Bad lands area
We have a night at Cedar Pass Campground (in the Bad Lands Nat'l Park) before heading to a KOA at The Devils tower for another night, then off to Custer State Park, Blue Bell for 2 nights then Sylvan ...
Forum Discussion
FWC I can go with that, Wall Drug is kitschy and they used to have signs all over the country---XXXX miles to Wall Drug and I grew up with those...heh. They don't seem to do it any more. But they occupied more of my mental space.
I am not intimately familiar with Custer. We stayed there once but it was looong ago, you probably have a better feel for the place. We went thru it a couple of years ago.
As for Devil's Tower, it just does not seem to be part of the Black Hills complex to me. But we've been there multiple times. Camped there a couple times and my son is a rock climber (I was but long ago) and he wants to climb it. We always do the loop trail an see the prairie dogs.
My objections to Rushmore are these:
The outrageous parking fees not covered by a park pass. What was it, $13?
Two I've been thru the museum/visitors center several times and have been underwhelmed. I can't say that any of the many visitor centers we've been to are very interesting. Why not hire some people to redo the displays, either good videos or animatronics maybe.
When you see the carvings you are far away, you can hold your hand up and cover them at arms length. Stone Mountain is just about more impressive but it isn't in the round.
The place is an absolute mob scene, that causeway was shoulder to should almost the full length.
I have not seen it from that tunnel mouth at sunset which I understand is quite a good view.
Lastly the rangers really irritated me when they tried to block off the roadway from which you can see the figures during that park closure years ago. Even tho the road isn't in the park, just out of spite so far as I could tell.
Frankel y I'm surprised we have not heard more from the statuary lovers, I thought there were more of them.
I am not intimately familiar with Custer. We stayed there once but it was looong ago, you probably have a better feel for the place. We went thru it a couple of years ago.
As for Devil's Tower, it just does not seem to be part of the Black Hills complex to me. But we've been there multiple times. Camped there a couple times and my son is a rock climber (I was but long ago) and he wants to climb it. We always do the loop trail an see the prairie dogs.
My objections to Rushmore are these:
The outrageous parking fees not covered by a park pass. What was it, $13?
Two I've been thru the museum/visitors center several times and have been underwhelmed. I can't say that any of the many visitor centers we've been to are very interesting. Why not hire some people to redo the displays, either good videos or animatronics maybe.
When you see the carvings you are far away, you can hold your hand up and cover them at arms length. Stone Mountain is just about more impressive but it isn't in the round.
The place is an absolute mob scene, that causeway was shoulder to should almost the full length.
I have not seen it from that tunnel mouth at sunset which I understand is quite a good view.
Lastly the rangers really irritated me when they tried to block off the roadway from which you can see the figures during that park closure years ago. Even tho the road isn't in the park, just out of spite so far as I could tell.
Frankel y I'm surprised we have not heard more from the statuary lovers, I thought there were more of them.
