Are you thinking how did we get from Salt Lake City, Utah to South Dakota so
quickly? We’ve been driving a LOT and decided to take a “vacation” and let
someone else do the driving and planning!
So we flew to Rapid City, SD to start a Caravan bus trip that would take
us to see Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Little Big Horn, Yellowstone and back to
Salt Lake City.
Full disclosure, we also drove to South Dakota after the bus trip, so places noted
below are part of the bus trip and part of our driving trip!
Lead / Deadwood:
We arrived in Rapid City in the middle of a hailstorm! Thanks to our Lyft driver, we made it safely
to our hotel. Thankfully the next day
was gorgeous as we spent it with friends that live in Spearfish, SD. They were wonderful hosts! We had a lovely drive through the Black Hills
on our way to Hill City where we had a fabulous lunch at the Alpine Inn. We stopped at beautiful
Lake Pactola:
We then headed to Lead where we spent some time at the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center.
We learned about the history of the Homestake Mine, the largest mine in the
western hemisphere. Both gold and silver
were mined here over a period of 126 years!
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| Homestake Mine |
In 1965 a chemist built a solar neutrino experiment down in the
Homestake Mine. It turns out that this
location is ideal for such a lab as it is sheltered by thick rock so that
physics experiments are protected from cosmic rays. The Lab is still in use for continued
research on neutrinos, dark matter and other projects.
That was pretty heavy stuff, so we headed to the Chubby Chipmunk for a
chocolate truffle!
Our next stop was Deadwood, a gold rush town from 1876 to 1879.
Fun fact: Long after the gold
rush ended, the brothels of Deadwood continued to operate. It wasn’t until 1980 when the federal and
state authorities were finally able to shut down the last 4 remaining brothels!
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| Look closely in the windows -- there may still be some "activity" |
The Adams
Museum is a great place to learn about the history of Deadwood, including
Wild Bill Hickok!
Speaking of whom, at the suggestion of our friends, we later visited
the Mt. Moriah Cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried!
Rapid City:
Downtown Rapid City features bronze statues of the U.S. Presidents on
the street corners. Here are just a few
– getting us in the mood for a much larger presidential sculpture!
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| John F. Kennedy |
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| Herbert Hoover |
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| Lyndon B. Johnson |
Mount Rushmore:
The entrance to Mount Rushmore makes one feel like a VIP, with a
walk “flanked” by each of the U.S.
flags!
What more can one say – the view is more amazing than any picture can
portray:
Crazy Horse:
There is another sculpture in the Black Hills – close to Mount
Rushmore! The Crazy Horse Memorial is a
work in progress (since 1948) of the Lakota leader Crazy Horse, that will
preserve the culture and heritage of the North American Indians.
This 1/34th scale model provides an idea of what the
finished sculpture will look like:
On the campus is The Indian Museum of North America, which features a
collection of art and artifacts reflecting the culture of over 300 Native
Nations. This painting really spoke to
me:
Wall / The Badlands:
One reason we chose to return to South Dakota on our driving trip was
to visit the Badlands. We found lodging
in the town of Wall, known for Wall
Drug Store:
This is no ordinary Drug store today, but a mall of shops and dining
options.
I couldn’t resist this t-shirt graphic!
There is a great scenic drive through the Badlands National Park. I was especially surprised at how green the
area was, even around the rock formations!
Prairie dogs are BIG in South Dakota!
Close to the Badlands National Park is a Visitor Center for the Minuteman Missile National Historic
Site. We didn’t visit any of the facilities; however, the Visitor Center had
a comprehensive exhibit. Remember this
TV add?
Next week hint: the state which has the National Oregon / California
Trail Center (not Oregon or California)!