National Park Road Trip: Mt. Rushmore, Mammoth Site & Needles Highway (Part 5)

July 18, 2019InACents Leave a comment

After a spectacular day in the Badlands, our next journey was fortunately not to far at less than an hour and a half to the Mt. Rushmore area.

Our first stop of the day was of course Mt. Rushmore. As eluded in Part 1 of this trip report, our family received a free National Park pass good for one year thanks in part to a program sponsored by the government for 4th graders. It grants everyone in the vehicle admission to each of the National Parks.

However, when visiting Mt. Rushmore, guests still need to pay the parking fee to access the site. At $10 for a car, the great thing is the parking voucher is good for an entire year. So we were able to easily come and go to the site in the morning and evening of our visit.

After an obligatory stop at the observation platform to see the Presidents carved in stone, we made our way down and hike the Presidential Trail, which included a stop at the Sculptor’s Studio. Of course the boys earned their Junior Ranger badges while the adults listened to a Ranger talk about the construction of the monument.

After our hike, we also took the opportunity to get a couple scoops of Thomas Jefferson original recipe vanilla ice cream, which was delicious!

Mammoth Site

One of the places we really wanted to visit but were not sure we would have time was the Mammoth Site approximately an hour south of Mt. Rushmore. Thankfully we made a concerted effort to make our way there and it was well worth the visit.

Dozens of mammoth have been discovered in this active archaeological dig site. It so fascinating to think of the circumstances that caused all the mammoth to fall into this pit, and then the millions of years of sediment to bury the bodies. The evolution of the earth is absolutely astonishing, and you can literally see it being uncovered at the Mammoth Site.

After the Mammoth Site and drive back north, we stopped at The Purple Pie Place, which offered a decent grilled veggie sandwich and everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals too which included their very good chicken pot pie.

Needles Highway

Another really site we anticipated visiting during our visit to the Black Hills region was Needles Highway. This is a State Park; therefore our free National Park pass was not valid. One also realizes how valuable the free National Park Pass is when it costs $20 just to drive into Needles Highway. However, we knew it would be worth the time and investment.

We accessed Needles Highway from the Sylvan Lake entrance given we were coming from the south.

Needles Highway is simply stunning and quite the contrast of scenery. Lots of the rocks within the region also have a beautiful shimmer to them in the sunlight. Of course one of the cool highlights is driving through Needles Eye Tunnel with inches to spare on each side of the vehicle.

We would have possibly liked to spend more time on the Needles Highway and take in some hiking, but it was also a nice and relaxing drive so long as you have no issues with being along the edge of cliffs.

Review Holiday Inn Express & Suites Mt Rushmore/Keystone

After recommendations from family, we opted to stay at a hotel close to Mt. Rushmore so we could visit it both in the morning and at night for the lighting ceremony. Due to peak travel season, we chose the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Mt Rushmore/Keystone since we could redeem points at 30,000 points per night, minus a rebate of 10% for being an IHG credit card holder. While this may not have been our normal point redemption, at rates of over $200/night, we deemed it worth the investment to knock some of the cost off the trip.

As a Platinum IHG member, we are accustomed to getting upgrades when staying at their properties. However, unfortunately none were available as this property regularly sells out given its location near a tourist destination.

Also, note, we had to reserve our room 7 months in advance of the trip to secure a room.

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Mt Rushmore/Keystone was alright. Nothing really special other than location. Though we did get a free breakfast in the morning and they had a nice indoor pool for us all to enjoy.

Mt. Rushmore Lighting Ceremony

Honestly, Mt. Rushmore was a one and done for me. Besides visiting near 4th of July and feeling a sense of patriotism, in an area of the country with such natural beauty, the monument felt out of place.

Regardless, my wife wanted to see the monument lighting ceremony at night, so we arrived at 8:30 to get our spot. Despite the lighting ceremony being an hour away, we were surprised to see just how crowded the monument was in preparation.

We got lucky and secured a spot on the wall, but were surprised to see they did not open up the seating in the amphitheater for viewing.

Then we waited and struck up a great conversation with an active duty Navy gentleman next to us that our kids absolutely loved hearing about his work on submarines.

Then came the moment for the lighting ceremony, and there it was. Awkward spot lighting, not much fanfare. The entire monument was not even lit up. This was one hour of time I wish we could get back, as the lighting ceremony was a complete flop.

Maybe it is our family’s high expectations when it comes to entertainment given we frequent amusement parks, but it seemed like the ideal application for some projection mapping, thematic music, maybe even some lasers or fireworks. But then again, maybe the subtle lighting made sense to sort of tie in with the whole National Park natural beauty. Still, the lighting application was a complete fail in my eyes.

On the ride back to the hotel, of course with the time change from our normal EST, it was considered late for the family. However, while driving through Keystone, we saw a pizza place open and decided to treat the boys to a late night meal at Boss’ Pizza & Chicken. While the whole experience was reminiscent of late night eats during college, the boys seemed to enjoy the mediocre food.

Off to bed for a long day tomorrow to Devil’s Tower and into Cody, WY.

National Park Road Trip: The Badlands (Part 4)

July 17, 2019InACents Leave a comment

For our family’s first full day in the Badlands National Park, we got an early start and headed out to start exploring via the Badlands Loop Road.

Almost immediately we found a small pull-off, and started exploring the large formations and crevices. What was surprising was one would expect the formations to be made out of rock, but upon closer inspections, they were compacted dirt and stones. Therefore, exploring outside of designated trails was cumbersome with loose falling debris and subject to eroding away the structures. So we packed it in after some photos ops and stuck to designated trails further down the route.

An additional aspect that was quite surprising was that amidst so much barren outcrops was also lush green foliage that displayed yellow flowers. This same western wheatgrass is brown most of the years, but due in part to the very wet spring and early summer, the grass was thriving and beautiful to see throughout the region.

One of the cooler hikes we opted to take the boys was the Saddle Pass Trail. The short 1/4 mile climb was quite high and provided for some spectacular views of the Badlands. For safety of the kids, we stopped about 3/4 of the way up, but then safely transcended back down to the vehicle.

While the Badlands might not be one of the most popular National Parks, we found it highly enjoyable and beautiful. For peak summer months, crowds were relatively low and we never had any issues with parking, etc.

While in the Badlands, we encountered various fields of bison and many locations with prairie dogs.

Besides just the aspect of being in the National Parks, one idea all of our kids really embraced throughout the trip was completing the Junior Ranger programs in each of the parks. Each visitor center offered a book for the kids to complete with tasks that varied per age. Once complete, they were sworn in and received a park specific Junior Ranger badge. It was a really cool program and fun to see the kids learn about each of the parks while receiving a cool souvenir.

Wall Drug

Another roadside attraction everyone said we had to visit was Wall Drug north of the Badlands.

While Wall Drug is an interesting stop to see, it was little more than a glorified shopping center. Yes there were some interesting themed elements like an animatronic dinosaur and outdoor splash pad, but honestly nothing we must see again.

We opted to eat at the Wall Drug restaurant, which was decent and offered a veggie burger that was nice of them to offer given I had low expectations of being able to eat vegetarian/vegan at many places out west.

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Under most circumstances, visiting anything military related is not at the top of our family’s to-do list, especially on this trip which focused on parks. However, we happen to be driving by the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site and decided to learn what it was about.

Do yourself a favor and factor into your travels at least stopping at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site visitors center. This was one of the most fascinating, and scary, parts of the trip. While we did not make advanced reservations to visit the actual missile site or command center, the visitor center provided a terrific background on the system and history.

Call me naive to knowing much details about our military powers, but I had no idea what type of resources we still have active and ready to fire at a moments notice. I found it interesting that we used to have over 1,000 missile sites available but today only have around 400 after the START treaty was signed. I was also baffled how we signed a treaty to disarm an entire fleet of missile sites yet we still have hundreds of more powerful sites active.

After watching the visitor center video, it was also quite alarming to see how many false alerts have almost caused us to fire said missiles at fake reports of an attack on both the Russian and U.S. side. Thankfully, no missiles were fired, but it is quite scary to know how close we could be to a nuclear attack with only moments notice. For that we are thankful that our military is keeping an eye to the skies 24/7 to keep us safe.

Prairie Homestead

One of the things our kids really wanted to do on this trip, and particularly in the Badlands, was feed the prairie dogs. So we elected to stop at the Prairie Homestead on the outskirts of the National Park, for what we believe is the only location guests are actually allowed to feed the wild animals.

After purchasing our $1 bags of peanuts, we headed out to the field to feed the scavengers. We happen to be visiting in the late afternoon, so many of the animals had probably already gotten most of their fill earlier in the day. However, there still were some prairie dogs interested in coming over for a bite to eat. Some of the animals had no issues taking the entire peanut and peeling open the shell, while we found some others much prefer the peanuts outside the shell.

The Prairie Homestead was a fun little stop to experience.

Afterwards, we headed back to our cabin at the KOA for dinner and relax before heading back into the Badlands for an evening tour.

Badlands at Sunset

It is hard to describe just how beautiful the Badlands is and pictures do not do it justice. After seeing it in the morning, we made an effort to go back out near sunset to explore some new areas and see the sunset over the formations. Worth. Every. Penny!

As the sun set and the temperatures started to drop, we began to feel the sadness of having to leave the next morning. The Badlands are simple yet stunning, and we would not hesitate at coming back again.

In the early morning, we head towards Mt. Rushmore and surrounding area.

National Park Road Trip: Traveling to The Badlands (Part 3)

July 17, 2019InACents Leave a comment

After a couple days of amusement parks on our first leg of our cross country national park tour, it was time to get into the root of the trip and start connecting with nature. Our first park on the trip was the Badlands in South Dakota, which meant a long day of driving from Minnesota.

On our drive out of Bloomington, we randomly came upon Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store. Under normal circumstances, we normally might not have stopped given we live near Sweeties in Cleveland, which is a huge candy complex. However, we decided to make the stop, and we were glad we did.

Once inside Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store, we were impressed with the level of themes inside the facility with everything from superheros to an animatronic candy band. As a result of being thoroughly entertained, the bill for candy at the end hurt given three boys with eyes wide open. Fortunately we gave them each a cap on expenditures, though note they only take cash or check, which was a surprise to see given almost all places accept credit cards today.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

During the planning stage of our trip, we used the RoadTrippers program to recommend a stop in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Located in the middle of the town is a gorgeous set of waterfalls where the Big Sioux River tumbles over a series of rock outcrops. The trip was worthy of some photo ops and stopping for a quick lunch.

While in Sioux Falls, we also decided to stop and eat at Phillips Avenue Diner, which offered some decent food before getting back on the road.

Corn Palace

Having never traveled out west before this trip, we made plans to see several iconic roadside attractions. One of those was the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.

The outside of the theater venue is covered in corn, depicting a different theme each year.

Was it something different? Sure. While slightly interesting, I also saw it as a waste of crops. We were in and out of the facility within a short period of time, and then back on the road.

Dignity: of Earth & Sky

Before our final destination of the Badlands on this portion of our journey, we elected to make a pitstop at the Dignity: of Earth & Sky memorial. The 50-foot high stainless steel statue by South Dakota artist laureate Dale Lamphere depicts an Indigenous woman in Plains-style dress receiving a star quilt.

Not only was the statue impressive, but the views of the valley and Missouri River were also beautiful.

Sadly, the visitor center was closed for the day on our visit, but it was still well worth the stop.

The Badlands

The overall drive from Minnesota to The Badlands was a little over 7 hours, not including our scheduled stops listed above. By no means was this necessarily considered a long day of traveling for our family (wait until you see what we traveled in one day later in the trip), as our kids have become quite accustomed to being in the car for long periods of time. However, as you travel through vast prairie lands in the middle of the country, it does feel like it takes forever to get anywhere.

That being said, when we finally arrived at the Badlands, it was quite a surprise and contrast to the fields we had been viewing for the majority of the day.

As we pulled into the Badlands National Park and got our picture with the first park of our adventure, we were greeted with a gorgeous rainbow and contrasting skylines as one looked from the storm front to the sunny skies.

We will dive more into the Badlands on the next part of our journey, as we needed to make our way to our campground to set up shop in our cabin for the night.

Badlands KOA

With the idea of “trying” to save some money on this multi-week trip, our idea was to try and rough it where needed and really connect with our environment. Unfortunately, the more we researched traveling to National Parks, particularly out west, we learned tent camping or soft sided trailers was not really feasible given the threat of bears. So we new if we were going to be staying at campgrounds, it was the cabin life for us.

We opted for the Badlands / White River KOA just on the outskirts of the park and booked the 1 Room Camping Cabin (w/o Bathroom) for two nights. At a rate of roughly $80/night and to be so close to the Badlands, this KOA was a gem!

Now keep in mind, the cabin includes minimal accommodations as the only thing inside was the beds and a small table. Fortunately, the cabin did also include air conditioning. Guests had to provide their own bedding (or one could rent them from the campground).

Restrooms facilities, including showers, were provided close by at the main registration and camp store.

The campground also provided a decent size pool for the kids to take a dip, and small adjacent playground.

Since we were cabin camping and without food or cooking facilities, we opted for several meals to try the food prepared at the Cook Shack. The owners of the KOA can often be found at the Cook Shack and provide great conversation on all kinds of topics. More importantly, the food they cook was all really terrific. We highly recommend the Indian tacos, which are made on a thicker fry bread.

Tomorrow we dive deep into the beauty of the Badlands National Park.

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