South Dakota, the Land of Infinite Variety
Let me first start off by saying four nights were not enough to stay in South Dakota! If you're going to visit the Great Faces, Great Places state, plan a week or more!
We drove from Minneapolis to Plankinton, SD where were stayed one night at Hills RV Park. The park was easy on, easy off I-90 and quiet with all pull thru sites! (A big plus for us!) We ate at a little bar on Main Street called Roadhouse and had great pizza (sorry, we got rid of the evidence before I could snap a picture).
The next morning, Mello and I walked down to a cute coffee shop and had an amazing lavender white mocha. We were westbound by 10 am! We stopped at Wall Drug in Wall, SD. It's known for its free ice water and 5 cent coffee. They do a heck of a job advertising! We walked around and grabbed lunch. It was a great stretch break! We could also see the Badlands from the highway. We will go back to explore this more!
We arrived at Heartland RV Park in Hermosa late afternoon and set up camp. I'll post about this stellar campground later!
On Friday we visited Moccasin Springs Natural Mineral Springs for a 3 hour soak. Our first time at a hot springs did not disappoint! The springs had four pools that you can leisurely go between during your pass. I tried out the hottest one (106 degrees) and Vern tried the second hottest one (103 degrees). We floated mostly in the large warm pool that was about 98 degrees. Even with a sunburn when we were done, this is 100% worth the price to go float and relax! I have never been more relaxed than after this trip (and that says a lot considering the amount of money I've spent on massages in the past!).
Saturday brought the hottest weather, a whooping 98 degrees. It was so hot! We did a drive thru the wildlife loop at Custer State Park. We saw a burro, a heard of bison (in the distance), walked out to see and hear the prairie dogs bark/chirp, and a pronghorn. Take your time to explore this awesome park! We also found that many of the park's campgrounds are big rig friendly so we'll stay there the next time.
You cannot go to South Dakota without visiting Mount Rushmore!! This national monument has been on our bucket list for years and it is just as amazing as one would imagine! You can hike down in front of the monument to see up George's nose, meander around their book store, check out the state flag displays and more! It was a hot day for sure so we stayed hydrated and snapped some pre-sweaty pics!
We also stopped at Rush Mountain Adventure Park so Vern could check off another bucket list item- a mountain roller coaster!
Finally we explored Rapid City, SD. We had to take some selfies with the president statutes! This cute little town has a lot of shopping, breweries to explore and a great downtown vibe! On our drive from Mt Rushmore to Rapid City, we drove thru Keystone, SD which is another place we'll check out when return! I mean, if there's a large yeti, why not??
While we did a LOT of exploring in South Dakota, it is a land of infinite variety! I think our to do list is longer than the original one when arrived! Without a doubt, we'll be back!
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