Hello Blog Followers!
We spent another full day and our last day here in the Black Hills. Although we are reluctant to leave, we will head east toward Wisconsin tomorrow morning.
Today we toured Ellsworth AFB, where we saw military aircraft on display, as well as a Minuteman Missle Silo.
We then headed out to Badlands National Park for the afternoon. After a quick lunch in Wall (not Wall Drug, we will stop by there tomorrow morning on our way east), we headed back to Rapid City for a brief respite before dinner.
Dinner was at Ft. Hays Chuckwagon and Dinner Show. The menu included barbeque beef, baked beans, applesauce, baked potato, hardtack roll and butter, spice cake, and lemonade. We were treated to a stage show after dinner. It was thoroughly enjoyable.
The internet connection here at the hotel has deteriorated over the past two days, making it nearly impossible to send pictures. I will try to send photos from the last two days tomorrow night after we arrive in Sioux Falls.
Until then....
Susan and Denis
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
South Dakota Trip Day Six
Hello Friends,
I’m sorry this blog post is a day late. Our internet connection was down for reasons unknown. So, rest easy, we didn’t fall off the side of a mountain or anything (although it would have been easy to do—no guardrails in many places!) Here is our post for Wednesday, Sept. 9. I'll send pictures later.
We changed up the itinerary, and swapped Wednesday and Thursday plans. Today we went to Hill City and took a ride on the 1880 train – a steam train that runs between Hill City and Keystone. The route took us past the backside of Mt Rushmore. Guess what it looks like? You got it-trees! After the steam train we visited Wind Cave National Park, and took an underground tour. We were 175 ft below ground at the deepest point. Wind Cave is the 4th longest cave in the world at 132 miles of explored passages, and the end of the cave has not yet been found. Wind Cave is home to a unique formation called boxwork. 95% of the boxwork formations in the world are found in Wind Cave. These were formed millions of years ago when South Dakota was covered with an inland sea. The limestone seabed developed cracks, which filled in with the shells of dead sea animals. Over time, these shells compressed into calcite, and eventually the limestone dissolved and just the calcite fins remain today. We got some great pictures from inside the cave. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at Dinosaur Park in Rapid City. This park was created in 1932 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located on Rapid City’s Skyline Drive, which overlooks the city. Life-sized statues of the dinosaurs that roamed here, including Brontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Tomorrow we are traveling to the Badlands, Wall and Ellsworth AFB.
Susan and Denis
I’m sorry this blog post is a day late. Our internet connection was down for reasons unknown. So, rest easy, we didn’t fall off the side of a mountain or anything (although it would have been easy to do—no guardrails in many places!) Here is our post for Wednesday, Sept. 9. I'll send pictures later.
We changed up the itinerary, and swapped Wednesday and Thursday plans. Today we went to Hill City and took a ride on the 1880 train – a steam train that runs between Hill City and Keystone. The route took us past the backside of Mt Rushmore. Guess what it looks like? You got it-trees! After the steam train we visited Wind Cave National Park, and took an underground tour. We were 175 ft below ground at the deepest point. Wind Cave is the 4th longest cave in the world at 132 miles of explored passages, and the end of the cave has not yet been found. Wind Cave is home to a unique formation called boxwork. 95% of the boxwork formations in the world are found in Wind Cave. These were formed millions of years ago when South Dakota was covered with an inland sea. The limestone seabed developed cracks, which filled in with the shells of dead sea animals. Over time, these shells compressed into calcite, and eventually the limestone dissolved and just the calcite fins remain today. We got some great pictures from inside the cave. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at Dinosaur Park in Rapid City. This park was created in 1932 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located on Rapid City’s Skyline Drive, which overlooks the city. Life-sized statues of the dinosaurs that roamed here, including Brontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Tomorrow we are traveling to the Badlands, Wall and Ellsworth AFB.
Susan and Denis
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
South Dakota Trip Day Five
Hello Blog Followers! We did the northern Black Hills tour today, including Belle Fourche, Sturgis, Deadwood, and picturesque Spearfish Canyon. We encountered our day of bad weather today...it was rainy in the morning, and cold, about 60 degrees. But, as you all know, we can't control the weather, and we came to South Dakota prepared for rain or shine. The weather cleared up by the time we went to Deadwood in the afternoon, so all was good. Here is today's installment of pictures from the Black Hills:
Spearfish Canyon:
In Deadwood, we saw a reenactment of a gunfight featuring these actors:
In Sturgis, we visited the Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame. Here are some of the bikes they had on display:
It was raining in Belle Fourche, so we toured their visitor center, which included a museum of artifacts from the area. Here is a T-Rex jawbone segment they had on display there:
Spearfish Canyon:
In Deadwood, we saw a reenactment of a gunfight featuring these actors:
In Sturgis, we visited the Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame. Here are some of the bikes they had on display:
It was raining in Belle Fourche, so we toured their visitor center, which included a museum of artifacts from the area. Here is a T-Rex jawbone segment they had on display there:Belle Fourche's claim to fame is that it is the Geographic Center of the United States. 
Our plan for tomorrow is to ride the 1880 train between Hill City and Keystone, and to tour Wind Cave National Park. More tomorrow from the road.
Our plan for tomorrow is to ride the 1880 train between Hill City and Keystone, and to tour Wind Cave National Park. More tomorrow from the road.Susan and Denis
Monday, September 7, 2009
South Dakota Trip Day Four
Greetings from the Black Hills. The weather was beautiful, so we decided to drive the southern Black Hills area. We visited Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, drove the Needles Highway and saw the Crazy Horse Monument. No words can really describe the sights, so we'll let the pictures do the talking:
Needles Highway:
Sylvan Lake:
Wildlife in Custer State Park:
Crazy Horse Monument:
Mt. Rushmore:
Tomorrow we will head north to Sturgis, Belle Fourche, Deadwood and Lead.
Needles Highway:
Sylvan Lake:
Wildlife in Custer State Park:
Crazy Horse Monument:
Mt. Rushmore:
Tomorrow we will head north to Sturgis, Belle Fourche, Deadwood and Lead.
Your tired but happy travelers,
Susan and Denis
Sunday, September 6, 2009
South Dakota Trip Day Three
Dateline: Rapid City, Sunday Sept. 6
We noticed a definate change in the terrain as we moved east to west across the state. East of the Missouri River was mostly flat, farm land. West of the river was rolling hills of prairie grass, very few crops (mostly acres and acres of sunflowers), and as we got close to Rapid City, no crops were grown, the land was just used as range for cattle. There were very few trees, and one rest area had no trees at all.
We stopped at Murdo to visit the Pioneer Auto Museum complex. We saw over 150 antique and collector cars, as well as gas pumps, childrens pedal cars, tractors, rocks, a prairie town with buildings, a railroad caboose, and much more. After our tour, we ate lunch in Murdo before pushing on to Rapid City. 
We have had great weather so far. It was 88 degrees in Rapid City when we arrived. Needless to say, we Wisconsinites from the cold northland aren't used to such warm weather, especially this summer. It sure felt good on the skin, tho.
Greetings all blog followers! We have arrived in Rapid City. We got to town around 4:00 Mountain Time (there was a time zone change just a few miles outside of Murdo). After checkintg in to our hotel, we headed for downtown to see the statues of the Presidents. Life-sized statues were created in bronze by five South Dakota artists. Beginning in 2000, two Presidents from the beginning of the American nation and two from the contemporary past were placed on Rapid City's downtown streets, with a projected completion of all past predisents in 2010. We took the walking tour downtown, which comprised a six by two block area, some of which was the downtown historical district. We snapped each Presiden't picture, and then went for some dinner. We opted for the familiar tonight for dinner, Golden Corral buffet. 
We left Mitchell this morning after 9:00 this morning, and stopped for a picnic breakfast at the Missouri River rest area at Chamberlain. This rest area was on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River. It was cool yet in the morning, and quite windy. These shots were taken at our breakfast stop.
We left Mitchell this morning after 9:00 this morning, and stopped for a picnic breakfast at the Missouri River rest area at Chamberlain. This rest area was on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River. It was cool yet in the morning, and quite windy. These shots were taken at our breakfast stop.We noticed a definate change in the terrain as we moved east to west across the state. East of the Missouri River was mostly flat, farm land. West of the river was rolling hills of prairie grass, very few crops (mostly acres and acres of sunflowers), and as we got close to Rapid City, no crops were grown, the land was just used as range for cattle. There were very few trees, and one rest area had no trees at all.We stopped at Murdo to visit the Pioneer Auto Museum complex. We saw over 150 antique and collector cars, as well as gas pumps, childrens pedal cars, tractors, rocks, a prairie town with buildings, a railroad caboose, and much more. After our tour, we ate lunch in Murdo before pushing on to Rapid City. 
We have had great weather so far. It was 88 degrees in Rapid City when we arrived. Needless to say, we Wisconsinites from the cold northland aren't used to such warm weather, especially this summer. It sure felt good on the skin, tho. We haven't yet decided what the plan is for tomorrow. We can either do the southern Black Hills, Mt Rushmore, Wind or Jewel Cave, and Custer State Park, OR do the northern Black Hills region, Deadwood, Lead, Sturgis, and Belle Fourche. Stay tuned for tomorrow's installment of our travelogue to find out what we decided.
Your intrepid travelers,
Susan and Denis
To our devoted followers...thanks for the daily comments. Keep 'em coming!
To our devoted followers...thanks for the daily comments. Keep 'em coming!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
South Dakota Trip Day Two
Greetings from Mitchell,
We also toured the Dakota Discovery Museum. Here is a picture of a hide tipi at the museum. We ate in the renovated train station, aptly named The Depot. After supper, we took a tour of the rest of Mitchell, and watched the sunset at Mitchell Lake.
Tomorrow we are back on the road as we head for Rapid City. We plan a picnic breakfast and lunch on the road, as well as a stop at the Pioneer Auto Museum at Murdo. See you then!
We left La Crosse this morning about 7:30 in very heavy fog. We couldn't enjoy the view along the river, but the fog lifted about 5 miles after we turned inland. We stopped for a breakfast picnic just west of Austin, MN. Here we are at breakfast.
We encountered some road construction, mostly new bridge work in the larger cities, courtesy of the Stimulus Bill. We were told today that ther is a 20 mile stretch of road construction between Mitchell and Rapid City, so it will be a little slower going. We are not pushing ourselves, so a little bit of a slowdown doesn't bother us much. There has been very little traffic, and we were able to cruise along pretty well, especially since the speed limit on I-90 here in SD is 75! We stopped at a wayside for a picnic lunch just outside of Adrian, MN. We arrived in Mitchell about 2:30 this afternoon.
Mitchell is a small prairie town, about 14,000 people. The big draw, of course, is the Corn Palace. Here are some snapshots of the outside and inside. The decorations are all made of colored ears of corn. A very odd and usual place.
We encountered some road construction, mostly new bridge work in the larger cities, courtesy of the Stimulus Bill. We were told today that ther is a 20 mile stretch of road construction between Mitchell and Rapid City, so it will be a little slower going. We are not pushing ourselves, so a little bit of a slowdown doesn't bother us much. There has been very little traffic, and we were able to cruise along pretty well, especially since the speed limit on I-90 here in SD is 75! We stopped at a wayside for a picnic lunch just outside of Adrian, MN. We arrived in Mitchell about 2:30 this afternoon.Mitchell is a small prairie town, about 14,000 people. The big draw, of course, is the Corn Palace. Here are some snapshots of the outside and inside. The decorations are all made of colored ears of corn. A very odd and usual place. We also toured the Dakota Discovery Museum. Here is a picture of a hide tipi at the museum. We ate in the renovated train station, aptly named The Depot. After supper, we took a tour of the rest of Mitchell, and watched the sunset at Mitchell Lake.Tomorrow we are back on the road as we head for Rapid City. We plan a picnic breakfast and lunch on the road, as well as a stop at the Pioneer Auto Museum at Murdo. See you then!Susan and Denis
Friday, September 4, 2009
South Dakota Road Trip Day One
Greetings all blog followers,
After much anticipation and preparation, we are finally on our way. We decided to drive to LaCrosse today after work and to make it our departure location for points west. We made one stop at a wayside outside of Neceedah, a nice little park along the Wisconsin River, where this photo was taken.
We arrived in LaCrosse about 6:30, checked into our hotel, and ate some dinner at a cute restaurant/bar in Onalaska, the Blue Moon. It is just across the highway from a cute little wayside overlooking Lake Onalaska. This is where this sunset photo was taken.
Tomorrow we want to get an early start heading west across Minnesota and on to Mitchell. More from Mitchell tomorrow night.
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