Rapid City, SD Part 2 Scenic Drives

Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills

I’ve been to Mt Rushmore twice for work, but The Colonel has never been.  We’re up early.  We forgot the time change and are on the road by 8:30 am—the best way to beat the crowds.  Another advantage of our location is we’re right on Business-16, the truck route for Rushmore which circumnavigates downtown Rapid City.  We see more motorhomes pulling enclosed trailers than motorcycles.  We pass two nice looking RV resorts just as we enter the National Forest and make note:  Mystery Mountain Resort if you like shade and gravel pads.  Rushmore Shadows RV Resort for big flat, paved spots (but not a tree in the place).

Don't forget a paper map or download Google Maps for the area (link:  planesboatsandbicycles.blogspot.com/2017/01/cheapskates-on-move-saving-data-offline.html) because cell phone reception is spotty in the Black Hills National Forest. 

The Colonel trying to figure out, "How did they do that?"

We pay our $10/car, park in the parking garage (was there always a parking garage?) and head in.  There is a decent crowd for so early and we take the 0.6 strenuous loop (giggle now but high elevation and lots of stairs actually had me out of breath).  I get some amazing shots from this angle.  The Colonel wants to go around again!

Crazy Horse Memorial

We continue through the Black Hills National Forest for 20 minutes to the Crazy Horse Memorial which came highly recommended ($22/car).  It started in 1948, when Lakota elder Henry Standing Bear commissioned the sculpture.  They have a long way to go!  There is a large collection of Indian artifacts from all over the country in the Museum.  Maybe we were getting tired, but this wasn't our favorite stop.  We continue into the town of Custer for lunch and caught up with our first large group of motorcycles.

A group of Harley's join us in Custer for lunch

We stumble into a nice cafe that serves buffalo burgers (on gluten-free bread!)  A few bikers wander in for lattes...After spending $30 on lunch (an expensive tourist day!), we head back through Custer State Park.

Artists have painted buffalo and they are on display around the town of Custer 

One of three one-way tunnels (note the skid mark...)

It's $20 for a weeks pass at Custer State Park.  We drive the 16A route through the middle (we later learn that you could drive this route for free but I plan to return for the Wildlife Loop) and spot a few nice campgrounds to add to the list (Grace Coolidge & Game Lodge, easily accessible for big rigs but booked solid despite the few empty spots we see).    

We choose the Iron Mountain Road route for our return through the Black Hills (popular ride for the bike rally) since it has the most tunnels (No, we couldn't have gotten Odin the Winnebago back here!)  It's a narrow, winding, one-lane road and the tunnels end up being hazardous.  We see the aftermath of one motorcycle accident in one tunnel and in another tunnel, apparently they didn't get the message, and a van tries to join us IN the tunnel from the opposite direction!  Peak elevation for the drive is 4200 ft.

The first herd of bison off in the distance

I highly recommend setting aside a morning for the Wildlife Loop Road through Custer State Park.  The geography is very different from the National Forest, with breathtaking and peaceful rolling plains.  The best time to see tatanka (Lakota word for bison) is morning or evening when the wildlife is most active.  I ditch The Colonel and was on the road by 6:30 am (but I wish I'd left earlier!)  You can take the route through the National Forest if you like, but if you've already been through, I recommend following the signs to the East Entrance to maximize your time here.

One half of the herd on one side of the road

Just inside the entrance, I had spotted a herd off in the distance, then another lone bull near the road.  However, about halfway through the park, as if on cue, I rounded the corner to a herd that was working it's across the road, with traffic stopped!

A South Dakota traffic jam

A game warden quickly arrives and monitors the herd, advising everyone to stay in their cars (except for the two lone motorcyclists, of course) because the bull's are in rut.  He gets out a whip to encourage a lone buffalo that was eyeing the cars to take another way around.

The other half of the herd on the other side of the road.  See the baby?!

We ran out of time before we could do some hiking, explore the George S. Mickelson bike trail or drive the scenic Needles Highway.  Next time.

To get in the mood for your visit, I recommend the movies:  "Dances with Wolves" (filmed in the area and several museums advertise props from the movie), or "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee".

Stay tuned for last stop in the area, Devil's Tower!

Rapid City, SD Part 1 Museums

America's Mailbox RV Park

Before departing St. Louis, friends reminded us to check the dates for Sturgis bike week.  Dang!  We'd be arriving the week before with an overlap.  All the state park campgrounds were already booked a month in advance (even the weekdays, our bread & butter).  I resorted to calling around on the phone & the first campground laughed, “They start arriving two weeks before the rally!  We’re full!”  I started working my way east with the second phone call and hit pay dirt.  “Wow.  We have a spot.  I can’t believe it.  You know it’s the Sturgis bike rally, right?”

We arrive in Box Elder, South Dakota (between Rapid City & Ellsworth Air Force Base) with The Copilot behind the wheel.  America's Mailbox RV Park is behind the Flying J, along I-90 and is basically a gravel lot.  No shower house, no laundry, no shade, but there is wifi for $10 (we used our T-Mobile for streaming) and our reserved spot has full hookups (electricity, water, sewer).  We paid double their normal rate, since it was Bike Week.  Nothing fancy but good location for running around since it was right on Business/Truck Route 16.

Our first Rapid City sunrise

We’ve slowly climbed to an elevation of 3200 feet (the gas mileage on this tank will only be 8.0 mpg)  The average high for our stay in late July is less than 80F but it's crazy windy (we never found our entry rug).

Minuteman Visitor's Center

We rarely miss an Air & Space Museum but there are some unique sites in the area related to the Cold War Era.  I recall "duck and cover" drills during school--like hiding under our desks would save us from a nuclear attack.  The movie, "The Day After" was filmed in my hometown of Kansas City and was so controversial many parents wouldn’t allow their children to watch it (I did).  

The Minuteman Missile Museum is actually five locations. Interestingly enough, I never considered that as the missile launched, it destroys the silo.  Therefore Launch Control is in a different location and actually controlled ten or more missile silos in the area.  The five locations we visited are:

• The Visitor Center
• Delta-01 Launch Control Facility (requires reservations)
• Delta-09 Missile Silo
• South Dakota Air & Space museum (Ellsworth AFB)
• Base Tour (training silo)

To get in the mood for your visit, I recommend the movies: War Games, Red Dawn or Hunt for Red October.  

The Visitor Center along I-90 is a small, free, museum about the Cold War and has an overview of the Launch Control facility.

A diagram of the control center

• Ranger-guided tour of Launch Control facility:  This used to be first-come, first-serve but now requires reservations ($9/each.  My original reservations were a week in advance but we heard they were up to a month in advance from the Ranger.  Monitor the website daily for cancellations--and click fast if you see any available!  A woman tried to guilt me into handing over my tickets so they're whole family could go in together.  Um, NO!).  We walked through the living accommodations up top, then went down into the capsule, behind a 3 1/2 foot thick door.  When decommissioned in 1993, they learned three missiles were pointed at this location and the Russians came to inspect after everything was decommissioned.  The treaty allowed us to keep this one launch center for historical purposes.

Delta-01's blast door:  "30 minutes or less" from silo to the target

Much like the aircraft nose art of World War II, the launch control's blast door was frequently painted by the crew.  You can do an internet search to find more.

Just like the movie War Games

A Google Map view of the Delta-09 formerly active missile silo

• Exit 116 is an actual Minuteman Missile Silo that is no longer active.  It is a nondescript, low structure right off of I-90.  They have placed a glass dome over it, so you can look down the silo.  This stop & the audio tour are also free.  A park ranger is available during certain hours to answer questions.  (We were told they had the lid off earlier in the day for a movie filming but it was back on when we arrived.)  NOTE:  Once you know to look for the silos, you can see them from the road, otherwise you drive right by.  There are still Minuteman III silos active in the U.S. but not in SD.  If you have time to spare, you can use Google Earth to look for other defunct silos that still reside on private land.  One rancher later dug up the copper wiring to a tune of $75,000!!!

Ten silos surrounding the control center

South Dakota Air & Space Museum is located just outside Ellsworth Air Force Base and is free!  Built in 1942, it was the home of the B-17 bomber wing in World War II, followed by B-29 Superfortress and B-52 Stratofortress.  Ellsworth was also a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base.  The only aircraft now based here is the B1-B (we were very fortunate to see them fly over twice).  

Training silo maintenance hatch that took 45 minutes to open

Ellsworth AFB bus tour:  From the museum, you can take a $9/each bus tour of the base which includes going DOWN INTO the silo used for training maintenance personnel.  If you're tight on time, do the base tour first.  (Bring an ID and be ready for a background check at the gate.  Any outstanding warrants will get you arrested!)  And yes, commercial aircraft have mistaken the AFB for the civilian airport with the same runway configuration ten miles away (No, I never landed here but I did fly into Rapid City a few times).

The training silo from the maintenance level

Trailer that delivered the missiles to the silo

(Ironically, as I edit the final version of this, we turn on the news and see the North Koreans are pointing missiles at us.)

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Museum of Geology

Another free museum in Rapid City is the Museum of Geology at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.  The collection of fossils, mostly from the Black Hills area is awe inspiring, with specimens still being unearthed in the area today.  Their mineral collection includes samples from around the world.  The school opened in 1885 and is historically significant for at least two reasons:  1) the gold mines in the area from the 1870's until 2002 when Homestake mine was closed.  2) The evolutionary theory that the Bering Land Bridge allowed people and animals across to the Americas from Asia.  South Dakota lays right in that path of migration.  The area was also underwater at one point indicated by the fossils of crab, lobster and other salt water creatures.

Stay tuned for our scenic drives around the Rapid City area...

Campground Review, Left Tailrace. Chamberlain, SD

Courtesy of US Army Corp of Engineers website

After ten days in Forest City, Iowa it's time to hit the road. We've decided to take the scenic route to Colorado. We're heading north into Minnesota, then I-90 west through South Dakota to Buffalo, WY then southbound. Our big stop is Rapid City, South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore. The tricky part of this route is that it puts us on the much traveled route to between Rushmore & Yellowstone. We usually like to wing dates and stops, but we had to make a few reservations for this trip. Specifically, because of the Sturgis bike rally the first week of August!  

"There's a front-loader and an RV in a round-about... 

(Insert joke here.  We just crossed into #Minnesota.  Check!)..."

"We're streaming 93.7 Denver on iHeartRadio but our CoPilot navigation app keeps switching the music to Kenny Chesney.  It took me awhile to convince The Colonel that it wasn't me!"

Our first billboard for Wall Drug 355 miles.

Adrian, MN

The rain delayed our departure but we got in 144 miles after lunch. First stop is Adrian, MN Municipal Park Campground which is shaped in a circle! $30/night.  We only stayed here for the night.  It was easy access off the road, the staff was friendly and it was a quick in & out with a swing through the truck stop the next morning.  I'm refraining from a full review, but the shape is either ingenious or weird.  I couldn't decide.  It does make your spot pie shaped which was tolerable but I could see how it could get tricky if the park was full.  They also don't understand "pull-thru".  We were able to pull through one spot into our spot without unhooking, but the dinghy hung into the spot behind us (which was empty).  Not a true pull-thru--especially if they were full.

"The Copilot took the wheel today! 

I drove from our campground to a rest stop (1 1/2 hours). Of course, we went into three different construction zones that involved lane changes, riding the right AND left hand lines and cones on our side of the line! Terrifying, but then the open road is SO much easier! It was equally terrifying for The Colonel but he was a good sport!
No RV's were damaged."

The campground in the middle of the Missouri River and below the dam! 

Headed to our first Corp of Engineers campground.  Tours of the Big Bend Dam sealed the deal (there are more upriver if you want to explore).  Recreation.gov only took reservations more than 24 hours in advance so I called before departing Adrian and were told, "Come on up!  We have room.  We'll let you in early."  (Normal check in/out is 4:00 pm!  We were able to get a reservation for the weekend when we arrived on a Thursday). 

Passed the exit for the Laura Ingalls Wilder house in DeSmet, SD.

"We found the Missouri river, ya'll.  We are not lost!"

We turned just before the Missouri River and followed the river north from an elevated position.  Panorama from the overlook just north of Chamberlain

It's the furtherest we've wandered off the highway in search of the perfect spot (30 miles).  The rolling hills of South Dakota were breathtaking as we followed the Missouri River north, along a portion of the Native American Scenic Byway (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/byways) through the Crow Creek reservation, to our campground.  

South Dakota section of Native American Scenic Byway courtesy of www.fhwa.dot.gov/byways

Directions:  We had the GPS & directions from the Recreation.gov website but it was still a little confusing (recreation.gov below, italics are mine).  They advise taking Hwy 50 up the east side of the river.  This is the most scenic drive.  However, we departed on Highway 47 & according to our Trucker's Atlas, it is an equally suitable road.

• From west bound I-90 take exit 265 at Chamberlain SD, 
• Turn right on to Highway 50 (also Main Street just before the bridge crossing the Missouri River) travel approximately 16 miles,
• Turn left on to BIA Highway 4, travel 8 miles to Ft. Thompson SD, 
• (At the roundabout) Turn left on to highway 47 travel 3 miles (there is currently a 11-ft restriction for a small bridge under construction (one-lane, light traffic, we were able to take it slow) 

• Then take a left at the Left Tailrace Campground sign on Big Bend Dam (you'll start across the bridge across the dam.  There is an unmarked left turn at the flag display that will take you to the campground, otherwise look for the sign saying Powerhouse Lobby/Left Tailrace exit--doesn’t say campground)
• Then travel approximately 1 mile to the Left Tailrace Campground.  (Not much signage but just follow the loop (camper’s & fishermen or marina signs) until you see the little log hut that is the campground office). 

Services:  All sites 30 & 50 amp but only a few water spigots (so ask before entering).  Dump Station on the way out.  Our T-Mobile iPhones were roaming on AT&T (200 mb, no streaming) but immediately switched to T-Mobile at the top of the hill (next time we would drive up to parking lot across the highway & download some Netflix!).

Spot #51

We are in truck country which means fifth wheels rule. However towing a fishing boat behind that appears the norm! (We saw this is CO last year also)

We were joined by lots of local fishermen over the weekend.  We were in spot 51, a pull-through on the dam end but on a walk I discovered spot 12 is the primo spot with an amazing view of the lake, followed by 22A.  A quick glance shows spots 23-26 (or 28-29) are within reach of the water spigot if you have a couple hoses.  There is a two-week limit, but the cashier said there is a boondocking site “up the hill” that allows a two-week stay also.

Spot #12 sunrise

To do:

Big Bend Dam tour:  Sorry, no pics allowed.  The creepiest section was 109 ft below the lake, behind an 8 foot thick cement wall, below the generators.  Be sure to walk along the water outside after the tour and see the HUGE fish right up against the dam.

Akta Lakota Museum:  A free museum in Chamberlain and well worth the stop.  Again, photography was not allowed, so you'll have to check it out for yourself.  http://aktalakota.stjo.org/site/PageServer?pagename=alm_homepage

Lewis & Clark trail passes near here.  We're from Missouri and kind of immune to the trail, so you're on your own with this one.

References:

http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/487165/big-bends-left-tailrace-campground-now-open/

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/left-tailrace-campground/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=150041