This summer our family chose to discover the beautiful wilderness and drive on the roads to Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota. After driving about 10 hrs from Chicago on I-90, en-route we visited a unique place called “the world’s only Corn Palace” in Mitchell, South Dakota.
The Russian-style onion domes and Moorish minarets gave the Palace a distinctive decor. The exterior corn murals are replaced and redesigned each year with a new theme, at a cost of $130,000. Our kids enjoyed fresh popcorn and corn on the cob while taking pictures. Driving on state highways of Dakotas is perfect for adventure and fun. About 70 miles north of Mitchell, we went to visit “Little House on the Prairie” at De Smet, South Dakota.
The author of the classic “Little House” books Laura Ingalls Wilder lived here, as a girl and young woman. The town sits on a small slice of prairie that looks much as it did when Pa Ingalls brought his family there in 1879. This part of South Dakota is marked by small undulating hills that are creased by glacial lakes.
An enormous sky, with rapidly changing cloud formations, hugs the land. And the air smells as clean as fresh laundry. At Ingalls homestead you and your youngsters can pretend to be back in Laura’s time, helping to pack up a covered wagon for your next move west, dressing up in pioneer clothes, cooking with “old” utensils, patting farm animals, pony rides and attending a one-room school. We stayed at The Prairie House Manor Bed & Breakfast overnight and had a healthy breakfast in the morning.
On the way to Badlands National Park (a 3-4 hour drive), you can visit South Dakotas beautiful State Capitol at Pierre. The rugged beauty of the Badlands draws visitors from around the world. These striking geologic deposits contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed here.
25% of Badlands National Park is a designated wilderness area, protecting an expanse of mixed-grass prairie where bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets live today. Kids had a great time exploring rock formations and taking pictures.
That evening we arrived in Hot Springs and visited the Mammoth site, the world’s largest concentration of mammoth remains and research facility. We toured an active paleontological dig site and saw Ice age fossils exhibits. It was a very unique experience to see the real Karst Sinkhole where wooly mammoths enticed by water and vegetation were trapped in a sinkhole.
After a whole day of adventure, we had a great relaxing time in Evans Plunge, the world’s largest natural warm water indoor swimming pool in Hot Springs. Swim, splash and soak in 87 degree natural spring flowing in 5000 gallons of water replenishing per minute. That night we stayed at beautifully decorated with unique Santa Fe flair, FlatIron Historic Sandstone Inn.
Next morning, as we rounded bend after bend of 18 mile Wildlife loop road, each revealing one dramatic mountains display after the other, we entered the Custer State Park.
The paved road menders through the grasslands of the prairie and into the hills sprinkled with Ponderosa Pine. We saw bison, deer and coyote with just 5 feet distance.
Another 17 mile of stretch of Iron Mountain road was an incredible journey in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The most unusual and captivating roads also made our journey memorable with architectural wonders of pigtail bridges and one lane tunnel perfectly framing Mt. Rushmore.
We spotted big horn sheep near the road and arrived at Mount Rushmore memorial National Park, A symbol of America – a symbol of freedom and hope for people from all culture. More than 3 million visitors a year marvel at the majestic beauty of the Black Hills and learn about the birth, growth, development and preservation of our country.
Approximately 30 minutes’ drive away we reached the Crazy Horse Memorial. World’s largest mountain carving in progress was started by Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski’s in 1948 to carve a lasting memorial to the Native American People. It was very interesting and educational to know about mountain blasting.
We enjoyed evening walking on Custer roads and that night we stayed at Bavarian Inn in Custer.
Early morning we had a great time horseback riding in Black Hills with Rockin R Rides. As we departed within an hour we were in historical Deadwood city.
Days of ’76 Museum, Main Street shows and glass vase making amazed our kids. Next Lead – the city of gold where history meets future. We visited Open Cut where its mining began, Gold mine museum and Sanford underground research lab running LUX experiments and tunnels. Driving through scenic Spearfish Canyon Byway to make our way to North Dakota was very memorable.
Lina Shah
