For my friend Mary who is touring the Black Hills right now, a rerun of this poem:
My dad and I at the Deer Huts when I was about 3.
Black Hills Reverie
My dad is coming with us–he doesn’t have to work.
Corn muffins in the oven, and coffee on the perk.
It’s orange juice for sis and me. I take a little sip.
We woke up really early to start out on a trip.
We’re going to the Black Hills where we will spend the night.
We’ll start out just as soon as we have had a little bite.
We’ll stop to pick up my best friend who will go along
They’ve let me plan the whole long day, so nothing will go wrong.
En route we’ll stop at Wall Drug and have an ice cream cone,
then drive on through the Badlands, as dry as any bone.
My dad will sing a song for us–“Lonesome Mountain Bill”–
and let up on the gas petal as we crest the hill
to give our stomachs all a lurch and a little flutter.
My mom will say “Oh Ben!” and then my older sis will mutter.
But Rita and I love this trick and we will urge another–
an action nixed first by my sis and then by my mother.
We’ll stop at Petrified Gardens and see the fossils there,
buy rose quartz and mica and other rock chips rare.
Then on to Reptile Gardens where they wrestle crocodiles,
to ride on giant turtles and view other reptiles.
We stop next at the Cosmos where gravity’s gone amuck.
We’re doing everything I wish. I can’t believe my luck!
On to old Rockerville Ghost town where we have our dinner.
If I resisted cherry pie I know I would be thinner,
but with a scoop of ice cream it really is delicious.
Just try to keep it from me–I’m likely to turn vicious!
Next we drive the pigtails, where the road just curls and curls
passing over and over and thrilling three small girls.
We’re going to see Mt. Rushmore–those giant perfect faces.
Perhaps we’ll buy a souvenir if we’re in Dad’s good graces.
Then on to drive Custer State park with the begging burros.
We’ve saved some treats from Rushmore–some peanuts and some churros.
Back to Rockerville we go for supper and a show.
The “Mellerdrammer” (sic) is the place where we’re going to go
to hiss the villain from the crowd, throw peanuts at his back
as he ties the heroine to the railroad track.
Then drive the seven miles to my favorite sleeping place,
though mother doesn’t like it, and she makes a funny face.
“The Deer Huts” are just cabins right up in the trees
and we have to use the outhouse to take our bedtime pees.
We get to walk with flashlights and pick our way with care,
through the ponderosas, where perchance we’ll meet a bear!
I love the moonlit shadows and the night bird calls,
being extra careful to avoid stumbles and falls.
Sometimes we fake the need to pee to take another walk,
and on the way my friend and I walk slowly as we talk
of all the things my parents have let us do today.
We both agree that this has been a perfect sort of day.
My sister Patti and I in the Black Hills, age 7 and 11.
In South Dakota, lunch was dinner and dinner was supper. For the sake of authenticity, I’ve maintained the custom in this description of a child’s perfect day.
The prompt word was lurch.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
That brings back memories. I remember Wall Drug and the Black Hills. My parents even took me to Mount Rushmore. I remember there being signs for Wall Drug all over the place. We just had to go there! I think what I remember that was funny there were these things called “Jackalopes” (cross between Jack Rabbits and antelopes).
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I grew up 50 miles east of Wall Drug on Hwy. 16–now Interstate 90. Loved the Black Hills. Most exotic place on earth for me.
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It’s definitely amazing!
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That’s a lovely poem of a childhood holiday (vacation). Oh and cherry pie and icecream, what’s not to love?
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For breakfast at that!
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My older sister has advised me that the top picture was taken on the way to Yellowstone and was not the Deer Huts, but it is so similar to them that I’m going to leave it as an illustration. I’m wondering if it could be Legion Lake, where I woke up alone from a nap and couldn’t get out of the door so jumped out the window and ran over to my aunt and uncle’s cabin next door, where they were all talking so as not to disturb me. Could that be, Patti?
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No, it’s definitely Yellowstone. That’s the car we had then. I don’t think anyone took photos when we went to Legion Lake.
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Thanks for sharing this poem..looks like there’s one or two places Kip and I left out. It’s as if you wrote the poem as you had the experience. It’s always a big deal when your dad does something your mom outwardly doesn’t approve of, but truthfully, she’s loving every minute…
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Patti tells me we once stayed in your grandfather’s cabin! I was too young to remember, but wish I’d known as I was always envious of your family having a cabin in the Black Hills and always wished I’d be able to stay there. Ironic.
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Which ones did you miss? Perhaps The Cosmos isn’t there anymore. There is a place called “The Gravity Spot” but it isn’t the same.
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We didn’t go to the Reptile gardens…I remember riding those gigantic turtles. They’re long gone now…where is your cat story?
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Damn. You’d think with 5 cats that one of them would cooperate!!! I’d ghost write it, but I’m kept busy running Morrie and Annie to the vet and feeding and cleaning litterboxes for 5 cats and 2 dogs. Morrie’s tumor has grown back. Damn. He’s crying now because I have to lock him in to keep him from jumping into the pool when I exercise. Perhaps I’ll starve submission into those cats, otherwise I’ll bit the bullet and turn into ghost.
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Enjoyed this again!
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Mary, Patti tells me this was your grandad’s cabin we were at in this photo. Does that look right to you? I didn’t know we’d ever been to it, but she said we stayed there once.
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The picture next to the rock looks like it could have been taken at Gmpa’s cabin. There were several huge boulders around.
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Oh yes, now that I look at all the comments, I see that she says it is Yellowstone, but I know there’s one photo of a cabin she says is your grandparents’ cabin. I was just looking at comments without referring back to the post with all the comments. Sorry for confusing the issue.
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