Yes, we went to the Black Hills, Custer State Park exactly. Now, I'm a Yellowstone fan. Black Hills, they're OK, but Yellowstone is one of the top 3 in the lower 48. We've been to Yellowstone more times than I can count and it always rocks. But something happened this time. I tried the Black Hills and I liked it, yep, I liked it, maybe even loved it.
Why the change, you ask? Closer, easier to get to. Nice 8 hour drive from Lincoln. But all that shows is that I'm getting older and wimpier. I used to be able to do the longer drive in my sleep. Now I think, shorter, maybe I'll get more sleep.
So that's not a really great reason for me to say I loved the Black Hills. Here's another. My girls loved it. Nuff said. Actually, they loved the campground, the pine air, the scenery, the views, the animals(not near as many as you know, Yellowstone, but still quite a bit), but here is the clincher, the hiking trails. They came back very satisfied with the hiking. And that's a big deal at my house. Well, nuff said again.
For me, I think at this time in my life, anything that takes the stress level down is pretty important. And the Black Hills did that for me. Easy to get to, took some beautiful roads through some beautiful parts of Nebraska, and arrived at a beautiful place.
Probably do it again.