The Cabin

Upon receiving a quarterly bonus in the spring, Chad did a Google search for cabins near Mt. Rushmore knowing that I have wanted to go there most of my life and have felt an even greater desire to go over the last few years as other people we know have gone. That afternoon he tells me he has found a cabin to rent that is only $35 per night. The only catch is that we have to bring our own mattresses and it does not have a shower and the toilet is in an outhouse. I was so excited that he was planning a trip to Mt. Rushmore that I of course told him to go ahead and book it not really knowing anything else about the cabin. 

Through the months, I was given more details about the cabin. Each detail I was given made the it sound less ideal. A few weeks before we were to leave, Chad shows me pictures and all that registers in my brain is that there are bunkbeds. At this point, I'm starting to wonder why we would be camping in a cabin where it seemed we wouldn't even be able to sleep in the same bed. I still really wanted to go to Mt. Rushmore and the cave tour that we had planned and didn't want to hurt his feelings, so I didn't say anything about my hesitance to stay in a cabin with no electricity, no shower, and an outhouse. I thought that we would basically be camping in a wood tent with bunkbeds. 

The night before leaving, we went online and mapped out our route to the Summit Ridge Lookout Cabin. We discover it is closer to the Wyoming/South Dakota border than we had thought. In fact, it was about an hour and a half from our main destination, Mt. Rushmore. This was one more strike for the cabin I did not the most interesting details about. 

As the morning of our departure arrives, Chad loads up the car with our camping gear minus the tent and prints off the directions in case we lose GPS signal or our phones overheat in our non-airconditioned  as we drive. Then, we make the 6ish hour drive to our home for the weekend.

As we drive up to this lone cabin in the woods, I find out the most interesting detail about this cabin which makes all of the inconveniences completely worth it. This cabin was the quarters of the people who served as fire lookouts for the tower across the way. The cabin was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1942 and housed lookout until 1972. 

As we entered the cabin, I grew to love it even more! I couldn't believe how lucky we were to be able to stay in a piece of history. After getting settled in, we decided to hike on a nearby trail. About a quarter of a mile into our hike, we crossed the border from South Dakota back into Wyoming. I don't know many people who have been able to say they hiked in two states in one day. (Yes. I know people do it. I just don't know them.) After our hike, we played card games in the little kitchen until it was time to make our campfire and cook dinner. Later that night, we sat around the fire enjoying the still of the night. As the day turned to night, we could see stars popping out in a beautiful way. Eventually, it was completely dark and the fire was out. We looked up and saw the most glorious vision I have seen in a long time. I am not sure I have been that far away from all lights ever. There were more stars than I knew was possible to see with the naked eye. Once I again, I was reminded how lucky we were to have booked this cabin. Words cannot express how much I loved the time we were able to spend in this cabin. I hope to be able to take the kids up there at some point so they can take in how amazing it is.