It’s spectacular: Red Shirt Table Overlook.
On our way to Wounded Knee in the Badlands SD, we came to the crest of a hill. We were awestruck. The view was like nothing I had ever seen before.
Life Happens
We took a trip out west in our RV during the summer of 2022. It was our second try to visit Mount Rushmore and sites around the Black Hills. Our first attempt in 2021 was detoured when Cindy's mom ended up in the hospital. We had to cut the 2021 trip short and make a beeline for Dubuque, Iowa.
This trip had a hiccup as well: Cindy had emergency eye surgery for a detached retina in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The surgery went well, but the surgeon put a gas bubble in her eye to help it heal - and it limited us to an elevation climb of only 1,000 ft. above Sioux Falls.
Plan B
As planned, our friend Robin still flew in to Sioux Falls to meet us. The three of us (and our dog Lucy) headed off to Rapid City SD in the RV. Problem was when we got to the campground at the Black HIlls we'd hit the highest elevation that Cindy could go. We were only 25 miles from Mount Rushmore, but it was all uphill. Too much uphill. So, we made a plan B.
Wounded Knee
Robin told us she decided to become a lawyer after she read the book "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee." We came up with a new plan to drive through the Lakota Nation in the Fiat and go visit Wounded Knee. What we saw at Wounded Knee was heartbreaking (that's another story), but on the drive there we discovered the view in the photo you see at the top of this post.
Wow
The Lakota Nation is pretty flat; some rolling hills, but miles and miles of plains with not much to see. However, as we rounded a corner and started to head up a hill, there was a sign that said "Scenic Overlook." At the crest of the hill was in fact the most scenic overlook I've ever seen. All of us were awe-struck. For miles and miles ... there was the most spectacular view of the Badlands in the United States. By accident we happened on Red Shirt Table Overlook.
The picture at the top of this post doesn't do it justice. It was truly spectacular.
