A Journey to Rapid City (South Dakota)

My niece and I set out on a road trip to Rapid City, South Dakota to attend the wedding of my brother-in-law. My husband left a few days early to help prepare and set-up. We left Denver around mid-morning on a Thursday and had to stop and take pictures of ourselves at the Wyoming border, the first state north of Colorado.

View of Wyoming... somewhere...

About 92 miles into Wyoming we veered off onto highway 26. I did not realize it until we were traveling along it that the highway follows a similar path to the Oregan Trail. There is one section where wagon wheels were cemented in rock and can still be seen today.

From that point on two lane roads wound through hilly areas and eventually led through the Black Hills into South Dakota. Only 7 short hours after starting we arrived in Rapid City to settle into our hotel, the Alex Johnson. The hotel opened in 1928, right after construction began on Mt. Rushmore, and is now famous for ghost sightings. It was updated nicely but still held a bit of old charm. Some of the decor is reminiscent of native american design. Although we did not have any supernatural encounters, our stay was comfortable.

Chandelier hanging above the lobby at the Alex Johnson - native american art 

Decor and balcony above the lobby

We spent our first evening milling around the downtown area near the hotel and enjoying the Summer Nights live bands. We then headed over to swim with my brother-in-law's family at their hotel (not the one getting married!).

Even though the wedding was on Friday it was scheduled for 6 pm so we had time to do some sight-seeing in the morning. As we walked back from breakfast we noticed that on each corner in Rapid City, there is a different bronze statue of various presidents of the United States. My sister-in-law, a recently former resident of the city explained that it's good luck to high-five President Jimmy Carter. Although I did not photograph anyone actually doing that, I did get my nephews messing around like boys do!!

All the nieces and nephews wanted to see Reptile Gardens, an award winning amusement park filled with birds, reptiles, and insects. It was a beautiful day to be outside and pet some alligators! We saw a bird show and a snake show. There was a prairie dog habitat and a dome filled with tropical plants and animals. The kids and adults had a blast and I would highly recommend it for those traveling that way.

Petting a baby alligator

Bald eagle at Reptile Gardens

Afterwards, there was a short amount of time to visit Mt. Rushmore. It was Friday morning and I was worried about the traffic and number of people that would be visiting the site, but we were lucky enough to get right in and find a parking space. It was a quick "Chevy Chase" type of visit ("uh huh uh huh, let's go!") but totally worth the $11 parking fee.

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln

Along the walkway to view Mt. Rushmore is flag row, below my state's flag this was inscribed.

Back at the hotel we showered, dressed, and headed over to the Journey Museum for the wedding! It was a beautiful venue and interesting museum to see. Congrats to my brother-in-law, Ben, and my new sister-in-law, Johnelle!!!