Tourist Traps

Believe it or not, even though we did all the hiking and saw so much wildlife, we found time to see many of the "attractions" in the Black Hills. Keep in mind, the Black Hills are a tourist attraction in themselves. There are a ton of places that will gladly separate you from your money. It would be impossible for a family to see them all in a week. Secondly, as you can imagine, I'd much rather be on the trail than at a tourist trap. Laurie on the other hand gets a kick out of roadside attractions.

The day we left the Badlands, we got an early start and hit a few  places in the Rapid City area. Laurie researched the places she wanted to go and I cheerfully followed along since I made her stay at a campground for two nights without running water. We also did a an attraction or two on other days. We would get up early do an attraction like Crazy Horse then go do a trail or look for wildlife in the afternoon. This vacation was certainly give and take for the both of us. Although I didn't mind the tourist traps and Laurie likes hiking, we did compromise for the greater good. Truth is, we both got the most out of our vacation by doing what the other wanted also.

I'll do the attractions in terms of least favorite to favorite, from my perspective. Keep in mind, this is only a small sample of the the things to do in the Black Hills. The only possible way to do exactly what you want is to research and find the places to make your vacation your own.

1. Crazy Horse Memorial

I've been to Crazy Horse before. I'm not a fan. When completed it will be the largest stone monument

in the world. Unfortunately, progress is so slow, it will not be completed in our life time even if you are 5 years old reading this. Without being pushy, I tried to talk Laurie out of going. Here are my reasons.
        1. Most of the Lakota tribe is against the memorial. They think it is sacrilegious to carve into the sacred Black Hills. I am not at all politically correct, but when most a culture that you are trying to enshrine is against it, maybe you should listen.
   
       2. Rushmore costs $11 car. Crazy Horse $22 for two people, more for a bigger family. On top of that. if you want to get close to the mountain, a bus will take you closer for an additional four dollars. Its not the cost, it's the principle.

       3. CRAZY HORSE NEVER HAD HIS PICTURE TAKEN OF HIM. THE MONUMENT ISN'T HIS LIKENESS INSTEAD IT IS SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT HIM! This fact drives me crazy. how can you carve a mountain of a great warrior only for it to represent him but not be him.

2. Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Nothing against this little NHS. It is just outside the Badlands. You can see a spot where a nuke was formally placed underground. It's quick and worth a stop. Free

3. Chapel in the Hills

This is an exact replica of a very cool church in Finland. The architecture is incredible. It is Rapid
City. You will need GPS or good directions. It's free. There is a tiny museum on the property also. I saw a doe mule deer and turkeys. I watched them while Laurie looked at the church for a few minutes.

4. South Dakota Air and Space Museum

Also free. Just outside of Rapid City at Ellsworth Air Force Base. This museum is excellent. Outside the main building are a bunch of static planes. Inside the hanger are many exhibits from the Cold War to B-1 Bombers. The only reason I would not put this higher on the list of places I enjoyed is the big planes weren't labeled. There was no way to tell what the static planes outside are unless you are an aviation junkie. I wanted to know. I think one was a Vietnam era F-1 Phantom but because there wasn't any signage I wasn't sure. If you like aviation, it was certainly worth a couple hours of your time.

5. Wall Drug

I didn't actually enjoy Wall Drug more than the Air and Space Museum. I am rating it higher because it is a good place to go during the hottest part of the day in the Badlands. Wall Drug is the South of the Border of the west. It is a roadside tourist trap at its best. It is basically an oversized gift shop. It has one thing going for it. I loved- free ice water. In the dry South Dakota heat, you'd be surprised how fast you dehydrate even sitting still. They also have 5 CENT COFFEE. On the 107 degree day we spent the hottest part of the day there. We also bought a burger and fries for lunch at their cafeteria.

Free Water and five cent coffee went for a few hours. I must have drank ten glasses of water and three coffees. We also bought a burger and fries for lunch. If your at the Badlands, it's a given you have to check out Wall Drug.

6. Bear Country U.S.A.

Bear Country is drive thru wildlife park. You literally drive your car through areas of animals. The animals are huge. The elk have the biggest spread I have ever seen. The main focus is the black bear exhibit. There are at least fifty black bear in the enclosure and you drive right by them. We went on a rainy day as something to do. We really enjoyed ourselves. After the riving part, you park the car and see baby bears and other smaller North American animals like coyote, fox, raccoon, and bobcat.

To be honest, Bear Country was my very favorite thing we did at the time. I got some great pictures of animals. I'll never get a decent picture of a wild lynx and bobcat among others. Then I read reviews online. It seems that the animals are not well taken care of. For starters, there is very little shade in some of the exhibits. I didn't think about this on a rainy day but it is true. There was no place for all those bears to get out of the sun on a hundred degree day. Secondly, they are unhealthy fat. I mean absolutely obese. This goes for all the animals. They are not on healthy diets. The bears look like barrels. The bobcat stomach was almost on the ground. I saw them feeding the raccoons and skunks, of all things hot dogs.

So in conclusion, the welfare of the animals is not the number one priority of the owners. I am certain of that (hot dogs). I looked what I thought were outstanding pictures only to realize how fat and unhealthy the animals are. I will not go back. I gave them $32. I really wanted to know what the place is like and really wanted to go, but now I'm a bit ashamed I greased the pockets of these owners.

My presidential hero at his desk in the wax museum
I couldn't tell if Marilyn was under it.

So make your own moral decision. The place isn't going to close down if you boycott it. So it's your decision, Read other reviews some people loved it, others felt sick for the animals. I put it in the middle of my list because of how much I enjoyed being there and now how much I am disappointed

7.Presidential Wax Museum, Keystone

This wax museum is like the Hall of Presidents at Disney and Gettysburg. It is what you would expect of wax figures in a
setting. You do get a wand with your admission and can listen to a historical narrative of each  scene. Ten dollars. I liked it.

8. Mammoth Site, Hot Springs

There is a fossil bed of over 30 mammoths in Hot Springs open to the public. You can see scientists actively digging out the fossils of mammoths (during the summer months they dig, the rest of the year they catalog and study the bones they collect). It is a neat place and I've never seen anything like it. There is a tour guide (I saw one guide that couldn't have been 12 years old, he was quite smart but maybe they don't have child labor laws). Anyway if you like fossils, this place is cool.

9. Cosmos Mystery Area

This is one of those places where science doesn't act correctly. Water runs uphill. People look taller than they should on a level surface.A house that has gravity going the wrong way...etc..
I'm sure it is a gimmick, but it is a fun place to visit at the time.

10. Reptile Gardens

This is actually the highest rated tourist attraction according to Trip Adviser in the Black Hills. It has a collection of every poisonous snake I can think of. There are also pythons, anacondas, and little harmless snakes.They have a huge king cobra, puff adder, and mambas. There is an alligator show that was fun.There is also a bird and snake show, but we didn't get to see them. There is a coral where you can pet giant tortoises and they like it. If your into reptiles, you will enjoy your time.

11. Wind Cave Tour

There are multiple caves in the Black Hills. I won't tell you that one is better than another. I like Wind Cave because it is a national park and not a tourist attraction. I had done the tour before. My favorite part was watching Laurie enjoy the cave for the first time. In the same way you enjoy watching your kid have fun I got the same enjoyment watching my friend mesmerized by the huge cave. That said, I'd go down there for a third time, even alone. It is fun to be down there, the rangers are awesome, and the temp is 54 degrees year round which feels great on a hot day.

Wrap up

Those are the attractions I did this trip. Last trip we went to the Museum of Geology. It was awesome. They have a 20 pound piece of gold, huge piece of platinum and multiple fossils. Well worth it. Rapid City is also the City of Presidents. On many street corners you will find a statue of our presidents. We didn't see them all as we drove through town. You can get a paper and follow a route and see them all.

Like I said, there are tons of places we didn't go. Big Thunder Gold Mine and an adventure park with an alpine slide are in downtown Keystone. Horseback riding is an option. Rushmore Cave is popular. There is a Petrified Garden just a little north of the city that I kind of wanted to go to, but used my time to hike. We went to every place Laurie wanted to go. Most places on the list were her idea. Bear Country was mine and you can see my mixed feelings.

 Hope this helps with some suggestions. My overview of these places is just the tip of the iceberg of what is in the Rapid City/ Rushmore area. Also remember, even when I was enjoying these things, I would prefer to be exploring a trail or watching bighorn sheep. So my idea of fun may not be your idea of fun.

Extremely fat grizzly bear at Bear Country U.S.A.