Day 1: Sioux Falls 7/25/2009 
We arrived in Sioux Falls around midday and met up with cousins Christine, Michael & Isaac in Sertoma Park. The kids played on the jungle gyms, we toured the butterfly house and took a walk on a trail that wound through fields of tall prairie grasses.
Next we headed over to Falls Park and checked out the falls that the city is named for. Ted was not impressed by the river, but I thought it was pretty cool to have something like that running right through a city.
We wandered around the downtown area, had dinner at Sioux Fall’s ‘fanciest’ restaurant and then called it a night.
Day 2: DeSmet 7/26/2009
After some pool time, we packed up the caravan and headed for DeSmet, the ‘Little Town on the Prairie.’ This is the town that the Ingalls founded and where they really settled (contrary to the TV show that placed them in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.)
We got to our B&B (The Prairie House Manor) and found that the owners were recent transplants from NJ…they’d come out for the pageant and
liked it so much that they bought the B&B and moved out there.
We went to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Society building and took the tour through the restored buildings that were the settings in many of the books.
That evening we attended the pageant…a play on the grounds of the original homestead based on ‘The Long Winter.’ Unfortunately, we had to leave early, fleeing a mega-swarm of mosquitoes that descended on us as darkness fell
Day 3: From the Prairie to the Badlands 7/27/2009
On Monday, we waved goodbye to our hosts at the Prairie House Manor and headed West across the state to the Badlands. It was a long flat drive across the interstate until we crossed the Missouri River into Mountain Time. Then the landscape abruptly became hilly and more dramatic.
We stopped to explore the 1880’s town…a restored collection of buildings, complete with actors
in Western characters, a saloon and gunfights in the streets. We rented costumes for the kids who had a blast pretending to be back in the 1880’s frontier days.
In the evening, after battling swarms of grasshoppers intent on committing suicide against our windshield, we reached our destination in the badlands---The Circle View Ranch in Scenic, SD. This is a working burro ranch with a B&B, set on top of a butte. The views are breathtaking.
Scenic, SD is not exactly a populous town. Our dining options were limited…we wound up having dinner at a fairly rustic place called the Wagon Wheel Restaurant and Bar. Our bartender and pizza-maker extraordinaire was the former mayor of Scenic…the woman who’d brought potable water to the town in the Badlands. Our kids shot pool with other tourists while we drank a little too much and enjoyed the home-made pizza.
Day 4: The Badlands & Mount Rushmore 7/28/2009
After an awesome breakfast at the Circle View Ranch, the kids were enlisted to help round up and feed the chickens and collect the eggs.
We then headed off the Badlands National Park. We hiked some
trails; climbed some mountains and the kids participated in a Junior Ranger program (digging for fossils) that earned them a badge and a patch.
While hiking on one of the trails, we
met a woman (who graciously offered to shoot a group photo if we’d take one of her) who was trekking across the US via the park system. She was an 80 year old grandma, tent camping all by herself, had started in Florida and was headed for the Pacific Northwest!
After the Badlands, we had lunch in the tourist trap town of Wall, SD, before heading for Mount Rushmore. Our tour around the park was guided by a Lakota Sioux Park Ranger who gave us some background on Sioux history as well as the monument.
Day 5: Custer State Park & Crazy Horse 7/29/2009
Wednesday was a cold day in the Black Hills. The difference in climate between the Badlands, where we’d just been, and Custer was startling. We drove the park loop around Custer State Park and saw bison, antelope and
wild burros. The burros were tame enough for us to get out of the car and feed. They liked the goldfish crackers the best.
We had lunch in the park at an historic lodge, which had been a Camp-David-type retreat to one of the earlier presidents.
Then we headed over to the Crazy Horse monument. We had all been impressed by Mount Rushmore, but Crazy Horse, even its
unfinished state is an even more impressive achievement. Crazy Horse has been a work in progress for 70 years. While Rushmore had the benefit of government funding and a team of workers, Crazy Horse was started by one sculptor with a hand drill, some dynamite and a vision. He worked on the monument his entire life, training his 10 kids in the work as he went. 7 out of his 10 kids now continue his work, taking funding only from the visitors to the site and Native American casino money. Some of the grandchildren are completing their engineering education so they can take up the mantle as well. When finished, the sculpture will be enormous (Rushmore can fit in the forehead of this sculpture) and surrounded by a university, hospital and community center for Native Americans.
Day 6: Wind Cave National Park & Hot Springs 7/30/2009
Wind Cave National Park is just South of Custer State Park and so boasts the same wildlife as Custer. The kids worked on the junior
ranger booklet for this park and we took a ranger-guided tour of the cave. This cave did not have the spectacular formations you see in the eastern caves, but the ranger was really knowledgeable and gave a great tour.
After the kids had earned their badge and patch, we headed farther South to Hot Springs.
Hot Springs is home to, well…hot springs…and The Mammoth Site, which is what we were there to see. The Mammoth Site is an active dig…apparently it was a prehistoric sinkhole and dozens of mammoths and other creatures got stuck in there, leaving their fossilized remains behind for archaeologists to find.
Day 7: The Corn Palace 7/31/2009
On Friday, we began the long trip back East across South Dakota. As we drove we passed scores of motorcycles headed West for the big motorcycle rally in Sturgis. We wondered how the ones driving without helmets or shields were coping with the grasshoppers.
In Mitchell, we stopped to see the Corn Palace. This is literally a palace, covered with murals made entirely out of corn and grains.
Back in Sioux Falls, we had dinner at a great Indian restaurant before saying goodbye to our cousins and getting ready for our 5AM flight home.
We arrived in Sioux Falls around midday and met up with cousins Christine, Michael & Isaac in Sertoma Park. The kids played on the jungle gyms, we toured the butterfly house and took a walk on a trail that wound through fields of tall prairie grasses.Next we headed over to Falls Park and checked out the falls that the city is named for. Ted was not impressed by the river, but I thought it was pretty cool to have something like that running right through a city.
We wandered around the downtown area, had dinner at Sioux Fall’s ‘fanciest’ restaurant and then called it a night.
Day 2: DeSmet 7/26/2009After some pool time, we packed up the caravan and headed for DeSmet, the ‘Little Town on the Prairie.’ This is the town that the Ingalls founded and where they really settled (contrary to the TV show that placed them in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.)
We got to our B&B (The Prairie House Manor) and found that the owners were recent transplants from NJ…they’d come out for the pageant and
liked it so much that they bought the B&B and moved out there.We went to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Society building and took the tour through the restored buildings that were the settings in many of the books.
That evening we attended the pageant…a play on the grounds of the original homestead based on ‘The Long Winter.’ Unfortunately, we had to leave early, fleeing a mega-swarm of mosquitoes that descended on us as darkness fell
Day 3: From the Prairie to the Badlands 7/27/2009On Monday, we waved goodbye to our hosts at the Prairie House Manor and headed West across the state to the Badlands. It was a long flat drive across the interstate until we crossed the Missouri River into Mountain Time. Then the landscape abruptly became hilly and more dramatic.
We stopped to explore the 1880’s town…a restored collection of buildings, complete with actors
in Western characters, a saloon and gunfights in the streets. We rented costumes for the kids who had a blast pretending to be back in the 1880’s frontier days.In the evening, after battling swarms of grasshoppers intent on committing suicide against our windshield, we reached our destination in the badlands---The Circle View Ranch in Scenic, SD. This is a working burro ranch with a B&B, set on top of a butte. The views are breathtaking.
Scenic, SD is not exactly a populous town. Our dining options were limited…we wound up having dinner at a fairly rustic place called the Wagon Wheel Restaurant and Bar. Our bartender and pizza-maker extraordinaire was the former mayor of Scenic…the woman who’d brought potable water to the town in the Badlands. Our kids shot pool with other tourists while we drank a little too much and enjoyed the home-made pizza.
Day 4: The Badlands & Mount Rushmore 7/28/2009After an awesome breakfast at the Circle View Ranch, the kids were enlisted to help round up and feed the chickens and collect the eggs.
We then headed off the Badlands National Park. We hiked some
trails; climbed some mountains and the kids participated in a Junior Ranger program (digging for fossils) that earned them a badge and a patch.While hiking on one of the trails, we
met a woman (who graciously offered to shoot a group photo if we’d take one of her) who was trekking across the US via the park system. She was an 80 year old grandma, tent camping all by herself, had started in Florida and was headed for the Pacific Northwest!After the Badlands, we had lunch in the tourist trap town of Wall, SD, before heading for Mount Rushmore. Our tour around the park was guided by a Lakota Sioux Park Ranger who gave us some background on Sioux history as well as the monument.
Day 5: Custer State Park & Crazy Horse 7/29/2009
Wednesday was a cold day in the Black Hills. The difference in climate between the Badlands, where we’d just been, and Custer was startling. We drove the park loop around Custer State Park and saw bison, antelope and
wild burros. The burros were tame enough for us to get out of the car and feed. They liked the goldfish crackers the best.We had lunch in the park at an historic lodge, which had been a Camp-David-type retreat to one of the earlier presidents.
Then we headed over to the Crazy Horse monument. We had all been impressed by Mount Rushmore, but Crazy Horse, even its
unfinished state is an even more impressive achievement. Crazy Horse has been a work in progress for 70 years. While Rushmore had the benefit of government funding and a team of workers, Crazy Horse was started by one sculptor with a hand drill, some dynamite and a vision. He worked on the monument his entire life, training his 10 kids in the work as he went. 7 out of his 10 kids now continue his work, taking funding only from the visitors to the site and Native American casino money. Some of the grandchildren are completing their engineering education so they can take up the mantle as well. When finished, the sculpture will be enormous (Rushmore can fit in the forehead of this sculpture) and surrounded by a university, hospital and community center for Native Americans.
Day 6: Wind Cave National Park & Hot Springs 7/30/2009Wind Cave National Park is just South of Custer State Park and so boasts the same wildlife as Custer. The kids worked on the junior
ranger booklet for this park and we took a ranger-guided tour of the cave. This cave did not have the spectacular formations you see in the eastern caves, but the ranger was really knowledgeable and gave a great tour.After the kids had earned their badge and patch, we headed farther South to Hot Springs.
Hot Springs is home to, well…hot springs…and The Mammoth Site, which is what we were there to see. The Mammoth Site is an active dig…apparently it was a prehistoric sinkhole and dozens of mammoths and other creatures got stuck in there, leaving their fossilized remains behind for archaeologists to find.
Day 7: The Corn Palace 7/31/2009
On Friday, we began the long trip back East across South Dakota. As we drove we passed scores of motorcycles headed West for the big motorcycle rally in Sturgis. We wondered how the ones driving without helmets or shields were coping with the grasshoppers.
In Mitchell, we stopped to see the Corn Palace. This is literally a palace, covered with murals made entirely out of corn and grains.
Back in Sioux Falls, we had dinner at a great Indian restaurant before saying goodbye to our cousins and getting ready for our 5AM flight home.
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