Wanna' go for a ride?
I never thought it was possible, but maybe....
just maybe....
we did too much in one day.
After visiting Wall Drug in the morning, we had good drive to reach our RV park in Black Hills, SD. This is a small town right outside Rapid City. We had several recommendations for RV parks from our friends on Facebook Groups but we had a hard time getting into some of them. We found a Roadside America campground where our $40 membership allowed us to have a steep daily discount.
The campground boasted a playground, free wireless, and fifty amp service. All these are pluses. The campground wasn't pretty per say, but it did have a laundry and clean shower facilities. Having shower facilities is nice. It keeps humidity down in your camper (a must during the cold months), and with a family of six, keeping a bath schedule can be tough.
our campground
On the downside, the campground didn't have a playground. Not much for the kids to do except roam around and take in the sunshine. The owners said that they did have a playground once, but since it wasn't being used, they just took it down. To me, if you boast a big wooden play set for kids on your website to attract families and then take it down, wouldn't you want to update the website?
It really didn't become a big deal. We were out adventuring and enjoying our vacation. We were only coming back to Arrakis to crash. However, we found in our adventure this week some really cool camp grounds I wish we had chosen over the one we chose. So, our first full day in Rapid City was filled with a visit to Dinosaur Park, The Rapid City Museum, A game of disc golf, seeing the presidents in downtown Rapid City, and a little bit of shopping.
Jen reliving a memory
The dinosaur park, a park that has statues that look almost cartoons is way up in the hills of Rapid City. You can see them from miles away if you know where to look. Jen had visited Rapid City when she was a girl. She had fond memories of getting to climb the dinosaurs with her siblings and it was something she wanted the kids to experience as well. We got there bright and early, and were the first people to climb and explore the park. The kids had a blast, and I got some wonderful pictures to capture the moment.
After the park, we headed to the museum. Museums are great places to visit on vacation. Normally they are inexpensive. Often times if you buy a membership to a museum, they often partner with other museums that allow free access or reduced prices. You also get to learn about the history of the area, attractions that you might want to visit, and the kids get to discover, learn, and experience new things.
Mammoth on display
This museum was a little odd. The front desk person was a little abrupt and the directions and layout of the museum was so convoluted that it took a few minutes for us to figure out just how to get 'in' the museum from the reception area. Once we made a few miss turns, we were 'corrected' and directed to the closed doors which represented the 'entrance' into the museum. Once we were oriented, we got to wonder around and take in the different displays. They had a 'planetarium' which amounted to a video projector and a movie. It was an interesting video, but Tayla taking on the persona of T-Rex decided that it was not for her.
After the museum, we had lunch at some picnic tables near the museum. I was getting a little frustrated with the minions as infighting began. After a quick lunch, I decided on a detour to a disc golf course. This allowed us to expel some pent up energy, and for me to get a quick round to help relax. The park near us was old. Which is hard to find. I believe it was one of the first courses in the country dating back to 1975. It reminded me of playing real golf at the refinery where my dad worked. There were all kinds of man made obstacles such as construction equipment and patios in the way. It did provide some difficulty especially trying to steer clear of Rapid Creek and other tributaries. In the end, we only played five holes because they didn't have public facilities easily located and wouldn't you know it? All of the kids, at the same time, had to use the restroom. I think they got bored and were tired from all the walking.
President Reagan
After moderately good behavior, we decided to head downtown. We took in the 'Art Alley' which is an alley where you can find awesome graffiti and colorful artwork combined. We saw a few of the president statues they have on every corner followed by ice cream. After a little shopping and picking up a t-shirt from a bike shop eloquently named 'Cranky Jeff's', we headed to Stavkirke Church. Afterwards, we were ready to head home and prepare our self for another day of adventure to Sturgis and Deadwood.
Stavkirke Church
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