Prayer at the Center of the Universe

South Dakota's Black Hills — National Parks Trip Part 5

Custer State Park is not a National Park (obviously), but it does encompass 71,000 acres of the South Dakota Black Hills. It is conveniently close to Badlands (a mere 85 miles) and Wind Cave (an even closer 5 miles). As a bonus, it is 15 miles from Mount Rushmore and incredibly dog-friendly.

My best friend Penny Dog was forced to view the Badlands from the window of the rented to Tacoma and occasionally from the overlook parking lots. But Penny craves adventure as much as I do, maybe more.

To be on a true adventure, one must venture beyond paved surfaces, and Custer State Park has plenty of pooch-perfect trails.

The park is named after a man whose military career was essentially a shitshow that ended with two bullet wounds — one in his chest and one in front of his left temple — at the Battle of Little Bighorn, which also left 268 of his men dead and another 55 severely wounded.

Custer is also responsible for discovering gold in the Black Hills. Greed is a powerful thing, and the discovery of scratch in the mountains sent thousands of white settlers flooding into land long held sacred by the Lakota Sioux.

An 1868 treaty, signed at Fort Laramie, designated millions of acres west of the Missouri River for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Great Sioux Nation, encompassing over a dozen tribes.

The treaty says the US government “solemnly agrees that no person, except those herein designated and authorized so to do…shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in the territory described in this article.”

Obviously, the Sioux were more than a little pissed to find money-grubbing white men clamoring around their sacred (and privately owned) land.

The US Government attempted to purchase the land, but the Sioux understandably gave them the big middle finger.

It was a wild and violent situation, with Indians attacking miners, miners attacking Indians, and outlaws ransacking Indians and miners alike. The US Government concluded that the only remaining option was to protect its citizens mining in the Black Hills.

They ended up with the Great Sioux War of 1876 and Custer's Last Stand at Little Bighorn.

Yes, there was a wardrobe change. Weather is unpredictable, and luck favors the prepared.

Of course, the US government eventually got its way. After much bloodshed, the Black Hills are the property of the good ole US of A, and now much of the rolling wildness and jaw-dropping scenery is part of state land named after the dude who pretty much set the whole thing in motion.

The Black Hills are stirring. It’s easy to understand why the Lakota still consider the ground sacred and why they fought so fiercely to protect it.

On Independence Day, we hiked from Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park into Black Elk Wilderness to the top of Black Elk Peak, the highest natural point in South Dakota. It was a strenuous 8-mile hike, but well worth the effort and the hail storm we endured on the way back down.

Penny having her own spiritual moment.

The peak sits 7,242 feet above sea level and provides a stunning view that stretches to include South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Montana.

To the Lakota, it is known as Okawita Paha, or the Gathering Place. To them, it is the center of the universe.

At the peak, colorful lengths of cloth are tied to pine trees left as offerings of prayer, intention, or gratitude.

It isn’t a substantial spiritual leap to believe that you can talk directly to god up there, so far above the hustle and chaos of our modern lives.

So, I did.