North American Wild West: Part I South Dakota

It started with a simple google search, “Where is the closest airport to Mt. Rushmore?” The answer is Rapid City, South Dakota, and I had the easy task of booking my flight from Honolulu.

The more difficult challenge of planning a driving route through our nation’s sublime national parks and monuments beginning in Ohio and stretching all the way up into the Canadian Rockies fell onto my partner, Sam Yoder, who navigated the Yoder’s personal tour bus with professional expertise. We had our parents, dogs and two of our closest family friends, Mike Vernier and Candy Corbett, in tow. In search of Americana we explored former frontier boom towns and battlefields, taking in the sublime landscapes and interesting people and wildlife, while laughing and eating all the way.

Sam and my parents picked me up in a rented SUV from the Rapid City Airport, which is tiny and rural. We made our way to Canyon Lake Village, where they had parked the 45-foot Newmar Essex, which I refer to as the Dolly Parton tour bus for its luxurious glamping style. This home on wheels boasts beautiful hand carved wood cabinetry, marble and hard wood floors, three slides to expand the space comfortably, washer/dryer, bathroom, satellite televisions, full-size refrigerator and freezer, king-sized bed, leather furniture and many other creature comforts, including our own Starbucks machine to make espresso drinks. We take our comfort seriously. We also rented a two bedroom cottage on site.

Our first stop was the iconic Mount Rushmore. About a 20 minute drive from Rapid City, Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a massive sculpture carved into the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Completed in 1941 under the direction of Gutzon Borglum and his son Lincoln, the sculpture’s roughly 60-ft.-high granite faces depict U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The site also features a museum with interactive exhibits. Having seen the monument on everything from post cards to television and history books to cartoons, it was gratifying to behold in person. Sam’s Mom, Geri Yoder, whom we affectionately call “Mama G” remarked that it had such an impact on her that she would have been satisfied if the sojourn had ended there. However, there was so much more to explore.

About 10-15 minutes down the road is Crazy Horse Memorial. Crazy Horse is the world’s largest mountain carving located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is considered The Eighth Wonder of the World in progress. The Mission of Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation is to protect and preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of the North American Indians. Impressively, the site features a museum and university.

We made our way along the breathtaking Needles Highway stopping for reflective photos at Sylvan Lake with its mammoth rock formations jutting up from the water like a movie set. This heavenly slice of Americana evoked patriotism and childhood memories. At one point, Sam started singing “Home on the Range” while driving the green hills and pastures of Custer Park before coming upon a heard of wild buffalo. This is, after all, where “the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play.” The giant creatures literally surrounded our vehicles and reminded my parents and I of being on safari in Africa, especially when we saw elongated, open-air Jeeps emblazoned with “Buffalo Safari” logos.

We drove to The Badlands taking in the countless billboards for Wall Drug Store along the way. The rugged beauty of the Badlands draws visitors from around the world. These striking geologic deposits contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed here. The park’s 244,000 acres protect an expanse of mixed-grass prairie where bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets live today. The prairie dogs were especially entertaining as they jumped from hole to hole squeaking and squealing with delight. They reminded me of “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and even tough-guy Sam thought they were adorable. A herd of big horn sheep grazing and napping in tall, wild grass with the striped clay canyons and orange sunset in the backdrop was something you’d see on National Geographic Television.

Wall Drug Store, often called simply Wall Drug, is a tourist attraction located in the town of Wall, South Dakota. It is a cowboy-themed shopping mall consisting of a drug store, gift shop, restaurants and various other stores, as well as an art gallery and an 80-foot brontosaurus sculpture. Unlike a traditional shopping mall, all the stores at Wall Drug operate under a single entity instead of being individually run stores. The New York Times has described Wall Drug as “a sprawling tourist attraction of international renown [that] draws some two million annual visitors to a remote town.”

The small town drugstore made its first step toward fame when it was purchased by Ted Hustead in 1931. Hustead was a Nebraska native and pharmacist who was looking for a small town with a Catholic church in which to establish his business. He bought Wall Drug, located in a 231-person town in what he referred to as “the middle of nowhere,” and strove to make a living. Business was very slow until his wife, Dorothy, thought of advertising free ice water to parched travelers heading to the newly opened Mount Rushmore monument 60 miles to the west. From that time on business was brisk.

Steak was on the menu for both nights which is no surprise for the mostly meat-and-potato loving crowd visiting the middle of cowboy country. The night before I arrived the group enjoyed Dakota Steakhouse where my Dad devoured a 44-ounce ribeye. We had good burgers and hand cut fries in Keystone despite the annoying flies which are prevalent throughout South Dakota. Local beef production is the norm and Red Rock Restaurant was no exception though the undercooked steaks had to be sent back for more time on the grill. The last day in Sturgis we found Jambonz Grill and Pub featuring southern cooking from Louisiana roots. They even have Po Boys.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is held annually for 10 days starting the first Friday in August, which was the day we happened to be there. Even though it was only the first day, street fairs were already active and motorcycles lined the crowded streets. Young women in bikinis offered “bike washes.” The rally was begun in 1938 by a group of Indian Motorcycle riders and was originally held for stunts and races. Attendance has historically been around 500,000 people, and the event generates around $800 million in revenue for this tiny town.

From Sturgis we ventured on to Deadwood. The discovery of gold in the southern Black Hills in 1874 set off one of the great gold rushes in America. In 1876, miners moved into the northern Black Hills. That’s where they came across a gulch full of dead trees and a creek full of gold and Deadwood was born.

Practically overnight, the tiny gold camp boomed into a town that played by its own rules and attracted outlaws, gamblers and gunslingers along with the gold seekers. Wild Bill Hickok was one of those men who came looking for fortune. But just a few short weeks after arriving, he was gunned down. Calamity Jane also made a name for herself in these parts and is buried next to Hickok in Mount Moriah Cemetery. Other legends, like Potato Creek Johnny, Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen, created their legends and legacies in this tiny Black Hills town.

Billed as the entryway to the Wild West and located in the Black Hills National Forest, Deadwood is where you can play all day and all night. Enjoy the outdoor adventures, hikes, mountain bike rides and ATV trails of the Black Hills by day and the casinos and bars of Deadwood by night.

South Dakota is a slice of Americana that is filled with history and natural wonders. Rapid city is a great home base from which to explore many of the attractions. Continuing on, we made our way through Wyoming and into Montana, headed for Livingston from which we would explore Yellowstone, the topic of my next blog.