The eastern part of South Dakota is very similar to Iowa and has green, rolling hills. As we drove west, the landscape changed. It was flat and arid. Later, it became mountainous and forested.
It feels fantastic to be on vacation! On Friday afternoon, Andrew, the kids, and I set out from Des Moines to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We did a brief overnight there and then headed to Rapid City, making progress towards our ultimate destination: Yellowstone National Park!
Weve driven through Rapid City before, about 5 years ago. We saw Mount Rushmore that trip but didnt have time to see the Crazy Horse memorial. So, this trip, we opted to see the Crazy Horse memorial and skipped Mount Rushmore. The memorial is a cultural site, and we walked through a museum with artifacts that honored Native American tribes from all over North America. We watched a video about the Crazy Horse monument and its current progress, and we also got to see a girl perform a hoop dance. It was a great stop. Also, we were extremely impressed with how clean everything was. The roads and parking lot are all new and well kept. The cultural center is beautiful. We saw people working to keep everything clean, wiping all the glass and doors regularly. Its just really a nice place to visit and learn.
KOA. I booked our trip last summer, a year in advance. I had no idea how things would be in the summer of 2021, and so I booked cabins for almost our entire trip for social distancing purposes. Andrew and I are fully vaccinated, but the kids cant be. So, its still nice to have the personal space! Plus, the kids love KOAs, as they often have bouncy pillows and pools and other fun outdoor activities. This KOA at Custer was no different.
This morning, I set out a little after 7am for Wind Cave National Park. Wind Cave National Park is another place we tried to go during our last trip through South Dakota. We had arrived in the afternoon last time, and they were sold out of cave tours. This trip, all cave tours are first serve. They dont open until 8am, so I thought I was being clever getting there before opening time. I arrived around 7:45, and a line of about 50 people had already formed! I shouldnt have been surprised, but I was.
line wanted an early time for their tour, so I was able to get my first choice. It took about 45 minutes of waiting, but I left with our tickets in hand! By the time I made it back to our KOA, Andrew had breakfast made and had gotten our sheets off the beds and folded, ready to go. At 10am, we checked out and headed back to Wind Cave National Park. The drive there from Custer is beautiful. There are outdoor hikes you can do at the national park as well, but we opted for just the cave tour this time. We have a 6.5 hour drive ahead of us to our next cabin.
The cave tour was excellent! We got to see a lot of interesting formations in the cave. Andrew, the kids, and I have gone in a few caves at national parks and monuments, and this was one of the better ones, definitely worth seeing (maybe not as cool as the lava tubes, but definitely better than Mammoth Cave! Sorry, Kentucky). I had our shoes before the trip to make sure we wouldnt spread any fungus that causes syndrome in bats.
Here we are on the natural entrance cave tour. It ran about 1.25 hours and was definitely worth seeing!
We learned some bats there have already suffered and died from the fungal infection. So, after the tour, they had us shuffle over a pad of soapy water to make sure we wouldnt spread it to other caves in the future.
I love all the options of things to do and see in the Custer area. Its definitely worth an overnight stop if youre driving out west. From the Black Hills, to some cave options, from some monuments, to some museums, there are things to do that make it worth a half day to a full day.
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