South Dakota vacation adventures

Last week I returned from a five-day South Dakota vacation with my friend Madi.

 

I first got to know Madi two years ago, and already back then she began talking about a vacation to South Dakota. She joked she was going to kidnap me if that’s what it took. I was hesitant then, because of the amount of work I was doing. It just wasn’t possible to get away, even for a weekend.

 

This year, when Madi approached me with the idea in the middle of September, I didn’t hesitate: I said yes. We invited three friends, but none of them could free up the time. Madi works for me at the game store I own in Austin. She’s also in charge of the scheduling. And, to boot, my other employee at the store is another friend whom Madi hired. Unfortunately we couldn’t bring him along, since clearly someone had to stay behind to staff the store.

 

We departed about 10 a.m. the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 7.

 

As Madi pulled up to my apartment, I was just finishing my work for the week's paper. After loading up my bags, we hit the road for the more-than-eight-hour drive to Lead, which really was just an Interstate 90 road trip, since that was the only road we drove on until Lead.

 

About four hours into the drive, after two stops for food, gas and necessities, we made our first stop in “1880s Town,” a tourist attraction. 

 

It was an immersive experience walking through history. My favorite part was the saloon which reminded me of the Western bar from “Back to the Future 3.” Oh, and they had an old-timey spinning teeter totter that we played on. I felt like a kid again.

 

About an hour later we came to my favorite views of the trip, the Badlands. The scenery took my breath away and reminded me how immense the world is. 

 

We spent about three hours driving around the area and stopping to climb rocks and walk trails until it was dark.

 

A couple hours later, just before 9, we arrived in Lead. After a stop for groceries, we headed to our cabin. 

 

I made dinner as Madi unpacked. 

 

Madi is very sweet and surprised me by bringing all of my bags upstairs to my room and also by making my bed for me, all while I cooked. It was very thoughtful of her. I could not have asked for a better person to vacation to South Dakota with. 

 

Wednesday morning we departed early for Mount Rushmore. Due to the government shutdown we were able to not only crowds, but also paying entry fees at national parks. Madi tells me the crowd at Mount Rushmore was less than a third of what she experienced during her three previous visits. 

 

We walked a trail to the base of Mount Rushmore, which Madi had not done before. She said it was too strenuous before. I said, let’s walk it "backwards" going in reverse of the suggested direction. This meant we walked a quarter mile on a paved surface to get to the base below the carvings. If we had taken the “correct” way, we would have walked quite a ways upward and then around behind the presidents before reaching this spot.

 

“Now I can bring my mom here!” Madi exclaimed. Meaning her mom could manage the easier portion of the trail.

 

After a scenic four-hour tour through Custer State Park which included our mix of driving, walking and climbing, we stopped for lunch in Custer. It was only one of two meals we stopped for on the trip. We both enjoyed fish followed by bread pudding for dessert. As I ordered, Madi said she wasn’t much of a pudding person and would not partake. I explained (although I had never had it) that it wasn’t really pudding.

 

When the dish arrived, Madi took a bite and exclaimed “Oh Eli, this is dangerous!” 

 

She enjoyed her half of the sweet treat.

 

We drove by Crazy Horse next, which I felt was remarkable. The evening concluded at Pactola Lake Reserve where we watched the sunset and skipped rocks. I felt like a kid sitting on the shore, skipping rocks as the sun went down. It was perfect. 

 

It told us something about the ways other visitors had enjoyed the remote setting when we noticed an area where a group of people had somehow left not only a partially finished beer and an empty cigarette box among some rocks, but also a mixture of men’s and women’s clothing. 

 

Thursday we visited Wyoming’s Devil’s Tower. A scenic hike of about two miles took us around the base of the giant natural structure. We stopped numerous times to lay on large rocks, catch our breath and enjoy the views.

 

A trip through Spearfish Canyon, a brief hike through a waterfall, shopping in Deadwood and much driving concluded our Thursday. Oh and homemade soup and burgers (with meat from Madison’s farm) was dinner. 

 

Friday we spent at the Reptile Gardens, Bear Country USA, Windcave National Park and finally a natural hot spring in the town of Hot Springs. 

 

All of these parks, except the privately operated zoos mentioned above, were free of charge the entire trip. It was kind of crazy how much money we saved due to the shutdown. 

 

I made dinner again Friday evening. I caramelized onions and bacon into a jam, mixed in tomatoes and ground beef and cheese and made a ground-up hot dish type dinner with everything left in our fridge Friday night. It was delicious. 

 

As we had sketched out the itinerary for our trip, we had purposely left Saturday open for whatever we didn’t get to.

 

We both slept in a little bit longer for the first time all trip, packed up for Sunday before departing for another hike through Spearfish Canyon. 

 

Afterwards we stopped in Deadwood one last time. This time, however, we made it while the visitor center was open. The nice lady behind the counter asked how much time we had. I said two hours. She circled on the map where we should go, and we went! 

 

We saw a live reenactment of Wild Bill getting shot along with another live reenactment of a shootout in the town square. A trip through the museum and a final round of souvenir shopping were also accomplished.

 

Saturday evening we enjoyed dinner with my second grade teacher, Mrs. Lewison and her husband Phillip. That was my favorite part of the trip. Many memories, tears, smiles and hugs were shared.

 

Sunday we departed at about 8:40 a.m.

 

We stopped for church in Rapid City before getting on the road. We didn’t get far before our first stop: You can’t visit the Badlands without going to Wall Drug. I bought my final pin of the trip, a Badlands pin. We also enjoyed doughnuts and 5-cent coffee. If you know South Dakota, this will make sense: we counted 87 Wall Drug billboards during our trip. Yes, we counted them.

 

I arrived home at about 9 p.m. Sunday Oct. 12, concluding our memorable journey. 

 

I purchased many souvenirs, including many gifts for friends and family.

 

For my dad: a Mount Rushmore hat and Devil’s Tower playing cards. (We used them as we celebrated his sixty-fifth birthday last Tuesday.)

 

For various friends and their kids: stuffed animals, glass figures, a tool for smashing herbs and also small ceramic plates.

 

My biggest takeaways from this memorable trip are twofold:

 

1. Do things that make you feel like a kid.

2. Madi is an excellent friend. I appreciate everything she did which helped make this an unforgettable trip. Her thoughtfulness and big heart do not go unnoticed or unappreciated.