Saturday, February 29, 2020

Starbucks at the Hotel Alex Johnson in Rapid City, South Dakota

Inside of the Hotel Alex Johnson is a Starbucks.  If you are staying at the hotel, you can get buy one get one free drinks!

When we were here in 2012, this was a Seattle's Best.  They had the same promo for guests at that time too.

This was a nice area for us to relax in the evenings, write postcards and read.

The George Washington Statue is right out front too...  Its almost like he is endorsing the coffee shop!

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Vertex Skybar Restaurant at Alex Johnson

A really cool feature at the Hotel Alex Johnson is their rooftop restaurant, Vertex.

We had a great meal there one evening, I had a chicken wrap and a salad and my wife had a burger.  The food was good, and we had a great waiter named Jorge.  We had a great view of Rapid City too.

The restaurant itself is attractive too, with a couple of levels of dining area.  The very top level was most popular.

The HUGE old sign for the hotel, lighted red showing the name of the hotel really looks spectacular up here at night too.  Its a great spot for selfies with the sign.










Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Our Room at the Hotel Alex Johnson in Rapid City South Dakota

I wanted to include a few photos from our 6th floor room at the Hotel Alex Johnson.  Let me be honest....  it was small.  Look at the bathroom....Everything was close together (and I took the picture from the door).

The main area reminded me a bit of a cruise cabin.  The bed took up most of the room.

There is also a photo of the view from our room.

So, things were a little tight but everything was fine.  Room service did a great job of keeping the place clean.  The rooms felt comfortable.

Again, we were in a great historic hotel where rooms were, in decades past, generally smaller.


Sunday, February 23, 2020

Postcard: Alex Johnson Hotel, Rapid City, SD

Sent from Rapid City (one of my favorites!) in 1938!  The Alex Johnson really stands out in this attractive skyline postcard!

Friday, February 21, 2020

Hotel Alex Johnson, Rapid City, South Dakota


Back in 2012 we spent several nights at the historic Alex Johnson in downtown Rapid City.  We knew, without a doubt, that we wanted to stay there again for our big 2019 trip.

The hotel is historic, unique, and very conveniently located.

It really is a nice location to stay at while in the area.  AND, its just so cool and historic.  We wanted to make sure we spent some quality time at the Alex Johnson too, just to take in all of it's coolness.

Since our last visit, the hotel has been taken over by Hilton.  They are obviously trying to keep Hilton standards, and I think that is a good move.

We noticed that all of the staff was great and helpful.  We had a very sweet room service person named Michelle who really did a great job.  There were about 3 young men doing valet parking every time we used it, and they were friendly and helpful.  Also, we stopped by the front desk one evening to ask some questions.  A very friendly employee named Ross gave us a lot of helpful information....  AND he gave us each a very tasty chocolate bar/medallion (see photo) molded in the logo of the hotel!  They do sell these at the hotel, but we felt pretty lucky to have been given a set!  Nice touch!

The CLASSIC hotel decor we loved from our first visit was still there, and unchanged.  I am certain past visitors (like Alfred Hitchcock!) saw the same great Native American influenced carvings and art we were able to admire in the lobby when he was there 70 years ago.

I think Hilton has done an honest job of trying the keep the place the same in ways that need to be kept, but it has also upped the standard where it could.

Also, look closely at the chandelier and the floor tile.  The Alex Johnson has not covered up the swastika like shapes that had been used in some of the decorations.  These were put there well before the symbol was hijacked by a German political party.

They do have a walking tour type brochure about the hotel that points some of the preserved features like this out.  I also appreciated some of the images on the outside of the building above the windows.  Those were influence by the Indian head and Buffalo Nickel designs.  They look great.

There are also ghost stories associated with the hotel.  Staff talked openly about this, and even told us which room were supposedly haunted!  There IS a special package you can get at the hotel if you want to stay in one of the haunted rooms!

Anyway, here are just a few pictures we took around the hotel.......








Wednesday, February 19, 2020

"Wild Bill: The True Story of the First Gunfighter" by Tom Clavin

So, I mentioned earlier that I bought "Wild Bill:  The True Story of the American Frontier's First Gunfighter" by Tom Clavin at Wall Drug.  Well, I ended up reading it here and there on the trip!

This was just a really enjoyable book about Wild Bill Hickok.  The author states up front that he is trying to give the real story of the Old West legend.

So, in some ways, some of the stories feel a little watered down.  Some of the gloss you might expect to find in a book about Hickok is gone.  He is presented as a real person, and not as a character.

Honestly, thats what I want in a biography.  The truth.

Wild Bill does earn his reputation though, just by being a tough, yet likable guy.  He is described as attractive.  He is a pre-rock rockstar early on.

He does some acting, some shooting, some fighting.  He gambles and drinks too.  In fact, even though he is a legend admired by many, he finds himself broke at times.  Heck he kind of comes off as a bum at different points in his life.

Clavin covers Wild Bill's travels, friends and relationships.  I didn't know much about his marriage before reading the book.

The book was a lot of fun to read and I am glad I had it on my trip!

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Wounded Knee Museum, Wall SD

There is a Wounded Knee Massacre Museum right by Wall Drug.

We stopped by to check things out.  You know, there was a period that I was absolutely obsessed with the event.  I read the book, googled, and just really dove in to learning about it.

It was $6 each to visit.  The staff was friendly and enthusiastic.

The museum is pretty much educational displays.  There are no relics.

It was a nice brief stop on our road trip.




Sunday, February 16, 2020

Wall Drugs, SD 2019

AND....  we stopped at Wall Drug in South Dakota again!

Kinda like with the Corn Palace, we stopped at Wall Drug on our last trip.  We didn't spend as much time here as last time, but we enjoyed it enough on the last visit that we really wanted to go again this time too.

We actually enjoyed the food service last time, and decided to do lunch here again.  They have good food and we really enjoyed our meals!  The staff was friendly and the food was quality!

We walked around.  We enjoyed the free ice water.  We bought postcards.

The highlight for me though was going through their bookstore with regional titles.  They had a signed copy of a new Hickok biography (I will review it later, its good stuff).  The lady running the place obviously enjoyed working there.  She told me a lot about local sites, and books.







Friday, February 14, 2020

Corn Palace Mitchell SD 2019

We stopped by the Corn Palace in Mitchell again, visiting for a second time.

It was cool going again.  Its not that far off the beaten path, and it was a nice place to stretch our legs.

It has changed a bit since our last visit.  In 2012, they had a pretty big gift shop INSIDE, plus there was another gift shop across the street.  Well, now, they just have the one gift shop across the street.  There is more open space inside of the corn palace now.

I don't see the Corn Palace as a site you would want to spend all day at (frankly, a half hour stop can cover it).  Still, it is legendary and worth a stop!








Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Iowa 80 Truckstop- The World's Largest Truck Stop in Iowa

We stopped by the World's Largest Truck Stop in Iowa on our way to South Dakota, and back.  It was a very nice break spot!

We stopped there briefly back in 2012.  It was cool, but now it is Epic!  They have obviously added a lot to it!

There was a nice food court...  and lots of souvenirs.  They don't have tons of signs to tip you off leading to it like some of the other attractions on the way...  You kinda have to be ready for it.

The place is kinda comparable to Wall Drug....  Its just big and a LOT!  I saw pins, patches, candy, toys, etc, etc.  They had food places AND a Caribou Coffee!