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Sioux Falls, SD
We stayed here 2 nights. Once
on the way out to our hotel in Deadwood and once on the way home. We would highly recommend
going to see the falls which is the reason for the name of the city. We checked them out on
our way back home and didn't have any space left on our camera for any more pics. So, sorry
no pics available. The falls are just a few miles off I-90 and well worth going to see. They are
in a nice park and are beautiful. And it's the site of an old grain mill, part of which is still
there. They used the power of the falls to drive the machinery in the grain mill.
Badlands National Park, SD 5 photos
A must see location when visiting South Dakota. Definitely drive the ‘Badlands Loop Road’.
It has many overlooks and places to stop and walk around.
Animals, Animals, Animals 5 photos
We saw an abundance of wildlife and livestock everywhere we went throughout South Dakota and Wyoming.
We've included some up close pics of cows. Look closely at the pictures. The first one shows a pickup
truck (right behind the tree), followed by a UPS truck driving through a herd of cows on the road. And,
these guys were flying through this herd of cows with the pickup blaring its horn. It looked like the
pickup was running blocker for the UPS truck. "Moving at the speed of business!" Yeah, I guess!
George S. Mickelson Trail, SD 1 photo
This is the trail that the Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon and Half Marathon race was run on.
Mary ran the Half Marathon and said the race seemed to go by quick because she
was admiring the scenery throughout the run. The trail is an old railroad bed
converted to a trail (known as 'Rails to Trails'). The photo is of Mary after the
finish of the race. She did very well!
Devils Tower National Monument, WY 13 photos
We highly recommend taking the trip out to Wyoming to see this very interesting and scenic place.
There are a few trails around the monument. We choose the 1.3 mile paved loop trail around the base
of the monument. They also have a ‘Prairie Dog Town’ section on the drive into the park. If you look
close in a few of the pics you can see climbers. The tower is 867 feet above the base, which is where
the trail is that we walked.
Spearfish Canyon, Spearfish, SD 6 photos
Highly recommend driving through this. It is very scenic and includes the Bridal Veil Falls and
Roughlock Falls.
Terry Peak, Northern Black Hills, SD 1 photos
This peak is used as a ski hill in the winter. We were able to drive to the top
(elevation 7064 feet) on a very steep gravel road. Kind of a nerve racking
drive to the top, especially at dusk, but great views from the top. Picture was
taken on June 8th. Note the snow on the lower right side of the picture.
Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer, SD 3 photos
This memorial is completely run privately and therefore is much more expensive to go and see versus
Rushmore. We would recommend driving by the front entrance, take a picture, use binoculars and then
continue on. You won’t be able to get much closer than that anyway.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Keystone, SD 7 photos
A must, go see it.
President’s Alpine Slide and Scenic Chairlift, Keystone, SD 1 photo
Ride a chairlift to the top and ride down on a sled cart that you control the speed on the way down.
We had a lot of fun on this.
Big Thunder Gold Mine, Keystone, SD
Very nice tour of an actual gold mine.
Holy Terror Mini Golf, Keystone, SD
This was your typical mini-golf place, but we had fun and was a nice break from the tours and driving!
Thunderhead Falls, Rapid City, SD 4 photos
This is an underground waterfall flowing at 8 cubic feet per second, which is very fast and loud!
It was created when miners were drilling and blasting for gold 600 feet inside the mine. There is
a self guided tour with scenic views around the entrance to the mine. We would recommend seeing
(and hearing!!) this unique place.
Black Hills Maze, Rapid City, SD
This is a 37,000 square foot, two level maze. This was fun especially for Danny.
Bear Country USA, Rapid City, SD
Drive thru wildlife park. Kind of on the expensive side, but got to see bears,
wolves, buffalo, etc. up close. But the best part was after we were done
driving thru. There is a section were the babies are kept. It is kind of a zoo
setting. We were wandering around looking at the baby animals and noticed a
bunch of people looking at the 16 baby bear cubs. One of the bears had a pair of
sunglasses that someone had dropped into their area. A worker came out to retrieve
the sunglasses and proceeded to give a 20 minute talk about the bears while he was
playing with them. Very informative and fun to watch. We had a great time with that.
The Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, SD
We really liked this. It is a live archeological dig and was featured on the Discovery Channel’s ‘Raising The Mammoth’.
Custer State Park, SD 13 photos
We took a scenic drive through this park and saw lots of prairie dogs, buffalo, pronghorns, deer, mules, cows, birds, etc.
Very nice drive.
Wind Cave National Park, SD
We took a tour of the cave. Very nice.
The Ranch Store, SD 5 photos
This place is really a souvenir shop near one of the entrances to the badlands. But what they have nearby is an area
where you can feed prairie dogs. They sell prairie dog food, which is just unsalted peanuts still in the shell.
The bags are only 50 cents and one is plenty. The prairie dogs must know the sound of the paper bags because
they perk up and look at you when you reach in. They did take peanuts right out of our hands and crunched them
open while sitting right near us. Lots of fun. And NO MONKEYPOX. They're fun to see (and feed!) but I don't know
why you would want one as a pet. Plus they are supposed to be in 'towns' with a bunch of other prairie dogs.
Mitchell Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD 4 photos
Another must visit while touring South Dakota. The World Famous Corn Palace!
Wall Drug, Wall, SD
We drove by but decided to not stop.
State Capitol Building, Pierre, SD 2 photos
We didn’t have a chance to actually take a tour of this building, but did drive by it. Photos are especially for my (Bill's) Dad!
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