When we set up our reservations for Rushmore Shadows, we had no idea that it was the same week as the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. As we came through Sturgis on our way to Rapid City, there were already quite a few motorcycles and we could see lots of tents and canopies set up for vendors in all of the fields along the way--but no motorcycles there yet. But, a couple of days later, there were motorcycles everywhere. We never made it back to Sturgis, but there were plenty to see, even in the Rapid City area. Later on in the week, everywhere you were, there were "tons" of motorcycles!
We got a good site in the park. The front of our Journey looked out on a big grassy area where the playground and the pool were. It was great when Jill and Dan and the kids got there because there was an empty space right behind us! The park filled up with a lot of people who had come in for the Sturgis Rally. They usually road their motorcycles out fairly early in the mornings and then came back in the late evenings. It was fun to see all of them.
One place we went to see before Jill's family got there was Wall Drug Store. In 1931 Dorothy and Ted Hustead bought the only drugstore in a little town called Wall on the edge of the South Dakota Badlands. After almost five years, the business hadn't grown too much, so Dorothy suggested giving away ice water to everyone. Before they could finish putting up the signs along the road that advertised free ice water, their store was full of people! Now, this block-sized-plus emporium draws up to 20,000 people on a hot summer day, and they still give away free ice water!
They have everything you could think of in their store, including this monster dinosaur who "jumps out and tries to eat you!"
Terry caught me trying to ride this giant jackalope in the patio area. . .
. . . and I caught him out in the front of the store looking for a Cushman scooter amongst all of the motorcycles there! We had a good time exploring this huge Wall Drug Store.
Next, we drove through the Badlands National Park.
65 million years ago, this area used to be a sea. Weather patterns shifted and the Badlands was lifted. Volcanoes, wind, and rushing water eroded soil, coursing through different layers of harder and softer rock, gouging out channels and gullies, and carving cliffs, spires and other rock formations.
There were a lot of movies taken in the the Badlands area. Parts of Terry's favorite movie were taken there--Dances With Wolves.
There were walkways that you could follow to go out into the middle of the rock formations. You could also take off on your own, but we decided we didn't want to get lost in the Badlands--they would never find us!
It was fun to see these wild mountain goats. We also saw a buffalo, but he was quite far away. It was a fun day spent at Wall Drug and the Badlands.
We went into Rapid City on Saturday to a farmers market. While we were there, we walked the streets where they have statues of the Presidents of the United States on each corner. They were really something. I forgot my camera, so I got no pictures! We had this little tour book that told a little about each President--some things that weren't commonly known about them. William Henry Harrison, ninth president, died from pneumonia one month after his inauguration, and his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, became the twenty-third president and was inaugurated 48 years to the day, after his grandfather. I also didn't realize that Bill Clinton's name was William Jefferson Clinton (I probably should have known that!) Anyway, there was a little scavenger hunt to find certain things on some of the statues, like a rose boutonniere, a toy airplane, a baseball, and other things. When you finished, you could take the little booklet and get a free Presidential Soda in a special bottle. We did that and got a Presidential Creme Soda!
Dan, Boe, Kamber, and Jill got to our campground a few days after we got there. They are posing in this sign that was out on the lawn by the playground.
It was fun having them there. Of course, one of the favorite spots was the pool and the hot tub.
One day we all took a trolley tour of Rapid City. It only took about an hour and we learned a lot about the city.
After the trolley tour, we went to the Town Square where there is a water fountain. Boe and Kamber had a lot of fun playing in it. It was a pretty warm day and I think the rest of us would have liked to join them!
Dan's sister, Candie, and her hubby and three boys, came and stayed one night with Jill. Boe and Kamber had a "sleep-over" with us to give them all a little more room in their trailer. We all went into town the next day. One place we went was Storybook Island. It was great. There were play things and rides depicting almost every fairytale and nursery rhyme you could think of!
Jill will probably shoot me for putting this picture of her riding the little horse . . .
but we will be even by my posting this picture of Terry and I on the gorilla swings!
Here are Kamber, Dash, Colt, and Boe on a little ride.
Next, we went to Dinosaur Land. It was a pretty long set of stairs to climb to the top, and it was quite warm out, but we bought ice cream cones and popcorn and headed up the hill
Boe, Dash, and Kamber climbed up on this dinosaur. The younger kids were pretty impressed with the dinosaurs. But, Boe thought they should have been painted a different color other than "all green." They were supposed to be life-size, though. They have found a lot of dinosaur bones in the Rapid City area and out in the Badlands.
The evening before Jill and Dan left, we went to Mount Rushmore. We had all been there before, but none of us had seen the lighting ceremony they have in the evening.
They showed a movie, in the large outdoor ampitheater, about the making of Mount Rushmore and then they had all of the veterans and military people in the audience come down on stage. Terry usually doesn't participate in things like this, but I whispered to him that he really should this time--for his grandkids! So, he went down. There were over 50 men and women. They had them say their names and the branch of the military they served in. We all sang the Star Spangled Banner and then they asked for six volunteers to take the flag down and fold it. It was really nice and I know that Boe and Kamber thought it was special that their Grandpa was down on that stage.
At the end of the ceremony, they slowly lit up the statues on Mount Rushmore. It was really something. I am so glad we took the time to go, even though it was a little late when we got home.
Jill and Dan got a special rate to stay in the Park for three nights, but they had to listen to a sales pitch on the camping program. After two hours of presentation, they said, "Thanks, but no thanks," and recieved two tickets to a chuckwagon dinner and show. Because they didn't stay long enough to use them, they gave the tickets to us. We had a great time--the food was tasty and the show was good. We also got to see the film set that they used in the movie, Dances With Wolves. They had the office where the Kevin Kostner got his orders and where the Captain shot himself in the head, with the bullet hole still in the window. Thanks, Jill and Dan, for treating us! We will miss our kids and grandkids the next nine months until we get to Arizona. We haven't ever gone that long without a grandma/grandpa fix!
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