Monday would be Custer's last stand for Jay, Sasha and JoJo.
Fortunately, they packed a lot into their weekend stay, and being able to work days from the road while traveling proved to be a Godsend.
Sasha had to be at her virtual desk for the start of the work day at 8 AM, so she wasn't able to join us on a morning hike around Center Lake despite a relatively early start.
We drove over in two cars with a plan to meet at the parking lot for Center Lake. It turned out the directions to that parking lot weren't clearly marked, and we didn't have cell service in that part of Custer State Park. When our car arrived first, we worried we might have a problem meeting up, if there was a different parking lot for the hike, but that turned out to not be an issue.
As Mark Twain sagely wrote, "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened."
Almost immediately, we realized we had another problem: a hiking trail that wasn't clearly designated, but we solved that too.
In that case, we may have wandered in the wrong direction a time or two, but we circled the lake without losing anyone in our party. One time in particular, Laszlo and I traveled downhill and looped uphill on the other side of the dam that drains into the lake, while Emma, Gina and Julie took a shortcut on the concrete that ran alongside the dam. For iPhones keeping track, it would have shown we walked quite a few more steps and climbed more stories but ended up in the same place.
Emma's new hiking shoes performed well. Gina bought them for her on Saturday in Custer because Emma didn't want to get her white Adidas dirty on hiking trails.
Emma had worked hard to clean those shoes that she'd selected for sleepaway camp earlier in the summer. She always takes special care in being well-groomed, but she also likes conquering the challenges and adventure of a hike once she gets going.
After the hike, we headed over to the Visitor's Center to watch that great IMAX movie about the park narrarated by Kevin Costner. Julie and I enjoyed it so much in 2016 that we wanted to be sure as many people in our group as possible saw it, returning the next day with Darlene and Brooks.
As soon as we had cell service, however, Jay was on his phone working. He opted to stay outside with JoJo to take care of some phone calls and emails rather than accept Julie's offer to watch our "granddogger."
After the movie, Jay's Range Rover headed back to the hotel with not only JoJo but also Gina and Emma. Gina and Emma don't like being in a car any more than the bare minimum.
Laszlo, Julie and I drove around the wildlife loop in Laszlo's car. Five years ago, Julie and I were overwhelmed by the large herds of buffalo and other animals we saw, but whether because it was a warm day or some other reason, they weren't as plentiful this day. That's not to say we didn't see wildlife, which we did, including the friendly donkeys.
Emma watched JoJo for most of the day, allowing Jay and Sasha to focus on work, and when Uncle Jay gave her $20 for dog-sitting, that made her day.
Darlene, Brooks and their Pomeranian Teddy arrived late that afternoon, and Gina had planned for the occasion, setting up a nice spread of fresh vegetables, crackers, dips and wine on a green tablecloth in one of the cozy outdoor spots.
Jay produced cans craft beers for he and I, but all too soon he, Sasha and JoJo had to hit the road for Denver, where they planned to spend the night.
They would literally be working their way back home, spending days online in the virtual office and then driving in the evenings to their next stops.
That evening, Brooks asked where there would be a good burger. Our first thought was the place we went the first night, Black Hills Burger and Bun Co., where our Double D burger had been huge and delicious, and Gina's hamburger salad looked enticing, but with Teddy coming, we opted to return to the outdoor dining at Pounding Fathers Mount Rushmore Brewery.
This time, we were forced to sit in the downstairs patio of the Tap Room, because our usual balcony area was full. The Tap Room had a different menu than the upstairs menu, notably lacking their best meal, Tatanka Steak.
Unfortunately, service was terrible on this occasion, taking twenty minutes to get water and then a long gap before the meals arrived. The hamburger Julie and I split, however, tasted great. Brooks opted for meatloaf sandwich that he said was good. I don't remember what others had, although I think Darlene had deep-fried Corn Fritters, which I sampled and didn't like. The photo of Mount Rushmore Brewery at night was actually taken by Jay on one of the prior two evenings there.
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