Rapid City

[rapmarks]

In Wisconsin dells we have Automotion, 100000 come to this little town, drag racing and reving motors up and down the strip.

 

[AnnaS]

Thanks!

I researched online and chose Collette. But went to a local travel agent to book it.

It’s called “Spotlight on South Dakota”. I liked the fact that we stay in one hotel the whole time also.

From what I have read best times to go to South Dakota are late spring through early fall. For us our favorite months to travel are June and September. Off season so less crowds- kind of - but usually good weather.

Summers where we live now are ideal so we stay put.

Anyway from what I recall in my research, Trafalgar also has a South Dakota tour and they are a good company from what I know- but to me their South Dakota tour seemed too focused on the Native American plight, the reservations, etc. Though I have great respect for Native Americans in that regard I didn’t want spend our whole vacation focusing almost only on that. That tour does take you into Bismarck, North Dakota for a day to Teddy Roosevelt National Park. And it’s a few days longer than the Collette one.

Enjoy your trip to Italy!

Thank you so much MaryAnn!!!!

 

[slip]

In Wisconsin dells we have Automotion, 100000 come to this little town, drag racing and Erving motors up and down the strip.

I remember that well. We avoided the Dells that whole week.

 

[Monykalyn]

Hey! I did this trip in May 2020. Flew from Chicago to Rapid City. Western S Dakota is one of the most memorable places I've been to. Just beautiful land , great people, nature!

Pro Tip: the locals call it "Rapid". And just know that Rapid isn't a notable city. Don't let your impressions of it color what you will experience elsewhere.

And you'll love the Rapid City airport. Tiny, easy, painless.

We were right behind you that year in late June/early July! No crowds anywhere. Found a cute local restaurant in Custer on July 4-turns out the courthouse right behind it is where local residents go to watch fireworks!

Also went to devils tower and spearfish canyon and wind cave besides badlands, Custer state park snd Mount Rushmore

Spearfish canyon is just gorgeous.

@WinniWoman have a fabulous trip!

 

[WinniWoman]

Well, we are back. We had great weather for the most part. Collette tour was very good- tour guide and bus driver. 40 of us.

Checked off most all our boxes except we could not do Needles Highway (as Dave NW recommended) or Sylvan Lake as they were not part of the tour.

We were lucky the flights went well. No delays or other problems. Wheelchair service worked out mostly. Boston wheelchair going was a no show though, but the gate was close luckily. I liked that we could pre board. But I must say flying is such an uncomfortable experience. The smaller plane to Rapid City was actually more comfortable than the bigger plane to Chicago for our connection.

The bus we had on the tour was great. Big windows.Temperature just right. Lots of space for storage. TV screens so we could watch the national park visitor films on our way to them so not to waste time once we got there! I loved that our tour guide played the soundtrack from Dances with Wolves! Things like that.

My favorite was the Badlands and my husband's was Mt. Rushmore. We just so happened to go there on a day that 199 immigrants were taking their oaths of citizenship under the monument. Very moving! We returned another night to watch the illumination presentation as well. And yes- we had the two scoops of Thomas Jefferson Ice Cream! We just had to! LOL!

The bus driver was good enough to take us one evening into downtown Rapid City so we could walk around and see the statues of all the Presidents on the street corners and have dinner. We chose the Firehouse Brewery. Interesting when we got the tab it listed a cash price and a credit card price! I do think they should make people aware of this on the menu, though!

The bus driver also took us to a supermarket the second day which helped with some lunches and a few dinners as we were in a residence inn with a kitchen- though minimal supplies and not really conducive to cooking. I mean- you don't have seasonings and things like that. Only a frying pan and a sauce pan. No oven. Definitely not like a timeshare condo that's for sure! We just bought a frozen meal and pre made sandwiches. This was the downside of staying there. Nothing to really walk to.

The first night there (the day before the evening welcome dinner) we used Lyft and waited like a half hour for the driver to arrive. No personality. (The hotel was off several major highways and we could see a liquor and convenience store across from there but couldn't get to them- too dangerous.) When we were done shopping we ordered another ride and no one came. Then another ride and they had no one. Now we were already waiting an hour so I tried UBER and first driver never came. Finally the second driver came after I called him to make sure he was coming. Another dead beat personality. LOL! I had to have the store manager put the few things we bought there- frozen pizza, juice. etc. in his cooler until the ride came. What an ordeal. I swore off using them after that. Later found out we could have used a taxi service that is more reliable.

I really hated not having a car just for this reason- not being able to go to a store or to a place for dinner.

The Residence Inn was just ok. The breakfast was the same every single day- eggs and sausage and toast and oatmeal and cereal and apples and yogurt. No pancakes or waffles to change it up. The tour guide recognized this and the company sprung for us all to go to a restaurant one morning so we could have something else for a change. (I had French Toast).

Overall we were not impressed with the food anywhere at all but we understand we were on a tour with 40 people in South Dakota, LOL!

The beds and pillows and couch were super uncomfortable adding to our tiredness each day. I wasn't impressed. No housekeeping service unless you asked (we skipped it). Minimal supplies (an understatement)- not even a little hand lotion. You could ask for extras as needed, though. But they didn't even start you out with a decent amount of things.

I guess that's the way it goes these days.

We almost ended up washing dishes after lunch in Keystone at Peggy's Place because when we went to pay the tab we were told they did not take credit cards! We only kept minimal cash on us each day and thankfully we had just enough for the tab plus the tip.

We covered a lot of ground and I have to say we were exhausted as each day was full. Thankfully we stayed at just one hotel and I can't imagine tours where you have to live out of a suitcase. That would have wiped me out completely. I don't know how these older folks handle it. My back was hurting and my walking was limited. My husband slept a lot on the bus until we would arrive to the next destination. But I would say the average age of the people on the tour was around 75. One woman had a birthday- age 80. We are both 67 and 69.

Other sights we saw were Jeep safari at Custer State Park, Devils Tower in Wyoming, Deadwood and Moriah Cemetery, Crazy Horse, Kevin Costner's Tatanka, Chapel in the Hills. We could have done without most of the museums. Some were interesting, but I am not a big fan., though I believe them to be important to preserve history. It's just that it is information overload- too much to see and read. I find them tiring after awhile. How many Indian moccasins do we have to see from100 years ago. Ha! Ha! Also we are not shoppers so weren't interested in that either. We are downsized- not in an accumulation phase. Felt those stops were a waste of time. Though we did like Wall Drug- thought it was an incredible place to see.

Of course my husband had to buy two patches to add to his collection that he keeps saying he is going to sew on a blanket and never does. I keep telling him they will be burned along with his body when he is cremated.

Northeastern Wyoming scenery beats South Dakota scenery hands down. Some of it reminded me of Vermont, though I guess the prairies/plains do have a certain beauty all their own.

So in summation, it was an enjoyable trip. It checked off most all our boxes. We felt it completed what we wanted to see and do in the West and western National Parks, though of course, we have not seen all of them. If we never get to another one we are ok with it. Satisfied. Glad we went. But we were also glad to get home so we could sleep in our comfortable bed and get back to our routine. Summer in New Hampshire is the best!

 

[rapmarks]

Thanks for reporting back. Sounds like you saw the best spots. I hope it was fun. chief Crazy Horse hasn’t changed much since 2008. Wasn’t the trip to wall drugs a pretty long ride?

 

[slip]

Sounds like a great trip.

 

[rickandcindy23]

We haven't been for a years, and we have good friends that moved to the area near Mt Rushmore. I would love to see their home, which is on an acreage with lots of animals roaming about.

Rick loves a road trip, but we have been trying to do all timeshares on the road. Pretty tough in South Dakota.

 

[WinniWoman]

Thanks for reporting back. Sounds like you saw the best spots. I hope it was fun. chief Crazy Horse hasn’t changed much since 2008. Wasn’t the trip to wall drugs a pretty long ride?

Actually that day- if I recall correctly- but not totally sure-we first went to the Minuteman Missle National Historic Site and also an Ogwala Village (near the reservation) and then off to the Badlands. Then on the way back we hit Wall Drug.

 

[AnnaS]

Welcome back!! Thank you for sharing your trip report and pictures!

A memorable experience/adventure!!! I am sure you are happy to be in your home and comfy bed

 

[rapmarks]

Did your driver do the thing where he drove through a tunnel and you looked back and you could see the four presidents framed in the tunnel?

 

[WinniWoman]

Did your driver do the thing where he drove through a tunnel and you looked back and you could see the four presidents framed in the tunnel?

No. She did not. But our last dinner in Keystone at a lodge we could see President Washington off in the distance.

Was kind of like New Hampshire’s Old Man in the Mountain ( which is long gone now).

 

[WalnutBaron]

Thank you, Mary Ann, for the great trip report. I agree with you: South Dakota has some wonderful historical sights, but for true natural beauty I will take Wyoming any day. DW and I have been on three cross country trips in our 43 years of marriage and the trip that took us on the northern route via I-90 with many side trips off of it was by far our favorite (but only because we went during the late spring when most of the snow had melted and too far north for tornado season).

In any case, glad you made it back safely. Enjoy your New Hampshire summer!