"Bear with Me" by Don Theye

On our recent visit to Arizona, we stopped by "Bearizona", a great drive thru type of zoo near Flagstaff.

The visit was a no brainer.  The place looked cool.  AND, we had visited "Bear Country USA" in South Dakota a few years ago.  We would find out that members of the Casey family started both attractions.

Anyway, while we were at Bearizona, I picked up a nice book on Doc Casey, the founder of Bear Country USA, and the father of the founders of Bearizona.
 

This isn't a huge book- its just a nice, short read about Doc's life, and some of the early days of his South Dakota attraction.  There are a lot of stories involving the family and their roles in the family business.  This is just a nice read after a visit to one of the Casey attractions.

The World's Only Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota

"The Corn Palace is open free of charge, the year-around, to visitors."

This postcard was sent in 1960.

M & R Travelers Rest Crow Buttes SD

Before I get away from talking about our mostly South Dakota trip, I wanted to mention a few places I really didn't get in my youtube videos.

I did briefly mention this place in my video on our drive to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, but I wanted to give it another quick mention.

The M&R Traveler's Rest in Crow Buttes South Dakota was a great stop.  They have food, souvenirs, and clean restrooms.  It looked like a nice place to stop as we were traveling back to Rapid City.

They had a sign up boasting about their shakes so I had to have one.  It was one of the best I have ever had!  I ended up picking up some postcards too, and a couple of other items.  

I talked to the owner of the place who was great, and who also had some ties to my old stompin' grounds in Western Kentucky.

She told me a crazy story about an Indian conflict that happened at the Buttes right by the store.  Check out the marker I have included.  VERY interesting place and interesting story.

This spot isn't that far from Bear Buttes, and it is a nice stop on I-85.  If you are in the area, you need to stop by!

 

Theodore Roosevelt National Park ND 09 2020

Yeah, I mentioned previously that North Dakota is the last state many roadtrippers visit.  Well, there are some VERY cool spots to visit in North Dakota....  I think, in many ways, North Dakota is OK with keeping its secrets, and keeping the tourists away.  

We were able to visit the south unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  We drove from Rapid City, South Dakota and back in one, very long day.

Its probably 9-10 hours of drive time the way we did it, but it was one amazing day on the road.

Once we were in North Dakota, going on many scenic rural roads, we saw almost no traffic.  

The scenery to the park was great too.  And, we drove the Enchanted High part of the way to the park (see my other post/video).

We passed through a couple of GREAT North Dakota Towns on the way (Dickinson and Medora) that I am already itching to visit again.

AND the Roosevelt National Park can easily justify several more visits.  There is a lot to see.

As we drove back into South Dakota, we stopped by a great little diner/gift shop by Crow Buttes, where a marker stands about a very strange Indian conflict.  This site was worth a visit on its own.

The entire trip was a bit haunting too, as we left when it was still very dark.  Black mountain shapes moved ghostly in the background, as grey deer stood looking at as by the road.

Check out my youtube video for highlights!

Badlands SD 09 06 2020

 The Badlands in South 

Dakota look like another planet.  I have said a few times, that shows like Star Trek could have filmed out here.

If you are driving in to western South Dakota from the east, like we did, the Badlands is one of the first major stops you make.  Its kinda the first major tourist location that you have to stop to see.

You can't take a bad photo at the Badlands either.  The entire place is so photogenic.

We stopped here for a few hours on our recent trip.

With it being pandemic season and all..... this was a great place to go to, because you can enjoy a lot of it from your car.  Also, the trails are spaced out here and there too...  if you get out of your vehicle, there will still be a lot of space between you and other visitors.

We did stop by the first visitor center and the park service was doing a good job of limiting how many people could go in at a time and all.

Check out this video I posted to youtube about our visit!

Rapid City SD 09 2020

 While we were

in Rapid City, we did a lot of walking and driving downtown.  This is a town that has really grown on us, and we look forward to getting back there again soon.

It IS a city of Presidents.  It is near Mount Rushmore, and the town has placed a statue of each president on their corners.

There is a restaurant there (Firehouse Brewery) that we love.  There are a lot of good coffee shops and book stores too.  I could go on and on.

Check out the video I posted to youtube recently!

Custer State Park SD 09 07 2020

 

Believe the hype when it comes to Custer State Park in South Dakota.  This is one of the main attractions in the state, and I can see why.  You will see a ton of animals when you drive through!  It is in a class all to itself.

We have gone through on each of our three visits to the state.  In fact, on this visit, we went on a couple of different days and we were glad we did.  

You know I love history too....  and a couple of Presidents have used the game lodge here for extended periods.  In fact, anyone can rent their rooms!

I don't want to brag, but I was able to get a lot of cool animals on video!  We also went in to the lodge and explored some.  I love that place.

Check out the video that I posted to youtube!

Mt Rushmore SD 09 10 2020

AND, for the second year in a row, and for the third time in less than a decade, we visited South Dakota AND Mt. Rushmore!

Check out the video above that I posted on youtube for more info on our visit to the legendary landmark.

This is a favorite spot of ours, and I am so glad that we made it back again!  We actually ended up joining the Mt Rushmore Society on this visit.  For $35 you get a discount at their gift shops (and, at certain other gift shop/book stores associated with the National Parks).  I like what they are doing and I am proud to now be a member.

Using that discount, I picked up the last 2 Borglum bookends I needed to complete my set.  I have talked about the book ends at length on my blog and in the videos...  and they are very special to me.  My mom actually asked to pay for them as an early Christmas present!  We also bought a very cool mini blocks Rushmore kit that you can put together yourself.  I thought this would be fun for my family.  My wife ended up putting the whole thing together and she is wanting some of the other kits now.

Anyway, check out my most recent video on Mt Rushmore.

South Dakota Billboards 09 06 2020

 I filmed some of the billboards in South Dakota....... There are a LOT of them along I90 as you drive towards Rapid City!  The Billboards are fun to read at times.  Lots of Wall Drug and Firehouse Brewery (a favorite spot of ours in Rapid City).

Deadwood SD 09 09 2020

Check out the video I posted covering our visit to Deadwood, South Dakota!

We actually went there back in 2012.  We weren't able to go when we visited South Dakota in 2019, but we made time to stop by this year!

I had a couple of main reasons for wanting to stop by.  For one, they have JUST started doing a BROTHEL TOUR!  Go ahead and make your jokes (they aren't shy about jokes on the tour), but it is a VERY fascinating look at life in the brothels.  AND, their brothel history really ended in 1980!  I know, you are probably thinking, "THAT WASN'T THAT LONG AGO" and you are right.  The town sort of looked the other way to prostitution up until 1980.

The tour covers all of that.  As I mention in the video, our tour guide was open, to the point (while still cracking the occasional

dirty joke) BUT she also talked very openly about the life of a one of the well know local brothel workers who is still alive today.  She talk about the hardships of the ladies life, and of the abuses she faced before getting in to that business.  The tour was honestly funny at time, and sad when she talked about this lady.....  but the whole thing was informative.  I recommend the tour.

Oh, and I have mentioned on this blog that the book, "Raiding Deadwood's Bad Lands" does a great job on the story too (that book covers prostitution, gambling, and other bits of Deadwood's history).

Also, my cousin Jerry has got me into collecting poker chips!  I used this visit as an excuse to go into each casino I passed, and to purchase a $1 chip from each (Jerry has warned me that if you start collecting the pricier chips, the hobby can get expensive QUICK!).  I mentioned in the video too that, most of the cashiers weren't enthusiastic about selling ONE $1 chip, BUT, after I looked at the chips they gave me, almost all gave me a nice, uncirculated one in great shape.

We only had a few hours in town though....  I has hoping to visit one of the museums this time, but we will have to save that for another day.  This is a unique, fun town full of great, crazy history!

"Raiding Deadwood's Bad Lands: Its Illegal History of Prostitution and Gambling" by Michael Trump

 We took the "Deadwood Brothel Tour" while we were in Deadwood, South Dakota.  Check out my video on that!

While we were there, our tour guide recommended "Raiding Deadwood's Bad Lands:  Its Illegal History of Prostitution and Gambling" by Michael Trump.  I am so glad that I took her advice and bought it!

Michael Trump has written a very clear and easy to understand history of gambling and prostitution in Deadwood.  Both have been legal (or kinda legal) going up through 1980.

If you have been to the town of Deadwood, you KNOW gambling is a big part of the town now.  VERY BIG.  Its a small town, population wise, but there are MANY casinos.

Deadwood has a solid reputation of being a lawless town.....  going back to its beginnings.  I am sure you know of the legendary names who passed through (or, who were killed) in town.  If you aren't familiar with the reputation, look it up, or go to Deadwood and take one of the many tours about its lawless reputation.

OR, you can read Michael Trump's book.  The volume is more academic than most (he gives sources...  and doesn't rely on iffy legends).

Plus, he gets into the prostitution situation in town, that was mostly ignored by locals and law enforcement until 1980.  There were raids, he explains, but the shut downs didn't last long.

He talks about the madams, the girls, and how they practiced their trade for so long.  You might find it interesting to learn about just how charitable the houses were in the community, helping out various groups.

Gambling is covered too, as the current wave of legalized gambling (starting in the late 80s) has really helped out with historic preservation.

Raiding Deadwood's Bad Lands really shows the towns entire history and this would be the perfect book to read before you go there!

Deadwood: The Best Writings on the Most Notorious Town in the West by TD Griffith

So, we planned this little trip BACK to South Dakota, EXACTLY one year after going there.  More on that later, but I wanted to read some more books on the the state and some of its towns before this repeat adventure.

AND, I had kinda exhausted some books on outlaws, travel, ghosts, etc before out trip last year.

I really enjoyed the books that author T.D. Griffith put out though, AND I was lucky enough to find one I had not read....  and it was on Deadwood!

"Deadwood:  The Best Writings on the Most Notorious Town in the West" is actually a collection of articles, and pages from other books on Deadwood and its characters.  Griffith does a short intro to each piece to let you know why that particular mention was chosen for his book.

The articles are from all over the place too.....  and I really appreciated some writings by a reporter who visited the town right as it was getting established.  Griffith also includes a contribution from a lady who grew up, as a child, around that same time too.

Pop culture links (country music and the popular TV show about the town) are covered too, as are all of the colorful characters the town saw.

Bear Country USA SD 09 2019

 I know I previously mentioned Bear Country USA here before, but here is the video from that visit!

Crazy Horse Memorial South Dakota 2012

 Yeah....  so I have been on a MAJOR South Dakota kick again......  I found the video I took while at the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota back in 2012.  Here it is!

Our Mostly South Dakota Road Trip 2020

Yeah.....  so, we went to South Dakota again...  for the 2nd time in 2 years.  This was our 3rd trip there in less than 10 years.  All I can say is timing.  AND covid.

We actually had an Alaskan Cruise/Canadian adventure planned.  It was all set to go.  Well, as you can imagine.........  covid came around and changed a LOT of plans.  

We ended up coming up with a VERY roughly planned New York, Connecticut trip.  Well, some of the stuff we had hoped to do on that trip was looking iffy in many ways.

So we thought about doing something relaxing.  We wanted to do something that didn't involve a ton of social interaction (BUT we still did want to get "out" and do some exploring).

We thought about some trips we have enjoyed in the past.  I am always up for Gettysburg.  Still, that is a social, and often crowded area.

We thought about spending a week in our home state, or Tennessee, but...  well, thats just not really "getting away".

AND, we both really enjoyed our time in South Dakota last year.  We knew we were wanting to get back soon anyway, so....  we did a repeat trip to South Dakota!

Most of the parks are not crowded, there is a lot of room, and you can do a lot of exploring from the comfort of your own car!

Plus, we called our favorite South Dakota Hotel, the Alex

Johnson, and rooms were available and reasonable!  We would be staying several nights in the great town of Rapid City AGAIN!

This was a bit of a last minute trip......  AND we ended up tweaking it a bit right before leaving.

You know that I love Nebraska, and we have always stopped in two of my favorite towns (Fremont and Omaha) on previous trips.  Well, we realized that we could make some impressive stops in Iowa and Minnesota if we cancelled Nebraska.  I hated to do that, but the thought of what we would be getting with the trade off was too exciting.  

We ended up going to the Surf Ballroom and the "Day the Music Died" crash site.  You probably know what I am talking about.  More on that later.

AND, we could hit part of Minnesota, making our first trip through that great state!  In fact, we would mark TWO states off of our list with this trip (Minnesota and North Dakota).  We would ALMOST get to a THIRD new state (Montana) but we had to pass on that one.

One of our rules of visiting a state is you can't go there JUST to go there.  Well, we ALMOST routed a very brief part of the road trip THROUGH Montana (when driving back to Rapid City South Dakota from Medora North Dakota) but it was going to add more time than we could spare to our trip.  AND, we would be doing it for the sake of

doing it.  We chose to save Montana for another day.

We visited a few places we saw in 2012 and wanted to visit again in 2019 but couldn't (Devils Tower and Deadwood).  We visited several sites for a third time (Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, the Hotel Alex Johnson and a few restaurants).  AND, we got to see several things for the first time- MAINLY Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota!

As you may have noticed, I have been enjoying filming as we travel lately.  I plan to still blog, but it might be more video focused starting with this trip.  It has brought me a lot of joy watching my videos again and talking about them.

 

1880 Train, Hill City South Dakota 2012

Here is another South Dakota Video, this one is from our 2012 visit as we ride on the 1880 steam train!

"An Obvious Fact: A Longmire Mystery" by Craig Johnson

let me just admit upfront that I picked this book up at a Half Price Books because it was cheap, and because I liked the Devil's Tower cover.  Yes, economics sometimes dictate my book buying choices.

HOWEVER.....  this is just a darn good book!  Like, really, really good.  AND, I am mostly not a fan of modern fiction.

I know that Longmire is a popular TV show, but I have never seen it.  I plan to now though, after I got some other shows I want to watch out of the way.  We tend to watch a complete series at my house, then we start another one.  Not at one sitting of course, but over a long period of time.

Anyway, Craig Johnson's "An Obvious Fact" was just a fun read.  It is about 300 pages, but it has a nice flow, and you can knock it out in no time.

The story is interesting, the characters are vivid and believable.....  It is very easy to visualize whats going on as you read Johnson.

Sheriff Longmire, a couple of friends and a dog are investigating the serious injuring of a young man on a motorcycle near Devil's Tower.  Lots of other interesting characters show up, as the Motor Cycle Rally is going on.  An ex-girlfriend, a biker gang, and a drunk viking all complicate things.  A possible family connection to the biker makes the situation even more interesting.

South Dakota 2012 and 2019 2 of 2

Here is part 2 of my videos from South Dakota.

South Dakota 2012 and 2019 1 of 2

I posted this video to youtube recently.  This is from our trip in 2012 and 2019 to South Dakota.

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site- Delta-01 Launch Facility- South Dakota

We left Rapid City, sadly.  We really enjoyed our time there, and have developed a certain love for the area, and the town.  It was a real joy getting to stay at the wonderful old Hotel Alex Johnson for a second time.

Our first stop, a little over an hour from Rapid City, was the Minute Man Missile National Historic Site.  We ended up getting there about 50 minutes early.  You get off the interstate then drive down a gravel road to get there.  We drove around the area a little.  There is a farm, and a red car that has obviously been used for target practice in a field.

We waited by the gate at the parking area, and a pit bull came up.  He actually looked very sweet, and I wanted to get out and play with him, but decided to be cautious and stay in the car.

It was interesting being here for a little while on this morning.  A ranger finally came and unlocked the gate, You actually walk through a couple of fence gates and then get to a fenced in looking house.

The whole thing had a bit of an apocalyptic sci fi movie feel.  Weird and cool.  A young Ranger named Erin came and unlocked the fence to let us and the 2 other couples in.

Our tour stared around 9, and lasted 45 minutes.  It was very interesting.  The site was declassified in 1993, though it was generally known about, especially by protesters (you can still buy a book from them that tells where all of the nuclear launch sites are- Erin joked that you could buy it in the gift shop).

 It was well guarded while open, and as far as Erin knew, no one really tried to get in.  Food was kept locked too, in case someone was thinking about poisoning it.

In 1993, there was an agreement signed with Russia, and this site, and another in Russia, was deactivated.  The Russian one is now in a forest in the Ukraine.  She said it is hard to get there.  She has had the people in Russia who had the same job (waiting in a bunker for word that they would have to turn the key) tour this facility.  Two people would wait for the warning, which thankfully never came. 

BUT, while it was active, a couple of guys would be stationed in the bunker area waiting for the coded call to come.  If they ever got that call- each would have to turn a key at the same time.  The two ignition slots were placed far enough apart that one man could not turn them both.

Our informative guide told us that actually, two keys being turned at one facility really did nothing on its own....  BUT if two others in a similar bunker site turned their keys too.....  well THAT would literally start a nuclear conflict.

It was exciting taking the elevator down the 31 feet to the bunker area.  Tour groups are limited to 6 people, and we did order our tickets early.  This was a site and tour that has been on my list for some time, and I am glad that I was finally able to visit.