Hi, I'm James. And I'm Laurent. And today, we are in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Every year,
3 million tourists visit this part of the country, to go see Mt Rushmore. But there
are so many more things to see in the Black Hills, that it would be a shame,
to only go to see Mt Rushmore, and not explore all the other activities the Black Hills have
to offer. The Black Hills are one of our favorite places to visit in the US. And
we're super excited to share with you our top 10 things to do. So, let's go!
1st on the list, is the Custer State Park. Custer State Park is a 70,000 acre park,
approximately 1/2 hour south of Rapid City. It is the place to go to, to see the beautiful scenery
of the Black Hills. It has a lot of variety of terrain, with open plains, and rolling hills,
and wooded mountains. But the main reason to visit Custer State Park, is to see the
herd of 1500 bison. If you drive on the Wildlife Loop Road, you're almost guaranteed to see them.
The beautiful landscape, and the search for animals,
kind of reminded me of a safari in Africa.
But the experience that was the most amazing, was when the Bison came right
to our car. They love coming to cars and lick the dust and the salt off the
cars body. Their heads were less than a foot away from our window. And we could feel them
breathing in our face. Yeah! There wasn't enough mouthwash in all of South Dakota,
to deal with that bad breath situation. And it's like we got a free car wash out of it.
Yeah! And thank God it was free, because I would have wanted my money back, if I had had to pay
for this. The other thing that was really fun, was to watch them fight and take dust baths.
Custer State Park was a truly unique experiencing. We really enjoyed it.
Number 2 on our list is the Devils Tower. We had never been there, because it's a bit out
of the way. It's in Wyoming, not in South Dakota. And it's a 2-hour drive from Rapid
City. But it is so worth it, because it's such a unique mountain. I have never seen anything
like it. It's so incredible! We had actually already seen it in Steven Spielberg's: 'Close
Encounters of the 3rd kind'. But it's something else to see it in person. It is a volcanic tower,
made of molten magma, 50 million years ago. You can see the vertical columns,
that look like organ pipes, that go all the way to the top of the mountain. And there is a trail,
that goes all around the mountain. And you can see the tower from dozens of
different angles. You could also see the open plains, around the tower. You are
clearly in a ranching country! And as you walk around the mountain, you also see the stone,
under different lights. I'm so glad we took the detour to go see it. It's really spectacular!
Number 3 on our list is the Badlands National Park. The Badlands have some incredible rock
formations, that kind of reminded us of the Desert Southwest. We've been there a few years ago,
and the weather was beautiful. But unfortunately, the day when we went to shoot this video,
the weather was really cloudy. And the colors were not nearly as nice as the previous time.
But even under the clouds, the Badlands are still spectacular. It's a great place,
for both driving and hiking. The Badlands also have a herd of bison, but it's harder to see
them up close, than at Custer State Park. But what you're guaranteed to see up close though,
are all the prairie dogs. They're so fun to watch, when they're scouting the horizon for danger.
And the park also has tons of bighorn sheep.
It's definitely a place where you want to spend a day or two.
And on the drive from Rapid City to the Badlands, sits Wall Drug. Number 4 on our list. If you grew
up in the Midwest, you must have seen their bumper stickers on dozens of cars. Or their more than 300
billboards, on the side of the road. Wall Drug is a family-owned store, that has been the Hustead
family, for 4 generations. It's a true American Dream story, of a pharmacist who move to the small
town of Wall, in the middle of nowhere, South Dakota, and turned it into an attraction, that
receives 2 million tourists a year, coming from all over the world. You can find everything at
Wall Drug: food, donuts, fudge, souvenirs, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats, native pottery, and not to
mention drugs. There is a museum that's a replica of the original pharmacy, that opened in 1931.
Wall drug celebrates the Wild West history of that part of the country, both cowboys and Indians,
and even Zoltar. It displays a lot of art, wooden sculptures, paintings, and stuffed animals. Given
the nature of Wall Drug, things could have gone terribly wrong, and turn into a tourist trap.
But we don't have a single negative thing to say about Wall Drug. We loved it!
Number 5 on our list is the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. Because we're children
of the Cold War, the Minuteman missiles are of particular interest to us. Yeah,
we're no spring chickens. No, we're not.
After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the US looked for locations to build nuclear missile silos.
And because the great plains are not densely populated, South Dakota was one of the states that
was selected. Throughout the state, there were several military bases, like the Delta One base,
that he's now open for touring. The décor has not changed since the 1980s. And it's a vintage time
capsule. If you like orange carpet, and purple couches, you are in for a treat. They have the
same wallpaper mural we had my living room, growing up, with the birch trees, and the deer.
But the best part of the visit, is going to the underground bunker,
where the Minutemen were. It kind of felt like a submarine. It was a bit claustrophobic.
2 soldiers were there for 24 hours at a time, waiting for an order to press that button,
which luckily never came. If you still remember the duck-and-cover drills,
back when you were in school, this visit certainly brought back those memories.
And Number 6 on our list, is the historic town of Deadwood. Deadwood is a gold rush town,
that was founded in 1876, after gold was discovered in the Black Hills.
And almost overnight, Deadwood reached a population of 5,000.
Alcohol, gambling, and prostitutes were found in abundance, to keep all the gold
miners entertained. It was, and still is, a true example of the Wild Wild West.
Deadwood is now a historic landmark, because it retained a lot of its gold rush architecture.
Back in the days, Deadwood was home to larger-than-life characters, such as:
Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok, and Poker Alice.
Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok are still buried in Deadwood, at the Mount Moriah cemetery,
along with other colorful characters. And the cemetery is a great place to visit.
But our favorite has to be Poker Alice. She was a huge poker player, and attracted big crowds,
who would come to watch her play. Supposedly, she could win up to $6,000 a night, which would
be close to $100,000, in today's dollars. She owned a saloon, with a brothel upstairs.
But the brothel was closed on Sunday, because she was a very religious woman.
Nowadays, Deadwood is a big gambling town, and has become kind of a mini-Las Vegas. Yes, but it has
retained its Wild West character and charm. And it's a great place to stay in the Black Hills.
And Number 7 on our list, is Mt Rushmore itself. Mt Rushmore is the main reason why tourists come
to visit this part of the country. But it is not our top attraction in the Black Hills. And
to be perfectly honest, it's a bit disappointing! Yeah. I think the main comment we heard from other
tourists was: 'It's a lot smaller than I thought it was'. And that was certainly my feeling, the
1st time that I saw it. And it's high up in the mountains, so you always see it from underneath,
rather than in front of you. But you just can't come to the Black Hills, and not see Mt Rushmore.
It would be like going to Egypt, and not seeing the pyramids. You just have to go there, take
your selfie, post it on Facebook, and move on to more interesting things to see in the Black Hills.
The coolest angle was the side view of George Washington, from highway 244. And you want to
visit Mt Rushmore early in the morning, rather than in the evening. First of all,
you have a much better chance of beating the crowds. And the light would also be better,
since the four presidents are facing south east, and you'll have the sun in your back.
And Number 8 on our list, is the Iron Mountain Road. It refers to the section of Highway 16A,
that connects Mt Rushmore to Custer State Park. It is a scenic road with lots of 180-degree turns,
that swirl through the back Hills. There's also portions where the two lanes are divided.
And it feels like you're driving on a one-lane road. But my favorite feature,
is the pigtail bridges. It's really something hard
to describe. You have to see it from the air, to understand how these bridges work.
And the other really cool feature, is the one-lane tunnels, that are carved into the rocks.
And coming out of the Doane Robinson Tunnel,
you have this incredible money shot of Mount Rushmore, right in the axis of the road.
Another scenic road to do, if you have time, is the Needles Highway,
which swirls through the granite needles of the Black Hills.
And Number 9 on our list, is the Crazy Horse Memorial. The Crazy Horse Memorial is such a
fascinating story! After WWII, Korczac Ziolkowski, who had been one of the sculptors at Mt Rushmore,
started looking for a mountain, to carve a statue of Indian Chief Crazy Horse. The
monument has been under construction for more than 70 years. And it will probably
take another 70 years to finish it. When it's finished, the statue will be more
than 500-feet tall. That is significantly taller than the faces of the presidents at Mt Rushmore,
which are only 60-foot tall . In addition to the monument, there's also a visitor center,
with a huge display of native artifacts. What is fascinating, is that the construction is all
privately-funded, by ticket sales and donations. Ziolkowski always refused any government money,
in order to retain full control of his project. And 7 of Ziolkowski's 10 children,
and now some of his grandchildren, worked on the project. It's a family-owned business,
about carving a mountain. That's something unique, that you won't see everywhere!
And 10th on our list, is the city of Rapid City itself. If you are flying to the Black Hills,
Rapid City is the airport you will fly to. And even if you are driving, Rapid City is
a good central location, with lots of hotels and restaurants. Let's face it, Rapid City is not the
place you'll fly to, halfway across the country, just to visit it. But if you're already there,
Rapid City actually has a proper downtown, with bars and restaurants. In Rapid City, you'll have
a lot more options than the small towns in South Dakota, where you're really limited to bar food,
and meat-and-potatoes. And another activity to do in Rapid City, is the Dinosaur Park. It's a park,
with real-size dinosaur sculptures. It's a great activity for families with young kids.
So, we hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, give it a big thumbs up. And put your comments,
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Bye! Bye!