mines Archives

This vacation can be summed up in one word…AMAZING! It was so much more than I expected. What a journey of perception to go from “What’s in South Dakota” to “Amazing”.

Everyone’s hot button will be different but for me it’s animals…all kinds of animals. If I’m in Florida I’m always on the look out for creatures, ‘gators, birds, snakes ; when we go to Alaska I’ll want to see seals, sea birds , bears maybe whales and walrus but I didn’t know what to expect in South Dakota.

I think I loved the Wild Horses the best

Racing the Wind

followed by those funny little prairie dogs.

But seeing buffalo in the wild ,

not a zoo was really something as were the “beggin’ burros of Custer State Park.

Of course it is “where the deer and the antelope play”.

I couldn’t help but compare my Pronghorn experience in Arizona with the Pronghorn experience in South Dakota. In South Dakota there were Mule Deer, White tail and antelope around every turn. Some even seemed to be posing for the photo ops, very few seemed skittish..

Sometimes it seemed like they were as busy watching us as we were them. In Arizona I saw 1 pronghorn way off in the distance and 1 mule deer family while I was on a tour bus at the grand canyon. The difference is notable.

We didn’t eat in fancy restaurants but the food was good and everyone we met was nice and helpful. The Foothills Inn was clean and everything as promised. Our stay there was very pleasant. I have no complaints.

Mount Rushmore takes your breath away when you see it for the first time. It is truly a monument for the ages. I only wish the weather had been better when we visited the mountain. Maybe next trip. Sorry I missed the Needles Highway but Iron Mountain Road was a great experience. Had our budget and time allowed, we definitely should have included a visit to Crazy Horse and not just the drive by. Next time?

Keystone to Hill City and back on a vintage train. The 1880 Train did not disappoint.

It was a relaxing ride through the Blackhills while the narrators gave us quick bits and stories sprinkled with lots of humor.

The caves, Wind Cave and the mining tunnel at Thunder Falls…both interesting and worthwhile visits. There are still many more caves in the area to explore as well as more passages and tours in Wind Cave. I guess you could say we only “scratched the surface”.

The Mammoth Dig isn’t a cave but it’s a great indoor activity for a rainy day. Well worth a visit.

Rapid City is a great city.. We only just touched on what there is to do. I’ve heard there’s shopping and art but we only had the one day so we got to visit Skyline Dr and Dinosaur Park,

checked out the presidents in downtown

and ended at the Journey Museum.

The city has a beautiful park as we learned on our trolley ride and so much more that we missed.

It deserves more than one day. To paraphrase a saying…so much to see, so little time J

I can’t forget to mention the “Longest Dirt Road” that crossed Pine Ridge Reservation and meeting with members of the tribe. A nice, nice memory! Maybe next time we’ll find a Pow-Wow and visit Wounded Knee.

We need another visit to Wall Drug with it’s “Free Ice water” . Great souvenir shopping so bring your wallet! They are also online. www.walldrug.com

Last but certainly not least was magnificent scenery of the Badlands. That rugged beauty impressed me as much as the Grand Canyon but in a different way.

I’m so glad I have so many pictures and wonderful memories. My friends said I wouldn’t want to come back to New England. Well, I wasn’t ready to leave South Dakota, there was still so much to see and do, as one of my readers expressed as they told us of waterfalls and sights we missed, but I am not ready to move there. LOL I would consider a 2^nd vacation and next time someone says to me “what’s in South Dakota I’ll know just what to say…”So much you just won’t believe it ‘til you see it!”

That about sums up the South Dakota vacation. It’s time to start planning the May trip to Sedona, Arizona. I also have some day trips coming up that I will fill you in on as they roll around. As always suggestions, comments , cheers and jeers and welcome. I hope I’ll be hearing from you, my readers!J

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Just a quick reminder…there’s only a few more days to vote for your favorite name for the Prairie Dog.

Prairie Dog with Flower

You’ll find the poll on the archive site: http://aroundustyroads.blogspot.com

After our drive across Pine Ridge Reservation we stopped back at Mount Rushmore and Sandy retrieved her souvenirs. With no concrete plans we decided to head back north toward Rapid City. We passed The Crazy Horse Memorial and although we had originally planned to go there we were starting to count our pennies. We could see the carving from the road so the decision was made to skip it and save the entry fee.

A little farther along our road trip we saw the sign for Thunderhead Falls. It’s a waterfall that is underground. It had started to rain again so doing something “underground” seemed like a chance to stay dry.

Thunderhead Falls Entrance

We followed the signs and found a dirt parking lot. The first thing I did was inspect the car to see how much mud was covering it. Some had washed off as we drove through the light rain but there was still plenty of evidence of out earlier adventure.

There was cute little train displayed in the parking lot. At first I thought it was just a model or a toy but it turns out that this is an ore train. The cars were loaded in the mine and then the ore was brought back to the surface by this little train.

Ore Train

It was a short walk to the entrance but it was so pretty. The river that creates the falls in the mine poured out in another cascade and we had a little bridge to cross over it before reaching the entrance. It was nice on this rainy day. I bet it would be spectacular in sunshine.

We met a family leaving but other than that we were the only visitors. I guess the rain was keeping the tourists away. The lady at the ticket booth was very friendly and informative and tickets were only a couple of dollars each so well within our shrinking budgets.

She pointed us along a path that we followed on our own. No guide here but you really didn’t need one. The handout we were given with our ticket gave us the history and the mine wasn’t that deep. There were signs identifying different ore deposits and the reason they were important and then there was the falls itself.