Roam With Friends

Tag: South Dakota

  • The Adventures of Betty, Roxie, and The Rockwood: Mount Rushmore

    The Adventures of Betty, Roxie, and The Rockwood: Mount Rushmore

    Occasionally I make public confessions when they are relevant. I open myself up to public judgement by sharing a personal thought. I share because maybe some of you can relate. Maybe others of you can’t.

    My confession today is, Mount Rushmore was never one of those places I cared to visit. If it had been up to me, we would have made a loop and skipped Mount Rushmore during our 2017 That’s WY vacation. But, the joy of group camping is the plans are not made by one person. And thankfully, yes thankfully, Angie really wanted to go to Mount Rushmore so we planned to hit Mount Rushmore on our return home because she really wanted to include it in our itinerary.

    During our time in Yellowstone, we listened to other tourist. They like us where on the same vacation route, although not in the same order. Those who had already been to Mount Rushmore highly recommended it. Raved about it. They recommended visiting it in the daytime and the night time. So, we listened.

    Before You Go: What You Want to Know:

    Admission to Mount Rushmore National  Memorial is free. However; you do have to pay for parking. The parking fee in June 2017 was $11 for an annual pass. Meaning you can use the pass as many times as you want in a calendar year.

    Mount Rushmore by Night:

    Each night park rangers conduct a closing ceremony. It includes a patriotic video, Freedom: America’s Lasting Legacy. Part of the ceremony is to illuminate the memorial and let it shine in the darkness. The final part of the ceremony sure to pull at your heart strings is when all the Veterans in the audience are invited to the stage to participate in the  f the flag ceremony each night.

    My husband, Wayne, is a Veteran and he participated in the ceremony. Our hearts, and eyes, swelled with pride as we watched him take the stage with so many other Veterans. I don’t know what it is like on other nights but the night we were there, there were at least 50 – 65 Veterans on the stage from every branch of the military.

    The entire ceremony lasted an hour. The traffic was not heavy. The parking was not a mess. The outdoor amphitheater was full but not packed. It was a nice evening and I would say we all left humbled and glad we experienced Mount Rushmore by night.

    Mount Rushmore by Day: 

    Each of the three families visited Mount Rushmore by day but we were all three there at different times. Outside The Avenue of Flags, The Masters family caught a presentation of Native American dancers. We all enjoyed finding our home state in The Avenue of Flags and then finding all the places we have visited.

    The young members of our group enjoyed the Junior Ranger Program and earning their badges. We all enjoyed the interactive displays in the Visitor Center.

    We all walked the Presidential Trail which is a short, less than 1 mile trail around the base of the memorial. I was pretty impressed with the memorial from the view by the Visitor Center but seeing it from the Presidential Trail was pretty amazing. As the trail progresses you get up close and personal with each of the four Presidents. Just when you think there can’t be a better view, you turn a corner, climbs some stairs and find another view that makes you gasp.

    The Presidential Trail leads to the Sculptor’s Studio. Inside the Studio you will find plaster mask of each Presidents. The plaster mask were used during the carving of the mountain as a “map” of sorts. Models and tools used to carve the monument can be found in the Studio. In the Studio we also learned and saw a replica of the Hall of Records. We were fascinated to learn about the hidden room in the mountain. Seeing the replica of it in the Sculptor’s Studio.

    I should note that the Sculptor’s Studio closed in September 2017 for rehabilitation. It is expected to be closed until Summer 2019.

    So, I began with a confession. I will own that by the time we left Mount Rushmore, I was beyond happy that we made the stop. It was more than just a rock carving, it was very moving and breathtaking. And a testament to a vision and a lot of hard work and dedication. I am thankful Angie was insistent we stop here because she changed my mind.

     

     

  • The Adventures of Betty, Roxie, and The Rockwood: Rafter J Bar Ranch

    The Adventures of Betty, Roxie, and The Rockwood: Rafter J Bar Ranch

    Rafter J Bar Ranch

    Hill City, South Dakota

    Dates of Stay: June 6-9, 2017.

    We received a Good Sam Discount during our stay.

     

    After spending seven nights in Yellowstone National Park, we bid farewell and made our way east to the Black Hills in South Dakota. We had planned to spend three nights in Hill City, South Dakota at Rafter J Bar Ranch before we headed home.

    Upon recommendation from Kerri Cox, who blogs at Travels With Birdy, we chose to stay at Rafter J Bar Ranch in Hill City, South Dakota. As we arrived in the area two things were clear, the area is abundant with RV parks but none of them are Rafter J Bar Ranch.

    At Rafter J Bar, we found space, which after a week at Fishing Bridge was a welcome feeling. Not only did we find space we found wide open space. Rafter J Bar is geographically huge. There are six different camping areas that vary from close to the amenities to remote sites far from the noise of the swimming pool. Their sites are large and spacious, some are even nestled into the pine trees. All the other RV parks we saw were crowded or had very little shade, or were right along busy highways.  That night as we sat around the campfire and reflected on our trip the conversation was all about how lucky we were to be at Rafter J Bar and not the local chain campground.

    We chose to stay in the Ranch Camp. Ranch Camp is the furthermost camp from the office and swimming pool area. We traded wifi and cable tv for pine trees! Our loop had easy access to a shower house and laundry facility. Being able to access laundry without a line was another welcome relief coming straight from Yellowstone where the laundry facilities are as crowded as Old Faithful is. Each loop has different services/amenities so if you are looking to book a trip here, spend some time exploring what each loop has to offer.

    The kids enjoyed the heated swimming pool even if we did have to drive them to it. While they play, we were able to connect to the wifi and communicate with the outside world (social media). Of course, on our scheduled “down” afternoon a thunderstorm passed through the area. That might have resulted in the best nap I had on the entire That’s WY vacation!

    Rafter J Bar also serves an unlimited pancake breakfast most mornings. We purchased tickets from the office and on our last morning we enjoyed having someone else fix breakfast.

    Our options for our three days in the Black Hills was abundant: Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Needles Highway, Iron Mountain Road, Wind Cave National Park, Jewell Cave National Monument, Spearfish Canyon, Deadwood, Crazy Horse Monument, as well as the local antique shops, vineyards, and ice cream shops. With so many options, we knew we would leave wanting more. I was only moderately surprised when Wayne started mentally finding a way to extend our time there.

    With so much to see and do in this area that it became clear this should be a destination and not a stop over. In the end, we all decided to do Mount Rushmore, at night as well as during the day. The Taylor’s and the Todd’s drove through Custer State Park on Needles Highway on our way to get to Wind Cave National Park. We chose Wind Cave over Jewell Cave because of the boxwork formations which we do not have in Missouri’s caves. The Master’s also took the Iron Mountain Drive and enjoyed the framed views of Mount Rushmore as well as the corkscrew roads. The Taylor and Masters families also made the commitment to drive an hour and half through Deadwood to get to Spearfish Canyon to go searching for a couple of “hidden gems” hikes.   Not being into hiking, The Todd’s chose to spend time exploring the local community, antique shopping and wine tasting.

    We found something for everyone at this location. If you are visiting The Black Hills we highly recommend Rafter J Bar. Check back soon for details on our adventures in the Black Hills.