Bear Country USA (Rapid City)

Destination: North and South Dakota

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...]

Central States Fair (Rapid City)

Destination: North and South Dakota

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...]

Cosmos Mystery Area (Rapid City)

Destination: North and South Dakota

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...]

Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns (Rapid City)

Destination #5: North and South Dakota

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...]