Trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota

Last week we took a much needed break from the "back to school" rushing around and headed north to South Dakota. Gary's parents, Nana and Pop are visiting for a couple of weeks from Alabama and none of us had been up to Mt. Rushmore or the Black Hills so off we went. The trip was fabulous. We had such a great time seeing new sights. We are already talking about going back in the Spring to do more hiking and biking. We stayed in Rapid City which worked out great. It was so easy to get out and about and do so many things. I do have to say that this little "neck of the woods" will do anything to make a buck off of a tourist. They have more "cheesy" tourist attractions than any one place should have. And some of it stuff that doesn't even belong there...like a reptile garden where you can see alligators. I don't get it. And another place called Cosmos that has something to do with extraterrestrial experiences. I don't know that I'd pay the 15.00 for it, but hey, somebody must. We did some of the more obvious tourist things. We rode a steam train from 1880, went to a Chuckwagon dinner and cowboy show. They had pony rides for the girls and gold panning. Then dinner was kicked off with a Wild West shoot out. And I must say that the "Biscuit Bandit" was quite the cutie...He played guitar after dinner in the Cowboy Band and watching him was certainly the highlight of my evening. We went to the Badlands, which looks an awful lot like western Colorado and Eastern Utah and having passed through there several times, I never would've willingly paid admission to see it...But in South Dakota, this deserted wasteland (albeit, somewhat interesting) is a tourist attraction. We actually paid $15.00 to tour this "National Wonder". And then it was a stop at the infamous Wall Drug. This place is a drug store that is completely out of control. Started back in the 1930's as a place for hot, weary travelers to get "Free Ice Water", this place now has everything from cold beer to Minnetonka Moccasins...and every kitchy nick-nack you could think of that has anything to do with Cowboys, Native Americans, Hunting, Rocks, or Dinosaurs. They have it covered. Oh, and a doughnut shop, an ice cream shop and a diner. It was actually where the girls had the most fun. Custer State Park and Needles were well worth it. We can't wait to go back again. We enjoyed seeing all of the wildlife...the girls couldn't get over the herd of "Begging Burros". You have to see it to believe it.
All in all we had a great time and Hanna is still talking about her friends George, Tom, Teddy and Abe.
Day One: Mt. Rushmore and a Train Ride

Day Two: Badlands and Wall Drug

Day Three: Custer State Park and Needles