Kate and I decided that we would start with the things that were the furthest from Rapid City, and work our way back in. This meant we'd start with Devil's Tower, then Jewel Cave, Wind Cave and Mount Rushmore - time permitting. Devil's Tower is about a two hour drive outside of Rapid City into Wyoming so we got up and out relatively early - a quick stop at the grocery store for lunch provisions, and we were on our way.
Devil's Tower was the first National Monument to be designated - September 24, 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. Ten years later, the National Park Service was created by President Woodrow Wilson, eventually assuming administrative control of all National Monuments.
The tower first comes into view as you crest a hill several miles away. It is quite striking, as it looks like NOTHING else around it.
Once in the park, you pass through "Prairie Dog Town" (we'll stop there later) as you wind around to the Visitors Center at the base of the tower. There is a 1.3 mile (2.1 km) hike around the base of the tower that gives you several different perspectives of the tower. Once again, I was amazed at how few people actually took the time to hike around the tower... its not even a hike, more of a stroll as the trail is paved the entire way. Like most other National Parks and Monuments, if you want to get away from the crowds, walk 100 yards or so from the parking lot. Not many other people do.
Walking around the tower, we saw several groups of rock climbers ascending the tower. According to the Park Ranger, there are about 200 "mapped" routes to ascend the tower, and it is one of the most popular climbing destinations in the area. Big, fat, fluffy "NOPE!" from me. Once we got around the west side of the tower, the light was perfect for photos.
It was a short hike around the tower and the park is relatively small, so we headed out for the next park of the day with a stop at the prairie dog town on the way out of the park. These little things are little busybodies and are hilarious to watch.
The next park for the day would be Jewel Cave. It is the third longest cave in the world, with 180 miles of mapped passages - and they are still exploring. As far as caves go, Kate and I found it to be one of our least favorite ones. There weren't too many interesting formations, and the cave wasn't very colorful. But, they did have cave bacon!
OK, it is officially, "Layered Flowerstone"... but the Ranger called it bacon. I'm going with that. One thing that I found kind of interesting was that for almost the entire tour, you were walking on elevated aluminum platforms. Over 780 stairs on the tour, but much easier to navigate than some other caves we have been to.
At this point of the day, we decided we wouldn't have time to see Wind Cave (tours of both caves are guided and scheduled), so we thought we'd see Mount Rushmore on the way back to Rapid City. When we got to Mount Rushmore, the sun was right above the monument, so photos would have been impossible. We decided to come back the next morning on the way to Wind Cave. Now it was back to Rapid City for some dinner!
Day 7
Today, we would go back and see the things we ran out of time to see yesterday. We arrived at Mount Rushmore shortly after it opened for the day, and the light was perfect for photos! There is a short hike that takes you a bit closer to the base of the mountain that the monument is carved into.
We did the standard tourist stuff, hit the gift shop for postcards, then were on our way to Wind Cave. Wind Cave National Park is quite large considering that the main attraction is under ground. The park covers lots of rolling hills and prairie, so wildlife if plentiful. We saw bison, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and thousands of prairie dogs.
Wind cave itself is more of what I think a cave should be... lower ceilings, skinnier passageways, etc. Kate and I were in the front of the tour group on this one, so it was a bit more fun for us. The main feature of Wind Cave is called boxwork, and Wind Cave has one of the largest quantities of this feature in the world. Read more about boxwork HERE.
The photo below will give you an idea of the interior size of this cave. It's a bit hard to see, but Kate is standing in the center of that photo.
After our tour of Wind Cave, it was time to head back to Rapid City and check on the status of my motorcycle. I had dropped it off to have the tires replaced, and I wanted to pick it up as soon as possible so we wouldn't have to deal with it on Saturday (our last day in Rapid City).
I would like to give a HUGE hat tip to Rice Honda/KTM in Rapid City. I rolled in on Wednesday without an appointment and said I needed my tires replaced, and I needed it by Saturday. They did not have the tires I needed in stock, but called around to a bunch of other shops, got the tires I needed delivered to them, and got them on my bike. They even gave the bike a much needed bath! All of this, and it was ready for me to ride away on Friday afternoon. I had already arranged a storage unit to park the bike in for the last few nights so I didn't have to worry about it.
To round out the evening, Kate and I took a walk through the downtown art alley - some really cool stuff. We even found one of Kate's favorite quotes on the steps behind a local bookshop!
Day 8
Today was the day that we would see the sights that were east of Rapid City. I had secured tickets for us to tour the Minuteman Missile Historical Site early in the afternoon, so we decided that it would be a good day to check out Wall Drug prior to our tour. The best way that I could describe Wall Drug to east coasters would be kind of like South of the Border in South Carolina... just a bit less racist. It is all old west themed, but still just as cheesy.
After purchasing the requisite postcards and having the required doughnuts, we headed out towards the Minuteman site. We had some extra time, so Kate started looking on Roadside America for anything nearby. She found a 2-Ton Prairie Dog... and who doesn't need to see that!?!
It turns out that you can go into the store here and for just a buck a bag, you can feed the real prairie dogs that live here. Best $2 we have spent in a while!
After having some fun with the prairie dogs, it was time for the tour. If you are ever in this part of the country, I highly recommend looking into this tour. You do need to book it WAY in advance, as they only allow 6 people on each tour. The Launch Control facility has been preserved exactly how it was left when the Air Force abandoned the facility in the 90's as a part of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. What was incredible to me, was that both the launch control facility and the actual missile silo were less than 1/2 mile off the interstate.
Once in the building, the elevator takes you down about 30 feet, past the blast door and in to the actual launch control room.
I think one of the eeriest things was to see the actual trigger switches. There are 2 of them, spaced 12 feet apart, that had to be activated at the same time so that no 1 person could initiate a launch.
After touring the launch control site, a few miles down the road is one of the mothballed missile silos with a dummy missile in it.
The last activity for the day was a drive through Badlands National Park. The landscape of this park is absolutely incredible. You are just driving along the prairie, and then all of a sudden you feel like you are on a different planet!
We have had a fantastic time in Rapid City and the surrounding area. If anyone is looking for a out-of-the ordinary vacation destination, come check this place out. I'll even hook you up with a great AirBnB to check out.
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