Discovering South Dakota

Travel America, Sept, 2000 by Mike Michaelson

Bison herds, Indian lore, and massive stone monuments captivate visitors to the land of "Great Faces, Great Places"

STATE OF THE MONTH

Although it ranks only 17th in size among the 50 states, South Dakota is a state in which everything seems to be on a grand scale. This perhaps is because it is so empty. With only 10 persons per square mile, there's room to spread out and grow big projects.

South Dakota's king-size attractions range from the Crazy Horse Memorial--the world's largest mountain carving--and the colossal carvings at nearby Mount Rushmore National Memorial, to Wind Cave, one of the longest caves in the world with 82 miles of mapped passageways. Wall Drug Store is the world's largest and best-known "drugstore," while the annual motorcycle rally and races at Sturgis draw thousands of bikers to the tiny Black Hills town every August.

The state has vast regions of sprawling prairies, fertile farmland, and glacial lakes, and the craggy wide-open country of the Badlands that rise from the prairies. The soaring Black Hills contain Harney Peak, at 7,242 feet the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains in the continental United States.

This is the land of Lewis and Clark and Wild Bill Hickok, of author Laura Ingalls Wilder and The Little House on the Prairie, of the mighty Sioux Nation and prehistoric woolly mammoths.

Best-known of South Dakota's visitor magnets is Mount Rushmore, which perennially ranks as one of the Midwest's most popular tourist attractions. You can take a half-mile trail that loops around the base of Gutzon Borglum's sculpture of four American presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt). The famous granite faces measure 60 feet from forehead to chin and took out over a setting of pine, spruce, birch, and aspen.

New at America's "Shrine to Democracy" is a museum with interactive exhibits that explore the making of the monument, the men who created it, and the presidents represented. At one exhibit, visitors can detonate a simulated blast on the mountain.

The Black Hills cover an area approximately 125 miles long and 65 miles wide. These ancient mountains encompass rugged rock formations, grassy meadows, thick stands of ponderosa pine and spruce, and clear mountain streams. The forest has more than 400 miles of streams and a dozen lakes.

The Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway is a 70-mile drive through the Black Hills' most stunning scenery. It features hairpin curves, slender granite pinnacles, and three granite tunnels that perfectly frame the distant faces of Mount Rushmore. A series of "pigtail bridges," built in the 1930s, has a corkscrew shape.

Bison roam free in Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park. Pronghorn (often mistakenly called antelope) are commonly spotted in open grassy areas. Elk are widespread but are shy and difficult to spot. White-tailed and mule deer populate the entire forest, while mountain goats often are found in the Harney-Needles area and south toward Custer.

Those with an inclination for gaming and an interest in Wild West folklore also head for the Black Hills town of Deadwood. The town sprang to life during the Gold Rush of 1876 when characters such as Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane trod its dusty streets. Both are buried, along with other colorful citizens of the frontier town, in Mount Moriah Cemetery, Deadwood's own Boot Hill. Hickok's demise came during a poker game when he was shot from behind while holding the now famous "dead man's hand" (pairs of aces and eights).

Today, the shoot-outs are by actors and the games of chance are decidedly more friendly. Gaming revenues from Deadwood's numerous casinos have helped restore the town's early 1900s character (the entire town has been designated a National Historic Landmark). Highlights include a train depot, which has been converted into the History and Information Center and the Adams Museum, which houses Black Hills treasures. Downtown features brick-paved streets, period lighting, trolley cars, and restored buildings. One of the latter houses Jake's, a restaurant part-owned by actor Kevin Costner and decorated with costumes from his movie Dances With Wolves (try the pheasant pot pie and banana cream pie).

For a nostalgia-filled journey between Hill City and Keystone, hop aboard the 1880 Train, operated by Black Hills Central Railroad. Following the original railroad route that served mines and mills in the 1880s, the train winds through Black Hills National Forest.

Nestled in the eastern foothills of the Black Hills is Rapid City, the state's largest metropolis and a good headquarters for exploring many of the state's most popular sites. Within a day, you can make round trips to the Badlands (including Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse), Jewel Cave, Wind Cave, and Devils Tower, an ancient volcano rising above the rolling plains.

Local attractions include the South Dakota Air & Space Museum, with a range of bombers, fighters, cargo planes, helicopters, and missiles. Admission is free, and tours of Ellsworth U.S. Air Force Base are available by museum bus and include a visit to a Minuteman missile site, a look at B-1 bombers, and a view of restoration work on vintage aircraft.