Trip Report-- Black Hills In a Flash 5/23-26/08

Thanks for the advice learned here. Here is my report:

Ulterior motive for the trip was so I could experience some exercise at quasi-altitude prior to our June trip to Colorado. The overarching trip was to get away and show our kindergarten-aged son some of the typical and/or touristy things in South Dakota, particularly in and around the Black Hills. With school still in session, we had to squeeze everything in during a US Memorial Day long weekend. Definitely wanted another day in the Black Hills, but couldn%26#39;t justify it.

Friday 5/23/08: left home (Minneapolis, MN suburb) and got to motel-- Quality Inn Sioux Falls-- with no traffic problems. This property is fine; most lodgers were affiliated with the state%26#39;s track and field championships, held in town that weekend. Review of our stay should be posted by early June %26#39;08.

Saturday 5/24/08: Made mistake of not filling up at nearby Flying J Truck Stop. Paid over $4/US gallon of gas for first time in life west of Sioux Falls. Lunch at a recommended local restaurant: Hutch%26#39;s Cafe in Presho, SD. Reasonable prices on standard Midwest entrees, sandwiches, and desserts; specials hand-written on a sheet of paper inserted into the menu.

First sanity/concession to children%26#39;s wonder at Wall Drug. Bear-sized tourist trap, but glad for the break. Had to be firm to us get out of there before some better sights in the Black Hills closed.

First Black Hills stop was a tour of Beautiful Rushmore Cave in Keystone... neat cave, but 30+ people on tour slowed things and made it more claustrophobic. But it was a great rainy / windy option. Dinner at restaurant in Powder House Lodge-- highly recommended. Variety of dishes and specials for both adults and children and surprisingly good dish presentation and wine list. Viewed Mt. Rushmore from the road en route to lodgings in Hill City (Comfort Inn). We had a walk and a Dairy Queen ice cream in downtown Hill City, then purchased my trail pass for Sunday at the Exxon convenience store at the north end of downtown. We trekked further to get cold medicine for our son at Krull%26#39;s Supermarket at the very north edge of downtown (slightly more than the ';just 2 blocks away'; the Exxon store clerk said).

Sunday 5/25-- got my 2-hr run on the Mickelson Trail started before 6 a.m., thanks to my Central Time Zone-adjusted body. Saw 9 deer (all whitetail, though-- not mule deer) and only one each of bike rider and dog walker.

Three minutes into a promised pool session with my son afterward, we had to exit the pool and check out hurriedly because he gashed his left shin on the pool steps. Activities now depended on how long ER visit @ Rapid City hospital would take. Luckily the ER wasn%26#39;t busy and we could get away with a local anesthetic rather than the time-gobbling general anesthetic. And glad we had our portable DVD player at the ready to distract our son as he got sewn up-- about 2 hr total in-and-out.

That left enough time for Reptile Gardens before heading back eastward. Glad we printed out the children%26#39;s admission coupon from the Reptile Gardens web site. No AAA discounts there. We did like the facility and the early Sunday afternoon numbers didn%26#39;t make it uncomfortably crowded, especially the bird show, despite the lame-joke-laden script. The king vulture is a very striking bird. Got some nice pics of the show and of our son petting a giant tortoise.

It was touch-and-go whether we could be at the Mitchell, SD corn palace before its 9:00 pm closing. At time passed and it looked unlikely, we relaxed a bit. Another good restaurant choice (more family-friendly, mostly unsurprising stuff (except for buffalo burgers and ground steak) was Al%26#39;s Oasis in Oacomo/Chamberlain. My vote was for the $0.05 coffee and the homemade pie (good coconut ';cream'; [actually meringue] pie).

Stayed at Kelly Inn, Mitchell (good Sunday-night special rate of $68 pre-tax).

Monday 5/26 Did visit the Corn Palace Memorial Day morning. I%26#39;ll admit I admired how grains and stalks were turned into murals. Nearby ';World%26#39;s Best Coffeehouse'; didn%26#39;t live up to its boast, but the java was better than the stuff at the Kelly Inn. From there, it was an uneventful return trip home (via a slightly different route).

Trip Report-- Black Hills In a Flash 5/23-26/08

Enjoyed your report. Leave it to the kids to throw a medical crisis into the schedule! It reminded me of the time I had to spend several hours on the phone with doctors and find a 24 hr pharmacy in Orlando when the kids were all exposed to bacterial meningitis, and the time I had to find an urgent care for a case of strep throat in Wisconsin Dells...

Glad to hear the recommendation for the Powder House restaurant. We are staying 2 nights at the cabins there this summer and the prospect of decent, yet family-friendly food was one of the reasons I chose that location for Keystone.

Trip Report-- Black Hills In a Flash 5/23-26/08

Thanks for the report. It%26#39;s great to hear how folks%26#39; trips went. It%26#39;s great to hear reports about hotels/motels,restaurants and tourist attractions.

Sorry about the medical things. Have had nothing but good experiences with medical personnel in the Black Hills.

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