South Dakota End of Summer Vacation 2009

Chamberlain rest stop- Lewis and Clark visiting center. To reach from Interstate 90, follow the signs for the rest area between Exits 263 and 265. Follow the exit road and driveway to the Lewis and Clark Information Center

Overlooks Missouri River. is also where landscape changes.

We looked around in the visitor center, and also at the Lewis and Clark stuff- was interesting. The views were nice! Beautiful day for stopping and a good leg stretch. Would be a good place for a picnic really. Didn't spend too much time here, but was a good break from the driving.

Wall Drug Cafe was surprisingly good!! I had a turkey supreme sandwich (good spicy mustard!), husband had a burger, and daughter had a tuna sandwich. We also got some 5 cent coffee for husband and I and a soda for daughter. The coffee was actually decent! Tab=$23. Impressive.
The walls were decorated with western art and so it was rather neat to check out while eating.
I'd highly recommend this place if you're at wall drug- both for the price and the food.

http://peternorbeck.americasbyways.net/

Gorgeous and well worth it. The honk tunnels (one vehicle) are great- get a picture. The turns are not harrowing as they are slow. If you are prone to car sickness- take medication first! Daughter got a tad woozy. Beautiful drive though.

NOTE: $15 entrance fee to Custer park.

We took trail 4 to Harney Peak- what a climb!! We also took the side trail to Little Devils Tower much harder than we thought...it is a sharp incline with a LOT of rock scrambling-- you've been warned! that then put us onto trail 3 (Norbeck) for the rest of the way to Harney Lookout Tower, This was a little more difficult and had a lot of incline to it.
The hike was incredibly scenic!!
We were incredibly tired by the time we made it to the top- And hungry!
If you climb Harney, be sure you bring a canteen and food. We had canteens, and with the addition of Little Devils Tower, ours were down to under 1/2 by the time we reached the peak and we still had to descend. We also underpacked in the food area and were wishing we had brought a little more! It's a good idea to bring a little pack with some snacks, or even a small lunch.
We ended up taking the easier Trail 9 back down so that we could make it to dinner a little quicker!!
Was it worth it? YES YES and YES!
Even with tired legs, the view was outstanding and the things we saw on the way were stunning. Trail 4 and 3 were so peaceful- we didn't see another soul! It was incredible, gorgeous and cleansing. We felt like we'd truly done something! Going down trail 9 was more busy with quite a few other people and we were glad we had taken the other trails up.
We still feel good about our trip to Harney and Little Devils Tower

Harney Peak is the highest point in South Dakota. The elevation is 7,242 ft (2,207 m). Indeed, it's the highest point in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Although a true mountain in every sense of the word, it's a relatively easy climb for the physically fit and even children. The shortest climb is a 3-mile path beginning at Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park (Trail Number 9). This is the most popular route to the top of Harney Peak. The round trip on Trail 9 is about 4 hours. Trail Number 4, also originating at Sylvan Lake, is slightly longer but passes near Little Devil's Tower, a smaller peak in Custer State Park. Both trails are rated as "moderate" and marked with blue diamonds. Trail maps are available at the Custer State Park entrance kiosks. They are also available at
http://www.sdgfp.info/Parks/Regions/Cust…

http://peternorbeck.americasbyways.net/

Note: We got apples for the beggin burro's at Krulls Market.

This loop was AWESOME. There were bison everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE. in the road, by the road, ON the road. Frequently we had to stop and wait for awhile for them to get out of the way. We got plenty of pictures and even some video footage. We also saw pronghorned antelope, deer, wild turkey, prairie dogs, and a lot of birds.
The beggin burro's were a riot. We gave them apples and they swarmed the van. They ate right out of our hands and were very friendly. Another family had to lure them away so we could leave! Even when we were out of apples, they wouldn't go! Hint: feed them AWAY from my your vehicle or you'll be stuck... Our van was coated with apple juice when we were done. I even got licked by a burro repeatedly on the arm in thanks!

Definitely worth the drive and will be a great memory.

Near Box Elder, SD- this was really cool and they had a replica of the Minuteman missile launch site which was really cool to see/hear about. There was a lot to see here- we got a lot of photos. Definitely worth the stop- and it's free!

$10 to park = good for 1 year. We went to Mount Rushmore with beautiful weather. Nice and clear and it was still light so we got nice pictures in the light and stayed for the lighting ceremony.

I know some will disagree with me, but I thought it was really long! My 11 yr old was boooooored stiff (and I hate to admit it but so was I). The weather turned really cold so it was fairly uncomfortable too even though we were dressed warmly with coats and such. Husband liked it though so that's good. It seemed repetitive to me, with ranger speaking for a long time and then film repeating her, then songs, then lights...
I thought it would be a bit more moving. Oh well.

Open 9am-8pm.
Adults: $10/Children 6-12: $7
we had a coupon for buy one get one. apparently there's an early bird coupon too if you get there before 11am. Husband and daughter loved this place- I was bored. The wax figures of modern day didn't look a thing like who they were portraying (namely: obama= fail, Bush senior and clinton= epic fails, reagan= grabbing himself in the crotch AND epic fail to name a few...) the older ones were better.
The audio tour was very long but if you're into history it puts the presidents in context so you'll enjoy it. I saw many people skip the audio portion all together and get outta there in 10-15 mins. Others who stuck it out was an hour and 20 min.
daughter liked the trivia (HE GOT POISONED!) Husband is a history buff. This worked as it was the only day we had a little rain.

Chairlift ride only (round-trip, up to the summit and back down on the chair lift):$8.00.

This was actually really nice! The weather got nice finally, pure sun after the morning rain and pleasant. You can see Mount Rushmore clearly and great scenic views from the tramway. It's a nice ride.

Menu: http://www.rushmorealpineslide.com/menu.…

We enjoyed eating at Summit Grill! Gorgeous views on a pleasant deck. Daughter and I had a hamburger and husband had a buffalo burger- all were really good! tab=$16.32
They grill them on a real grill- not behind the counter.