You Only Live Once!

 

 

One of my family's favorite spots in the Black Hills was Sylvan Lake. It happens to be one of the most popular destinations in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Located along Needles Highway in Custer State Park, the views upon arrival are nothing short of spectacular. The lake is surrounded by show-stopping rock formations that will immediately entice you to stay. The rocks will lure both young and old to "go jump in a lake".  This I know from experience! We managed to slow my oldest down, who's mantra became "Can I jump off the rocks?" by force feeding everyone upon arrival before setting out for any adventure. The park has ample picnic areas, which we took full advantage of. There is also a general store that rents watercraft like canoes, kayaks and paddleboats, although we longed to try paddleboards on it, as we had seen others use. In addition to the general store, there are various restroom facilities around the park, a lodge that offers dining, and a campground. Parking is at a premium, however, and leaving early, if you manage to plan ahead, would probably be the best decision outside of deciding to come here that you could make all day. Did I mention how popular this place is? It fills up quickly and people tend to stay for a while. How could you not? 

After filling our tanks, I used delay tactic #2 to stall for more time. We decided to hike the Lake Area Trail, which is about one mile long and goes, you guessed it, around the lake. I should tell you though, don't expect this to be completely flat. There are some changes in elevation and rock climbing, but the trail itself is relatively easy. Good footwear should be used, as well as good sense, which did seem to be lacking in the younger members of our group. The hike was pleasant and sometimes jaw dropping, showcasing many rock formations that surround the lake. Views from the upper spots on trail are quite stunning and it even had some interesting surprises. 

The whining hit a new level after some uphill climbs, however, and cries of "when can we swim?" echoed through the lovely rock formations. So after much ado, the quest for broken necks began! We turned around and headed for the beach.

The boys wasted no time in bee-lining it the the water's edge. The rest of us wandered around, looking for a good place to park it. It was now hot, which did make the presence of cool mountain water even more enticing. While my husband high-tailed it to our vehicle to change, the rest of us sat at the beach watching others partake in some fun in the sun. I kept reminding my boys of the sign I saw when we first arrived. Fines will be levied for jumping off the rocks, although we all observed many others ignore these posted rules. When I first passed one of these signs, I admit to only getting a cursory glance and thought it said there was a fine of $100,000. Yes, that would be a big deterrent, I thought. However, next time I passed sign, with the boys, I realized it was only $100, to which the oldest declared that it was "no big deal". Easy for him to say! He insisted that no park ranger would make a kid pay $100. It was a rule, though, I insisted, to which he said, "Rules are made to be broken." Ah, yes. He harassed me about this endeavor for quite some time before I gave in, sort of, by saying they could jump off the smaller rock, and ONLY the smaller rock. This seemed to appease them for the time being. I am decidedly not normally a "rule breaker" but to get some peace and quiet, I had to come up with a fair compromise. The mother in me was screaming inside my head, but the screams of protest OUTSIDE my head were much louder. My husband also acquiesced when he arrived back at the beach and swam out with them to the smaller rock, like the fox with the scorpion.

Once out there, I almost completely missed them jumping as I walked back and did my best packhorse impression, carrying the cooler back to the beach from the distant parking lot. Did I mention it was hot? Once back, I saw they had moved from the smaller rock I had given my consent for to the much higher rock from which necks could most likely be broken. I did not see too many people jumping from here, although I did spot a park ranger making his rounds. This sighting thrilled me, as it gave me new ammunition in my quest to keep boys from their rule breaking expedition. They eventually returned to the beach with my husband and began regaling me about the others whom they had seen jump from the higher rock. "They jumped off that spot over there," he said pointing to a dizzyingly high spot on the rock they just came from. "See, they're fine, Mom," as if another person's luck has anything to do with my kid's quest. I told them about the park ranger and this did not appear to impress any of them. Once again, I held my ground. "Rules are rules. I already let you jump off those other rocks. Isn't that enough?" Apparently not. He persisted, "Can you at least walk over there with me and look? It's pretty cool." This I could do, as I had been thinking of venturing over to see the view from up there. Once there, we saw some people who had just jumped come back up. Not exactly helping my case. The one jumped again while we stood there, smiling before taking the plunge. A female adult nonetheless! I felt outnumbered and betrayed. Clearly, she was not a mother! This isn't good, I thought. Then my husband swam over with the younger one. Once they climbed out of the water, Josh immediately asked his dad if he could jump, just once. Without missing a beat, he complied. Traitor! I thought we had agreed on only the smaller rock. Steve told me later that he'd have done the same thing when he was younger so couldn't say no. I could have! But I said, "Fine, just once," and he smiled broadly, immediately heading for the ledge. I couldn't watch. I imagined all sorts of horrible things happening and didn't want to actually view it if it happened to come true. Afterwards, when he climbed out of the water, he told me that before he jumped, he whispered to himself, "You only live once!" then took the plunge. I couldn't watch, officially nominating myself as supreme worrywart, mother of the year. Motherhood is so treacherous! He made it, obviously, otherwise I wouldn't have known what he said. I could let out a sigh of relief because that ended his constant pestering, although he did try to allow "one more time" before leaving the water. No one complied this time. Thank God! 

This ended our time at Sylvan Lake. It was getting on in the day and we had at least an hour's drive back to our cabin in Lead. We followed the visit up with one last hurrah on Needles Highway, taking in the memory making views. 

 It was a wonderful day and we were all so glad to have decided to just spend the day at Sylvan Lake instead of trying to fit in a million different things. It was divine and it will definitely be one of our best memories from South Dakota and the Black Hills. You only DO live once and we were glad that in this lifetime we got to spend the perfect day in such a spectacular place. It is one for the books!