Three years ago this week, my husband and I made a road trip up to South Dakota to coincide with the full solar eclipse. Our main goal was visiting the Badlands in South Dakota, but we also took time to visit other sites in the area, including Deadwood, Mount Rushmore, and more.
The Mammoth Site
Our road trip started with a drive through Wyoming into the southern part of South Dakota. We stopped for a visit at The Mammoth Site, a museum in Hot Springs, SD. The museum centers around an enclosed active dig site, where visitors can walk around and view the woolly mammoths in various states of excavation. Admission is very reasonable, and the tour is informative.
By nightfall we reached our destination: Wall, South Dakota. We picked this location for it’s proximity to the Badlands National Park, but we also wanted to check out Wall itself. Wall is famous for Wall Drug – a bit of a tourist trap – featuring a wide variety of souvenirs, small shops, and a restaurant. You can view more photos of The Mammoth Site and Wall Drug on my original travel blog.
Badlands National Park
On our second day, we headed out for our main attraction: visiting the Badlands in South Dakota. This national park is truly unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Every time I stepped out of the car and onto an overlook, it was like stepping out onto another planet.
The park is huge – you can easily spend several days here hiking and exploring. Many of the hiking trails allow you to climb on the rock formations, while others are elevated and more easily accessible. It’s also worth noting that there is a lodge and a restaurant in the park, but it’s usually quite busy. I’d advise visitors to bring their own water and snacks before heading in.
After spending many hours in the park, we stopped at the Minutemen Missile National Historic Site. You can spend a few minutes here to learn more about the nuclear weapons in the area that were on standby during the Cold War. You can find more photos from the Badlands and the museum on my photo blog, too.
Mount Rushmore
The next day we headed to Keystone, so that we could spend some time visiting the various sites in the Black Hills. Our first stop was Mount Rushmore, and the views did not disappoint. There are many photo opportunities of the monument around the site, along with a quick, enjoyable hike to the base of the mountain.
After Mount Rushmore we visited the Crazy Horse Memorial. I have to admit I was a little disappointed in this stop. While we knew ahead of time that this monument is a work in progress, we found the admission fee to be very high in comparison to the other locations we visited in the area. And unfortunately, that admission fee did not include the ride that would get visitors closer to the mountain carving. There is a sprawling and informative museum dedicated to the North American Indian culture on site, so hopefully in the future this will be a more scenic stop as the work on the monument progresses.
In the late afternoon we headed north to check out the breweries and wineries in Hill City along East Main Street. It was quite a nice way to end the afternoon! (You can see more photos from Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, and Hill City on my original blog post.)
Deadwood
For our next stop, we headed north towards Deadwood. We had time before our hotel check-in, so we detoured west to Lead. We stopped at the Sanford Lab Homestake – a former gold and silver mine that has been turned into a underground lab for various particle physics research projects. While the exhibits themselves feature an interesting blend of the history of the mine and the research currently underway, the real attraction here is the golf. Yes, you read that right: for a small fee, you have the opportunity to hit a few golf balls off the patio of the visitor’s center into the abandoned mine pit beyond!
We headed into Deadwood next, and took a brief walk around the Mount Moriah Cemetery. This historic cemetery is the final resting place of many of Deadwood’s legends and celebrities, and offers some stunning views of the city and the hills beyond. Afterwards, we checked into our room at the historic Franklin Hotel in the heart of downtown Deadwood.
Even if you’re like us and not into gaming or gambling, a stroll up and down Main Street in Deadwood is still enjoyable. The street is full of historic store fronts, and home to many steakhouses, craft beverage providers, and souvenir shops. (View more photos of Lead and Deadwood on my original blog post.)
Solar Eclipse of 2017
Finally, it was time to head home. As mentioned in the beginning, we had timed visiting the Badlands in South Dakota to line up with viewing the solar eclipse. Our plan was to head down into Wyoming (instead of coming up from Colorado) to avoid the traffic, and it worked! We made good time getting down into the path of totality. We pulled over in Lusk, Wyoming, for the event. Not a bad way to end that year’s road trip vacation!
Enjoying my “Looking Back” series? Over the past few years, my love for both hiking and travelling has increased almost exponentially, and I’ve been fortunate to have had so many opportunities to travel recently. With the current health crisis, our travel plans for 2020 were scuttled; so I decided I’d take some time over the next few months to write this “Looking Back” series, where I dive into a recap of some of my favorite trips over the last few years. Click the navigation below to read more.
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