South Dakota, take #3

We have successfully taken each of our grandchildren 1-7, on a solo trip with my husband and myself. Just in case you haven’t been here for a while or this is your first time at ME AND MY CHANEL, I will give you a brief rundown explaining our idea.

It all started four years ago. My husband had planned a trip for us and our dog, to South Dakota! After reviewing the details we both looked at each other and said “we need to take someone with us”! This was going to be too fun to experience without a child! Four years and seven trips later we were presented with a quandary! We have come to the conclusion that to ensure our grandchild would remember the trip, it was best for them to be approximately 12 yrs old, give or take a year. Grandchildren 8-11 are still very young and we will be waiting 3-4 years before they are old enough. We were faced with quite a dilemma until our second oldest grandson had a brilliant idea! Round TWO! Oldest boys on one trip and all the girls on another!

Something that has always been a priority in planning each trip, was to make it custom fit to the child. In the event that we returned to a location with a different child, we never wanted to repeat any experiences! Bearing all this in mind, great thought went into the boys trip, as they wanted South Dakota! This was actually our first trip with #6! Seeing as he had already been there, we felt we could repeat a couple experiences, allowing him to play “tour guide”! Of course we needed to “one up” ourselves and include new experiences on top of old, to make this trip truly unique!

Something that added a new dynamic to the group, was the addition of our oldest son. So off we went…

Our first night was spent in Sioux Falls, South Dakota! Before heading to the Badlands we made a quick detour to the Corn Palace.

Next stop, The Badlands!

The Badlands never ceases to amaze me! Over millions of years ago shallow seas, rivers and wind created layers of mud, sand and volcanic ash, which hardened into sedimentary rock. About 500,000 years ago the Cheyenne and White Rivers, rain and runoff began to erode the soft rock into what we see today. The erosion continues, constantly to reshaping the landscape. You literally feel as though you are on a different planet.

On the way to our cabin we did the wild life loop in Custer State Park! Looking for bison can be tricky, as the park covers over 71,000 acres of varied terrain, everything from rolling prairies to rugged mountains.

There were thirty-six bison bought in 1914 to begin the herd, which now has multiplied to 1,400. The park has an annual bison roundup each fall. At this time the 400-500 calves born each year are vaccinated and a general wellness check is performed on the entire herd. Also, several hundred select animals are sold at auction. This process maintains the integrity of the park.

Attending the annual roundup is something I would love to do. Custer State Park actually accepts applications from the general public, to be one of the 50-60 cowboys and cowgirls, herding the animals over a five-mile trail. If you are not able to acquire one of those coveted spots, you can still be one of the 16,000-20,000 spectators in the viewing crowd!

We will be returning in search of the elusive “begging burros” but for now, we are headed to our cabin!

Our first full day started with Mt Rushmore!

Mt Rushmore is located in the Black Hills, about 2 miles southwest of Keystone, South Dakota. The sculpture features 60 foot tall depictions of 4 presidents : George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. These four were chosen to represent the nation’s foundation, expansion, development and preservation, respectively, during the first 150yrs of American history.

Construction began in 1927 with each president to be depicted from head to waist. Due to lack of funding, construction ended on 10/31/1941, with Washington’s sculpture the only one including detail below chin level.

The project involved dynamite and a process called “honeycombing”. Workers drilled closely spaced holes, allowing rock to be removed by hand. Mt Rushmore was completed without a single fatality of 400 workers.

Next stop, Mammoth Site Hot Springs, South Dakota. Mammoth Site is an active paleontological excavation site, containing the remains of 58 Columbian mammoths and 3 wooly mammoths, to date. Probably lured by the warm water and pond vegetation, the mammoths entered and could not escape the slippery sides. In 1974 a construction worker, George Hanson, discovered unusual bones which his son identified as a mammoth tooth. The site is estimated to be about 20,000 yrs old, attracts over 100,000 visitors each year and is considered one of the best kept secrets of South Dakota.

Day 2 and our quest to discover new experiences, led us to the next activity. I think it truly was the highlight of our trip!

We were able to choose the level of terrain ruggedness and of course opted for “rugged”!

Clearly it was crazy fun!!!!!

We actually got caught in a hale storm, adding to the layer of experiences of our trek!

Returning to the other side of the mountain, we discovered it had been perfectly sunny for the entire day.

Day 3 started our search for those “begging bureaus”! We turned the corner and there they were. Everyone remained in their car until we got out, starting the trend!

One of my favorite sites is Crazy Horse!

Unlike Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse is ALL privately funded. This is the reason it is taking so long to complete and will probably not be fully so, in our lifetime nor the lifetime of our great grandchildren!

The memorial depicts the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse and was commissioned by Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder. Henry Standing Bear and fellow chiefs, wanted the white man to know that their ancestors also had great heroes. He reached out to a Polish-American sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, who also worked on Mt Rushmore. Standing Bear chose not to accept any government funds, relying entirely on private donations.

On June 3, 1948 Ziolkowski detonated the first blast, working until his death in 1982. His wife Ruth Ziolkowski, their children and grandchildren have carried on the project.

Crazy Horse truly is a legacy to our Native American ancestors, featuring a Native American Museum of North America, a Native American Cultural Center and an on-site Indian University of North America.

We headed up to Deadwood to watch a re-enactment of an Old West shootout. Apparently they would squabble over who would pay the bar tab to who won the poker game.

Day 4 started with a steam train ride on Black Hills Central Railroad to Keystone and a tour of Big Thunder Gold Mine.

Big Thunder Gold Mine, originally called the Gold Hill Lode, was discovered in 1892 by German immigrant workers W.B. Krupp and J.A. Engle. The drilling process was long and arduous…hand drilled holes, packed with explosives to loosen rock. Their endeavor was to reach the nearby Lucky Boy gold vein. This continued until 1907 when they reached the Lucky Boy vein about 330 ft in. By this time the vein had narrowed to only a few inches, making it nonprofitable. In 1913, after proceeding another 350 ft, they reached the Colombian vein, which contained little gold. Mining ended in 1914 and during World War 1 the U.S. government ordered mines not producing war essential metals or minerals to close.

We were able to try our hand at gold mining before heading back to our cabin.

Our down time included playing golf, cards and eating ice cream

Each trip is truly such a gift. All seven of the individual grandparents/grandchild trips totally revolved around that one child. It was delightful to focus entirely around one person, catering to their desires and having exclusive one on one time. This trip was different in that we got to watch! Watch three cousins that have literally grown up together and adore each other, have fun! Again, delightful!!!!!