Exploring Rapid City, SD

Rapid City ended up being a plethora of fun and exciting things for families to see and do.  We started at the RV Park office to get another map, no matter how careful I am with local maps; I always lose the first one. You would think in only 32 x 8 feet of space that it would be easier to keep up with things and know where everything is, I have yet to get me and the others in the family trained in the habit of putting everything back in its place when done with it. The host at the office gave us a list of fun things to see/do in their home city.

    

     The first stop on our list was Dinosaur Park. This park was free and on a HUGE hillside overlooking both sides of the city, Rapid City is split into two parts by a ridge of a mountain that offers spectacular views, especially at night. You only had to climb up 578 steps to get to the 50ft statues of dinosaurs to climb and play upon.  After only being in these higher altitudes for a couple of days, I still had not acclimated to the lower oxygen levels and this climb kicked my tail.

      

     Finally I had made it to the top, just in time to witness the lil one climbing upon a triceratops’ head with the most joyful look of glee and amazement. I think they had a statue of just about every dinosaur that as kids we read about and dreamed of having one as a pet.  I you had enough imagination you could easily imagine these huge statues being in your own backyard for you to climb on and slide down their tails; this was exactly what the lil one did.  Soon enough it was time to climb back down the 1096 stairs, by all logic going down should have been easier than the climb; but the higher altitude wasn’t helping me any. 

We went into the ice cream/gift shop next, me being me; ya’ll know I was looking for the clearance table first.  They had everything you would typically see in a tourist trap; the t-shirts, hats and stuffed animals, the rack of science projects that are marked up twice what you’d pay for them at any other store away from the historical sight it was tied to.  We ended up talking the lil one into getting the only thing we have room for, another squished penny stamped with the sight we were visiting; I really have to remember to get us a book to store these in as we are getting quiet the collection going.

     Next on our list was to explore downtown Rapid City, Main Street to be exact. I love strolling through these old historical towns that are still just as they were when they were born, except all the motorized vehicles and paved roads of course.  The lil one is learning a love of history by these trips too. Our only issue here is that the days of old in the lil one’s eyes are the days before remote controls and cordless phones, to think in the ‘old days’ we had to be tied to the wall and change the channels by getting up and pushing buttons.

      Only minutes later and we were parked and walking down Main Street, enjoying all of the life size bronze statues on just about every street corner. After the first few blocks we had decided we would walk all the way down on one side of the street and then cross to see the ones on the other side, sounded like a solid plan with logic behind it.  What I didn’t count on was the blocks upon blocks of walking we had to do in this climate that I had yet to get used to.  I slowly clambered along behind the two really energetic excited people that I call family.

A few blocks later we found ourselves enjoying the mist from the fountain at Main Street Square. Prairie Edge Trading Co. & Galleries quickly grabbed our attention, not to mention it was right across the street so we didn’t have far to walk.  This store was filled with just about anything you can imagine in a store in the Wild West. There were books, music, authentic crafts from the locals, and the finest collection of Native American art; and beads upon beads upon beads, of every size and color of the rainbow. I started looking at the art works and the prices on them and started to really believe that I could be that good to get that price with my own.     

                                              

     On the other end of this particular block there was an alley, known as Art Alley. This is the one spot in town that the local graffiti artists could come and not get arrested. When I turned the corner and the alleyway opened up in front of us it was like walking into a rainbow of colors. This is definitely a must see if you are an artist and find yourself in the center of Rapid City, SD.  I wanted to go buy a few cans of spray paint just so the lil one and I could add our own touches to this magnificent piece of art that stretched the whole city block.

     One of the locals suggested a hole in the wall ice cream parlor not far from us, ‘not far from us’ sounded like it was close enough to walk to.  After the first 5 or 6 blocks we referenced the map again and this was our moment we realized that ‘not far from us’ was actually about 11 very long blocks,  we weren’t even halfway there yet. At this point the smart person would probably get their car and drive; but not us, we toughed it out and walked.  After the hot sun beating down on us for all of these blocks we had trudged down the cold ice cream hit the spot.  This was a very short lived mirage when reality hit me; we had to walk back all those long city blocks to the truck. We were absolutely exhausted by the time we pulled back into the RV Park, but we were already looking forward to the new adventures that awaited us the very next day.

Until next time…..

“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land.”   -Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Crazy Horse and Mt Rushmore Monuments

Just a short ride down the road and we were at Mt Rushmore, or on the road in front of it. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks they have stopped the helicopter tours and any walking/rock climbing anywhere close to the monument, but there are however several trails you can hike inside the park that offer great views. We learned after arriving that you have to pay to park, you don’t pay to see Mt Rushmore, you pay to park your vehicle and walk to a viewing site and tourist shop; needless to say I was NOT paying to see a national monument, I feel as these should be free for all to enjoy.

       

     We found a safe pull off on the side of the highway to view it, get a short history lesson and take a few pictures; we always have to pull these pictures out to remind the lil one where all we have visited over the years.  I cannot imagine the work it took to carve those faces in the side of this huge granite mountainside. To this day the lil one can still tell you who the first President of the United States was, I’m very proud to have some knowledge sticking in that little brain.

     I know I shouldn’t even put these two in the same writings together but our next stop was the polar opposite of Mt Rushmore, we left the enemies memorial and went to the heroes memorial; Crazy Horse.  With the hubby being part Sioux, we had admission in to the museum free; this was one of the perks the Sioux people got for having their land taken all those years ago.  The government has tried over the years to ‘make it right’ but in reality all the Sioux want is their land back, their burial grounds, their ceremonial grounds; all of these treasured grounds that many died to protect.  As a  wasi’chu (non-Native) I can imagine what the Sioux people went through; it would be similar to if someone started tearing down EVERY SINGLE CHURCH, no matter the denomination; desecrating and ripping up all of the graves of our loved ones, you watching and not being able to do anything about it. THAT’S what they went through and for years have fought to get back, only their land that holds all of their history and traditions within its borders.

       

     First off inside the museum was a short video on the history of the huge sculpture partially carved into the mountainside. The Crazy Horse Memorial was started in 1948 by Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear and sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to honor the culture, tradition and living heritage of North American Indians. The lil one stayed glued to the screen, asking very mature heartfelt questions on what happened to the Natives and why the new people had to be so mean. The idea that someone could be killed for just not believing the same way another person did was hard for the lil one to understand. I truly value all of these moments as a homeschooler, the lessons seem to stick when the history has been experienced firsthand.

    

    

   

     Next it was time to step back through time again and explore the museum filled to the gills with artifacts of the Native people. The walls were covered in original artworks from days of old; floors were filled with very primitive tools and weapons.  Glass cases filled with sacred artifacts to simple children’s dolls and toys lined the walls; there was a teepee set up so the lil one could explore the lifestyle of the Natives. We spent a good amount of time exploring here and using the knowledge in front of us as a history lesson for the lil one.

       

     Before we knew it we were turning a corner to go outside and view the monument without a sheet of glass between us. It was truly an amazing sight to see what had been accomplished with very limited funding; you see they have refused government funding from the beginning, relying on contributions and admission fees to fund this monumental dream and vision.  The hubby had marked one of his bucket list items off, the lil one and I enjoyed the new sights and history lessons here.

        

    

"The Red man was the true American. They have almost all gone, but will never be forgotten. The history of how they fought for their country is written in blood, a stain that time cannot grind out. Their God was the Sun, their church all out doorss. Their only book was nature and they all the pages. ~ Charles M. Russell

    

     Soon we were in an area that had traditional crafts of the Sioux being performed right in front of our eyes.  There were beaded necklaces, dream catchers, painted feathers, way too many to remember and explain here; this is a must see if you ever find yourself in the Black Hills with a few hours to spare.  We fell in love with every single item that we laid our eyes upon, but of course we were on a budget of monies and space inside the rig; the memories and pictures would have to serve as our souvenirs from this trip.

       

     On our way to the truck there was one more very interesting stop, the sculptor’s log studio home and bronze sculpture showroom. There we viewed original sculptures Korczak had done himself; one was of his wife among other pieces he had completed.  The log cabin studio home was very small when you thought of raising ten kids in it as they had. On every available surface you could see pieces of art; many of them completed some in different stages never to be finished. Grudgingly we took a few last minute pictures outside of the museum and loaded back into the truck to head back along the scenic roads back to Rapid City for dinner and bed.

Until next time……

“My lands are where my dead lie buried.” ~~Crazy Horse

Custer State Park

Our list was very long, longer than most Christmas lists from very privileged kids; we had caves of crystals, all of the scenic roads, Sturgis, gold panning, and much, much more.  First off, since it was free, we decided to journey through Custer State Park; one of the perks of vacationing during the off-season, free activities that would normally charge an arm and leg.  They boasted seeing buffaloes, pronghorns, prairie dogs, mountain goats and possibly a mountain lion if you were lucky.

      

     We got lost on the way to the park, it just couldn’t all be going our way for too long. For some reason I just couldn’t read the map correctly and Hwy 16 and Hwy 16A really confused my brain. We did one huge very scenic loop all around the area we were trying to get to, burnt through a lot of fuel; but luckily we were in the 4 cylinder Ranger so it wasn’t too bad. To weigh the views we saw with the fuel we wasted, well that made the waste not seem so bad. We drove through one of the tunnels carved into the Black Hills mountain, there were several along the scenic routes.

     

     After going the wrong way on the right road, a few times I might add, we were both very exasperated and irritated.  We pulled over and asked for directions, something neither of us wanted to do as we prided ourselves on our abilities to land in a city with only a map and a phone book (for the addresses and road names) and NOT get lost; but here we were, confused and turned around within a few miles of where we needed to be, asking for directions. Come to find out we had missed our exit on this highway carved into the mountains; we were on the right path again.

     

     It didn’t take long to arrive at Custer State Park, was a beautiful ride winding through the Black Hills of South Dakota. We were thru the gates to the park and enjoying the lay of the land when we spotted a path into the woods, along a dry creek bed.  We quickly got out, grabbed our packs, a hiking stick and started out down the trail.  Knowing we were in mountain lion country, we knew to keep the lil one in between us and to get back before dusk; when they were known to roam, hunt and be active.  About ¼ mile down the path, the hubby graciously reminded me what time of the month it was and I quickly thought about being mistaken for an animal in heat and ravaged to death by hooves or teeth; it was spring and breeding season for some after all.  Only but a few seconds later did we decide that we didn’t have enough bullets and that maybe it would be better to venture out of the truck in a few more days.

      

     Back in the truck and back on the more traveled path of roadways, we started seeing buffaloes right off.  The lil one really enjoyed counting how many we could see and how many calves there were. We knew to give them their space, we were on their turf, wandering thru their homes after all.  There were numerous pictures taken of the herd as we had to wait for several to cross the road; it is never a good idea to try to rush an animal that is all muscle and can turn your small truck over if need be.

     

     Soon we were at a crossroads, we took another wrong turn here, but in the process saw some new animals that we had never seen before; later on we found out these were pronghorns.  These I would take the chance to get out of the truck, hanging out the window at times to get pictures; they blended so well with the prairie grass, they were almost invisible. A quick turn around and we were venturing farther into Custer State Park, exciting to see some of the many other residents who called it home.

      

     We were looking on every mountaintop for the mountain goats, around every corner for more buffalo and especially those cute little prairie dogs.  We happened across the Ranger’s station first and had to run inside for a map of the park and to see which was the best route to go to see the critters we were looking for.  We met some Yankee folks outside and were talking to them about the prairie dogs. They mentioned that they had seen some weird looking chipmunks down this one particular road; they said they must grow differently over here in the west than in the east.  We got a good laugh when we realized they were probably thinking the prairie dogs were the weird chipmunks that grow different in this neck of the woods. Out of curiosity we went down the same road they had, and sure enough there was a colony of prairie dogs out playing for us to enjoy.

     

     We enjoyed the rest of Custer State Park and all the residents out for visits, on my list of to-see animals is still the ever elusive mountain lion; to this day I have to see one that isn’t stuffed and mounted, although thinking about it; if I ever do see one it may just be the very last animal I ever personally see alive.  Soon it was on to the rest of our list of places to visit, we still had Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore to see.

Until next time….

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

A Short Hop and Skip Away

     With less than 60 miles to go to our destination, we were ready for this leg of the journey to finally be over; we had after all been on the road for more than a week.  I knew that once we landed in Rapid City we could spread out, relax and enjoy some down time together before daddy had to go back to work. There was a list of sights to see and things to do, and this list was growing with all the billboards of local attractions that I hadn’t found in my research of the area. This would of course all be determined by the work that was to be found in the area, if you haven’t learned this about us yet, it is that I target the free family friendly activities. This way of life allows us to do more as a family together and enjoy more of the simple things in life.

      

     This last leg was slow going as we were still steadily climbing higher in elevation with every hill that we crawled over.  Ol’Blue just wasn’t used to the higher altitude and less oxygen just yet, but she pushed forward like the workhorse we know she is.  The best sight we saw during these short 60 miles were the edge of the Badlands, oh how I would have loved to have been able to drive through those and enjoy that ruggedness on the edge of the prairie, but that would have to wait, we had other plans for this day.

     

     While researching the area for campgrounds that were centrally located to where the hubby may possibly be working I found one with a wonderful view of Rapid City.  What I didn’t know was the route to get to this particular RV Park perched upon a very steep and high hillside.  The hubby managed to get the rig through downtown without bouncing it off a telephone pole or street sign on those narrow and congested streets. We were going good, hitting all the lights on green. Looking ahead there was a huge hillside with a very steep grade to go up, and only a traffic light between us and this said hill. While trying to get the momentum up to make it up the hill, we watched the light cycle from green to yellow and to red; losing every bit of the force we had to help get our huge rig up the hill.  As the light turned we slowly trudged up the steep grade, crawling at only about 5mph, up, up and up.

      

     Finally, we could see the top, luckily the RV Park was ¾ of the way up this hill, and we didn’t have to crawl all the way to the top. Turning into the park I started rethinking the wonderful view. You see, in order to have this spectacular sight outside of every window that seemed like you were perched on the edge of a cliff, you actually had to carve a flat perch out of the steep hillside; it felt as if there were a strong wind you would topple down the hill like dominoes with stopping point in sight.

      

   

yeppers, I could see a wind blowing hard enough

to roll us right down this hill into those trees.

     The first site we parked in was close to the office and all of the traffic, the only problem was backing the rig up a small incline into this site.  We dumped all the transmission fluid once again; you’d have thought we’d learned our lesson in Bear Creek, AL while attempting the same feat. After refilling the fluids we could finally get backed in and set up, ready to rest for a bit and enjoy this magnificent view laid out all around us.

      

                 believe it or not but there were actually 5-7 sites below us,

                              if they were parked there, you'd see their rooftops,

                                    pretty steep hill to carve an RV Park into

     It was time to plan out our weekend and be the tourists for a few days before getting serious again.  The lil one had acquired a habit of looking at all the brochure racks in each new city and state that we landed in, this is where we got a lot of our maps and information about the new area; talking to the locals helps a lot too. The front desk was helpful too; they informed us that the state and national parks were free for the next week; until their summer season kicked off.  It didn’t take much to decide where we were headed next. On our list to do was Custer State Park to see the buffalo, Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore for the history and lessons to be learned there.  It was time to rest and relax with dinner and a movie and dream of the sights to be seen in the very near future.

Until next time….

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”

― Gustave Flaubert

Free Ice Water

After we pulled into the little town of Wall, SD,  got the rig parked, the dog walked and a light jacket tied  around our waists, just in case; we were ready to tackle this adventure. There are not too many stops that we make that are pure fun, but this particular one was. The lil one was jumping up and down for joy, ecstatic about the next amazing sight around the next corner; after the 80ft dinosaur you wouldn’t think that there would be much more, but you’d also be wrong. 

    

         It was like stepping thru a porthole in the time warp continuum.  We were transported back to the horse and buggy days of old; if not for all the modern day gas guzzlers parked down Main Street, you could easily imagine the sound of the very first automobile chugging down the street. There stood the huge now famous Wall Drug Store in all its glory, hard to imagine what had now become a city block of history and tourism started out as a small one room drug store with a curtain hanging to make room for living quarters; but it had. In the days of old, Wall was one of the first towns you would come to after traveling west across a scorching prairie. To draw in the customers, to a town of only 326 poor people in the middle of nowhere, they came up with one of the best ideas ever. They offered the weary and hot travelers free ice cold water; not sure if it would work or not.  Before they got all the signs up along the highway, they had an onslaught of customers; looking for free ice cold water and buying ice cream cones and such also. It was a brilliant idea, to this day they draw in twenty thousand people on any given day of the week.

      
     Our first stop was in the old pharmacy, this was truly like walking thru time. The walls were filled with what you would’ve have seen in the 30’s when they first opened. Every kind of medicine in its original packaging was truly neat to look at, the lil one loved the rows and rows of candy bins to scoop out and weigh.  We picked up our free bumper sticker and a map, it was amazing at how it had grown from this one room to a city block of treasures to admire and explore.

      
     Next on our list was to try a buffalo burger, amazingly they were a lot cheaper than you would expect in a tourist trap such as this.  I think all three of us ate for under $20, considering where we’ve been and some of the prices we’ve paid, this was cheap as dirt.  While enjoying our burgers we also enjoyed the artwork and old firearms hung on every available space of wall.  In the center of the room, dotted among the tables were larger than life wood carvings of a few of the pioneers and heroes of the old west; there were all the great Indian Chiefs in one room and the cowboys we’ve all read about growing up in another.

      
     

       Once lunch was over it was time to venture outdoors to see all the photo ops associated with South Dakota.  We ran from one to the other like little kids in a candy store. There were wood cutouts to make it look like you were in a teepee, an old wagon you could ‘drive’, a jackelope to ride, a miniature Mount Rushmore; the list goes on and on, just inside the door there was even a roaring T-Rex to get a picture with.

      

     
     Being the off season for tourists in these parts for a few more weeks the gold mining attraction wasn’t up and running just yet.  The shooting gallery was however taking as many quarters as you could feed it.  It seemed that around every corner and in every room there was something completely different to explore but also all of it was tied to the western days of past; it was truly a treasure hunt for the lil one to see what could be learned around the next bend.

      

     We spent hours inside all these buildings linked together to form a city block of pure family enjoyment.  The lil one loved all of the souvenir and gift shops, wanting to get a whole outfit to look like someone from the Wild West; but after seeing how much all of this would cost, we all decided we would save those dollars and enjoy doing more things together as a family.  Soon we remembered to look at the time and realized it was time to leave this little oasis in the middle of nowhere and get back to our rig and dog that misses us terribly when we’re not in his sight.  It wasn’t long before we were loaded up and ready to hit the road again, headed west towards Rapid City and the Black Hills.

Until next time……

     

You realize when you travel how truly isolated some places are, and how different they are from each other.

John Geary