The Black Hills....Day three, the 1880 Train

Day three dawned another cold one. And still a bit drizzly. Well, such is life in a season of strange weather the nation over. No big deal. I was certainly feeling a ton better, just a little bit stuffy with a bit of a cough. At least it was something I could deal with.

We left after breakfast for a little adventure. The Black Hills Central Railroad, also known as the 1880 Train. Named such because the tracks were laid in 1880. It's a two-hour round trip ride. Given that's the town we were staying in, we obviously left from the Keystone station. Oh, what a beautiful ride!! I was already in love with these hills, but seeing it from this angle and places we would've otherwise missed....oh my....

We learned about the various settlements, the "Mining House," where miners stayed and shopped, different historical facts, saw remnants of the 1972 flood, and learned about the train being used in media events such as the HBO series, "Deadwood," and Steven Spielberg's TV mini-series, "Into The West." We learned some of the history of the train cars we road in, and where some of the engines came from.

Incidentally, the particular engine that was powering our time on the rails was one we were actually familiar with. When I was a young girl we would take day trips to the Heber Valley in Utah. It wasn't far from us. The railroad there used to own and display this engine. How cool! Thank goodness someone was able to place this beautiful beast back into service!

We had only a 15-minute layover in Hill City. We could have explored a bit in that town, but we wanted to be sure we had a way back to Keystone. Not knowing much about the layout of the town, and wanting to get back to Keystone for some food, we decided to stay put. Almost. We switched train cars. We were able to get a better view from our new seats and Luke had a bit more room to stretch out.

Among the sights greeting us from the windows were the wildlife of the area. We counted numerous deer, including a fawn who looked a bit bewildered by the loud and lumbering thing passing it, a fox, marmots, and a soaring hawk. Luke didn't see them, he conked out.

When we arrived back in Keystone and departed the train, we had a moment to get a closer look at the powerful engine. Grampa was able to snap a couple of pictures, too. We took a few minutes in the gift shop to look for some postcards (better pictures than we can take) and Luke found a train he insisted he needed. We found out later the train makes noise...oops. But that's alright, he loves it.

The rest of the day was spent wandering the town and partaking in another local eatery. We found the old school, now turned museum, explored some teeny antique shops that reside in old ice houses, marveled more at the rocks all around us (they shimmer in every light), and met some fascinating people.

Nightfall brought us to a hotel that you can see Mt. Rushmore from. We thought we'd get some pictures of the memorial all lit up. Yeah, that was comical. We have some pictures that...well, heck. I don't even know how to describe them! You can decide:

Then it was back to the house for another quiet evening and peaceful slumber. Tomorrow would be another day full of adventure.....