Out West Trip - Day 4 -Rushmore, Rapid City, Deadwood

July 25, 2018

Tuesday, June 19 - Day 4

Rushmore, Rapid City, Deadwood

Horses at the KOA

The rain stopped!! It stopped! No sunshine, but the rain stopped. Well..... it paused.

We took a chance and headed to Mount Rushmore. We got there at 8:30am and there was a long line of cars to park. So different from the day before when we drove right in. When we left the line was even longer! Lesson learned - get there early!

It was a game of hide and seek with the monument as the clouds filtered across the surface. At times it was completely visible and at others only part of a nose could be seen.

We took the Presidential Trail which is a short easy walk closer to the monument for different views. I don’t think the kids could really comprehend how massive this really is even with watching workers in the videos.

Trying to look like Mount Rushmore

When we left the monument was completely covered with clouds so we felt very fortunate that we were able to get some pictures and stay dry.

Our next stop was down the street in Rapid City at Reptile Gardens. This zoo has the largest collection of snakes. They also have the biggest tortoises I have ever seen! We went to the bird and snake show and had lunch there. They have a beautifully landscaped facility and the kids really enjoyed it.

Deadwood was our final destination of the day. We went right to Mt Moriah Cemetery to see the graves of some wild gunslingers. I’m glad we drove. The cemetery was on top of a steep hill and getting there was no joke!

Our accommodations for the night were at Deadwood Dicks. When we drove up I got a little scared. It looked old and not at all like a place to stay. We were all pleasantly surprised! The ground floor was a saloon, ice cream shop, and antique store.

The door to the upstairs was off to the side accessed from the front of the building. The owner pulled back two iron gates and we all crowded into an elevator that at one time had a human operator.

Our suite was on the third floor. We had two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a dining sitting room which contained a third bed. By far our roomiest accommodations of the trip. The kids were thrilled with each having a bed and not a pullout. I loved the old charm of the place. It was a bit quirky but that makes the adventure that much better!!

Once we had our things out of the car we headed a block to Main Street. We were able to witness three different reenactments. Two were with shootouts. The kids were given badges and signed in as deputy sheriffs. We ate spicy pickled quail eggs for a snack!

The highlight of the day was taking an old time photo. We selected a back drop and put on fancy clothes. Of course they were all only tied in the back but that didn’t stop Sylvia from twirling around.

We had a great time looking tough and pointing our guns. They had so many props to play with! At one point Ryan was riding on a mini toy horse then shooting people with fish. Tyce’s weapon of choice was a mallet. Our photographer said it was the most fun she had all day!

The rain came back to make for a restful cozy night in our old building on the corner.