The Explore All 50 States Project
Let's Go!
You can't drive through South Dakota without going to the South Dakota State Capitol Building in Pierre. For some reason that state capitol always stuck out in my mind when I was memorizing the 50 state capitols in grade school. I always thought the way to pronounce it was like the French name Pierre (Pee-air), but it’s not. If you want to sound like a local and pronounce it correctly, it’ pronounced … [Read more...]
Nestled amidst over 250 acres of towering pines and rolling meadows just eight miles south of Rapid City lies Bear Country U.S.A. This is one of those drive through wild animal parks that I remember as a kid. On our leisurely three-mile drive through several enclosures we encountered black bear, elk, reindeer, deer, cougars, bobcats, rocky mountain goats, bighorn sheep, deer, sheep, and buffalo. All the animals are … [Read more...]
Rapid City is a great location not only because it's close to lots of attractions but also because it plays host to the Central States Fair. We purposely planned our trip so we could be there while it was happening. We live in Southern California so our fairs don't really feel authentic and so we were super excited to attend the real deal. Sometimes we are hard pressed to find a night time activity and so … [Read more...]
To be perfectly honest, my kids and I were not quite sure what to make of The Cosmos Mystery Area but we were totally mystified. Before heading out, we were given a short briefing and a story about a couple of boys who were playing and who happened upon some unexplained phenomena-like balls rolling and water flowing uphill. After the intro, we then mozied up towards the first of some little tree house like … [Read more...]
Walking through the Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns felt like we were walking through a giant Geode, and you know what, we probably were. This incredible cave holds the world’s largest display of dog-tooth spar crystal, which look like diamonds as all their facets are reflected in some of the pools in the cave. We walked down quite few steep steps to get inside the cave, but our effort was totally rewarded once … [Read more...]
Located in the tiny town of Roslyn, South Dakota,The International Vinegar Museum is in a wonderfully interesting place, albeit way off the beaten path-in fact as we were driving I kept asking myself if this was the right move as I wasn't sure it would be worth the long haul. I am so glad I persevered. Not only was it worth it, it was a terrific hands on learning opportunity the everyone enjoyed-especially the … [Read more...]
We stopped in Sturgis to visit the Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame. Sturgis is also home to one of the biggest gathering of motorcycle riders in the entire country—the Sturgis Rally. Thankfully, it wasn’t taking place when we were there; in fact, it felt more like a ghost town. We were desperate to find a family friendly place to eat, so I walked into a storefront where I encountered a very butch looking … [Read more...]
All the guidebooks we use to plan our trips said Wall Drug is a not to be missed stop. As we were driving along Highway 90 leaving Rapid City on our way to the Badlands we were beckoned by the colorful roadside signs that sporadically appeared and started to become much more frequent the closer we got. As we got close there was so much hype and hoopla that we just had to stop although we were not sure exactly … [Read more...]
As you may already know, I am not a huge fan of zoos. Parts of the Bramble Park Zoo were really great, such as the petting zoo. The kids really enjoyed getting up close and personal with the animals. My youngest son Joel who can at times have a hair trigger temper is also the most loving and emotional of my 3 kids. He is really drawn to animals and when I watch him it's like he has some kind of special … [Read more...]
Unfortunately, airlines are now charging for checked bags. With everyone having their own bag, that can really add up. In addition, you are probably going to be lugging your suitcases in and out of the car on a daily basis if you cover a lot of ground like I do. So here are a few tips on packing to make sure you have all you’ll need while traveling as light as possible. 1. Sharing bags When my kids were … [Read more...]
