I just booked a trip !

[Cornell]

Maybe if you have time, see if you can find the book "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" and watch the netflix series "Deadwood". This is a fictional account of how Deadwood came about and how the people moving westward lived during the gold rush. Both will give you a little bit of the history of the area and are entertaining!
Enjoy your trip and brief getaway from IL.

some other people in this post recommended that book & I have already ordered it from my local library? I"m excited to read it.

 

[JanT]

Many years ago I spearheaded a drive through our church to make blankets for the women and children of Pine Ridge Reservation. Tough, tough conditions there.

My grandsons other grandfather was born on pine ridge reservation, not sure if he was full American Indian, half, or one quarter. Apparently abused, and placed in orphanage at age 11. Horrible conditions there.

 

[curbysplace]

Hello friends . I love all of your comments. I must confess ignorance that I did not fully appreciate all that SD had to offer until I started looking into this. I love nature and natural beauty so I think this is going to be a good trip. And @geekette -- I honestly wish we were staying a bit longer now that I'm digging into this some more!

We are staying at a B&B in Deadwood. I am NOT a B&B kind of person. I told my daughter where we were staying and I thought she'd make some snide comment but she said "Sounds nice, might be good to have some other people to talk to". HAHAHAHA - love it. And she's right.

One of my all time favorite movies is "The Rider" which was filmed in the Badlands, so now that has piqued my interest. If any of you are looking for a great movie to watch during all of this , I highly recommend.

And I thought about checking out De Smet (who out there knows why I might want to see that?) - but way on the other side of the state.

@T_R_Oglodyte Thank you for your comments. I am not ignoring you! Your story about your dad touched me. My mother has dementia and lives in an assisted living facility, 5 mins from my house. It's killing me that no one other than staff has seen her for 8 weeks now. And God knows when that will end. I am bracing myself our first visit. I'm so angry that my mother is in the sunset years of her life and am prevented from seeing her. I'm not angry at her facility. I understand and respect it. Just angry at the whole situation, if that makes sense. I am now interested in checking out Wounded Knee when we go through the Badlands. Thank you!

DeSmet, hometown of Laura Ingels Wilder-Little House on the Prairie

 

[Cornell]

Greetings. So my trip to SD was wonderful and just what the doctor ordered.

I described my flight out of ORD in some other thread. But flying was certainly weird and a completely different vibe at ORD than usual. The Rapid City airport is fantastically small and easy.

Stayed in a B&B in Deadwood. B&Bs are not my thing but it was just fine for this trip. Owner was cool and really gave us our space.

Got to see so much natural beauty (despite some not-so-great weather) and a lot of wildlife. Saw bison (and babies which were leaping and running around), bighorn sheep, cows and more cows (including darling calves), deer, beautiful birds. And , per someone's suggestion, we hit up Bear Country USA which was hilarious but we saw so many bears including lots of playful cubs. Badlands exceeded my expectations and Custer State Park could keep someone busy for a full week. We even caught a glimpse of Mt. Rushmore as you emerge through the tunnel on Iron Mountain Rd. Just driving in western S. Dakota is awe inspiring at every turn. Beautiful rolling hills and lots of green emerging.

My daughter loved it so much that she was giving me the hard press to pack up and move there this summer. The town that we explored that I loved was Spearfish.

We got our hair and nails done, did some shopping (non-essential shopping), and ate in restaurants (heaven).

And for all the pro-maskers we were good citizens. Asked our Uber drivers , salon service providers, etc if they wanted us to wear masks. Everyone I encountered on our trip was extending two-way courtesies to each other so all were comfortable.

Best thing about the trip -- minimal traffic!

 

[MrockStar]

So glad you had a great trip. Thanks for sharing.

 

[DaveNV]

Great that you enjoyed yourself. Did you drive through The Needles from Custer State Park? If not, you need to make another trip to see it. Pretty awesome scenery.

Dave

 

[Cornell]

Great that you enjoyed yourself. Did you drive through The Needles from Custer State Park? If not, you need to make another trip to see it. Pretty awesome scenery.

Dave

Yes . Did the Wildlife Loop road in Custer , Needles, and Iron Mountain Rd. WOW! Just amazing. Because there was so little traffic we took our time, could pull over whenever we wanted. Custer State Park is something I cannot stop talking about.

 

[bbodb1]

And now, the real motivation for the trip is revealed!!!!

....We got our hair and nails done, did some shopping (non-essential shopping), and ate in restaurants (heaven).....

 

[DaveNV]

Yes . Did the Wildlife Loop road in Custer , Needles, and Iron Mountain Rd. WOW! Just amazing. Because there was so little traffic we took our time, could pull over whenever we wanted. Custer State Park is something I cannot stop talking about.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. The Black Hills is a lot more than just Mount Rushmore.

Dave

 

[klpca]

And now, the real motivation for the trip is revealed!!!!

Agreed. I still don't understand how haircuts aren't essential.

 

[Brett]

And now, the real motivation for the trip is revealed!!!!

yes - but restaurants and hair salons are now open everywhere ..... well, almost

 

[Luanne]

yes - but restaurants and hair salons are now open everywhere ..... well, almost

Not here. Probably not until June.

 

[Cornell]

yes - but restaurants and hair salons are now open everywhere ..... well, almost

Not where I live

 

[WVBaker]

Not where I live

I guess you don't live in "everywhere". Check a map and see just where "everywhere" is.

 

[Cornell]

I guess you don't live in "everywhere". Check a map and see just where "everywhere" is.

Yes and I have two friends that are OWNERS of salons. They are despondent. Seriously despondent. And they have not gotten a single $$ of loan money. It's not just about me getting my nails done.

 

[bbodb1]

If you need help getting your bearings:

 

[Cornell]

If you need help getting your bearings:

ABSOLUTELY ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS!!!!! I saw Dwight w/Steve Earle two year ago. What an incredible show.

For being a city slicker, I admire and love western life. There's nothing I enjoy more than going to a rodeo.

 

[MrockStar]

Yes and I have two friends that are OWNERS of salons. They are despondent. Seriously despondent. And they have not gotten a single $$ of loan money. It's not just about me getting my nails done.

You may have brought this up to them already, maybe they could sell gift certificates to current/former customers for Future hair/nail care. It might help them through a rough patch.

 

[Cornell]

You may have brought this up to them already, maybe they could sell gift certificates to current/former customers for Future hair/nail care. It might help them through a rough patch.

This is what's happening with this idea (gift cards)....people around here are jumping off that idea b/c they are worried that many businesses like these are not going to reopen & they won't get the value of their gift cards back.

I just prepaid my gym for the remainder of 2020. The owner is hurting so bad right now. If he folds, I don't care. He's a good guy and if I don't see the money again, I'm cool with it. He's a single dad with 3 kids. I've been there. It's not easy.

 

[MrockStar]

This is what's happening with this idea (gift cards)....people around here are jumping off that idea b/c they are worried that many businesses like these are not going to reopen & they won't get the value of their gift cards back.

I just prepaid my gym for the remainder of 2020. The owner is hurting so bad right now. If he folds, I don't care. He's a good guy and if I don't see the money again, I'm cool with it. He's a single dad with 3 kids. I've been there. It's not easy.

Right, understood. They "Salons"could always provide in home visits, eventually.

 

[Luanne]

This is what's happening with this idea (gift cards)....people around here are jumping off that idea b/c they are worried that many businesses like these are not going to reopen & they won't get the value of their gift cards back.

I just prepaid my gym for the remainder of 2020. The owner is hurting so bad right now. If he folds, I don't care. He's a good guy and if I don't see the money again, I'm cool with it. He's a single dad with 3 kids. I've been there. It's not easy.

The gym I belong to is an independent. I prepay for a year as it's cheaper that way. So far I've used two months of the twelve I paid for. There is no way I'm going back to the gym right away, even if they do open up in June. He closed the gym before the state even had the stay at home order as he didn't want to be "that place" where people got sick. He is now trying to find out from members if they will come back right away, or if they will come back ever. There are a lot of older people who go there. There is a possibility he may not reopen at all. I have no idea what will happen to the prepaid memberships. I understand this is not his only business, but it is his "baby". My trainer is currently looking for space she might be able to rent so she can continue to work with her clients.

The gym did get some kind of loan or PPP. He was able to pay the staff and class instructors. People like my trainer who work independently, didn't get anything from him. She did apply for unemployment.

 

[Luanne]

Right, understood. They "Salons"could always provide in home visits, eventually.

No, they can't. I just had this discussion with someone who is a hairdresser on another board. Her license is good if she works in a licensed salon. I don't know if it's that way for all states.

 

[MrockStar]

No, they can't. I just had this discussion with someone who is a hairdresser on another board. Her license is good if she works in a licensed salon. I don't know if it's that way for all states.

Ok, great point each state does vary. Thanks for the FYI.

 

[dago]

Greetings. So my trip to SD was wonderful and just what the doctor ordered.

I described my flight out of ORD in some other thread. But flying was certainly weird and a completely different vibe at ORD than usual. The Rapid City airport is fantastically small and easy.

Stayed in a B&B in Deadwood. B&Bs are not my thing but it was just fine for this trip. Owner was cool and really gave us our space.

Got to see so much natural beauty (despite some not-so-great weather) and a lot of wildlife. Saw bison (and babies which were leaping and running around), bighorn sheep, cows and more cows (including darling calves), deer, beautiful birds. And , per someone's suggestion, we hit up Bear Country USA which was hilarious but we saw so many bears including lots of playful cubs. Badlands exceeded my expectations and Custer State Park could keep someone busy for a full week. We even caught a glimpse of Mt. Rushmore as you emerge through the tunnel on Iron Mountain Rd. Just driving in western S. Dakota is awe inspiring at every turn. Beautiful rolling hills and lots of green emerging.

My daughter loved it so much that she was giving me the hard press to pack up and move there this summer. The town that we explored that I loved was Spearfish.

We got our hair and nails done, did some shopping (non-essential shopping), and ate in restaurants (heaven).

And for all the pro-maskers we were good citizens. Asked our Uber drivers , salon service providers, etc if they wanted us to wear masks. Everyone I encountered on our trip was extending two-way courtesies to each other so all were comfortable.

Best thing about the trip -- minimal traffic!

Wow - you got to see a lot in that short period of time. I spent a week there and also got to see Devils Tower(is probably closed now), and took a drive to Little Big Horn Battlefield in Montana.

Any place other than the Chicago area traffic is minimal. Chicago traffic is brutal. And the tolls are outrageous. I try to avoid the area.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Sounds like an amazing trip. Glad you were able to enjoy some quality 1:1 time with your daughter. You both will look back on this trip fondly when she leaves for college.