was great. The location offered great views of the sunrise and sunset and I enjoyed laying in the hammock in the front lawn relaxing. The number of stars you can see when out of the city and under the big sky was amazing! I even got to meet their chickens and help pluck eggs from the coop. What a great find!