suitcases also arrived! That is always a wonderful sight to see. It has been 44 years since I was here.
soon at the Grand Gateway Hotel. After settling in, I drove ΒΌ mile to the local Walmart. We planned on
through hills and gently sloping countryside. Riding south on Hwy. 16, we pass by Bear Country U.S.A.
I pull off onto a side road and of course, my wife thinks I am lost. I follow the signs to Black Hills
Aerial Adventures and the Rushmore heliport. Five different routes are available. We take the Discovery
flight at $49 per person. Im thrilled to be sitting up front and seeing Mount Rushmore in the distance.
history, etc. Starr has been involved in hoop dancing for 27 years. Her father had a huge influence on
this massive project in 1948. He was asked to build this memorial so that the White man would know that
the Red man had great heroes also. Originally, his wife and ten children assisted him. After he died, there
are five children and four grandchildren now working here. By refusing governmental financial help, this
large selection of wildlife to admire (and purchase). We pulled into a shopping strip and ate lunch at
to keep your windows rolled up. This site is the home of the largest collection of privately owned black
of antlers. In the next section, we saw our first Reindeer. There was plenty of grass for them to graze
on. In the Arctic Wolf section, we saw two of them. And both were asleep. Up next are Bighorn Sheep. I
was impressed with some of their horns. Then were on to see the Timber wolves. Three were well fed and
enjoying their naps. We only saw one mountain lion. He seemed quite content. Now for the fun.. the black
bear section. Including cubs which well see later, there are over 100 black bears at this park / zoo. They
certainly enjoyed the carrots! The fur color ranged from black to cinnamon to blonde. One ambled right
past my window. A different walked past Janet. We were as close as TWO feet from these gentle giants!
Marten, Canadian lynx, several playful bear cubs. Two climbed a tree and posed for the tourists. It was so
cute. Then we saw a coyote, a red fox, an Arctic fox, and a river otter with a huge smile. We were so
there for a little while, before another adventure. I wanted us to visit the Chapel in the Hills. Check out
years old. It was built in 1969 as the home for the Lutheran Vespers radio ministry. The visitor center and
we entered the old church, there was a sense of peace. It is a place for contemplation, meditation and
prayer. A new addition to these grounds is a Prayer Walk and Benediction Trail. This leisurely path winds
its way into the hillside behind the chapel. There are seven statues along this trail. Next to each one is a
world peace. And lastly Amen, God hears our prayers. This is a wonderful place for reflection, prayer
little effort, we found Memorial Park. This is the location for two concrete slabs from the Berlin Wall
been in Germany two years earlier, on our honeymoon. We took great interest of television news reports
were told that they were just closing. I guess we were lucky to buy two monster muffins: one pineapple
of our U.S. Presidents on each corner. It felt so patriotic. We stopped in at Roamn Around and bought an
early Christmas gift. Crossing the street, we took pictures of 12 Presidents. One last item this morning
was to drive through Art Alley. Taking up two blocks, everything there in the alleyway has been painted.
explore the Mount Roosevelt Friendship Tower. The first sheriff of Deadwood was Seth Bullock. A young
magnificent views, up to 50 miles away, from the top of this tower. The drive back into town was on a
closed 19 years ago, it was the largest and deepest gold mine in North America. During its lifetime, the
a sign for the Barefoot Resort. Pulling in, there was a short hike to a scenic overview. And a lovely view it
I was trying to figure out what these mountains of rocks were, which were hundreds of feet high.
