We woke up early and were on the road by 7AM so we could get to Mount Rushmore early. We timed it just right. It was only slightly busy and we were headed out of the park just as the rain was starting. It was definitely more crowded when we left, so getting there early is critical! We enjoyed the park and the little trail that you take to get closer to the presidents. Pretty cool to see it in person!
Then, we went to Crazy Horse and enjoyed that museum and getting to see this important work in progress. It would be great to be able to get closer, but that wasn't an option. :/
It was too early for lunch, so we decided to kill some time and drive a portion of the Needles Highway through Custer State Park. Super fun! We definitely recommend this. The road was so fun to drive and there were some great looking hikes along the way. It was a sprinkling a bit and we had a full day ahead of us, so no hikes here, but definitely something on the list for next time. Lots more to explore in this beautiful state park!
Next up was lunch in Custer at Black Hills Burger & Bun. There was a bit of a wait, so we walked down to the brewery and Michael tried to have a flight. They were a bit slow, so we skipped that and decided to come back post-lunch. We shared a very yummy bison burger for lunch (definitely recommend this place!) and then Michael went back to the brewery (Mt. Rushmore Brewing) and I went to get pie (apple pie, for the 4th) at Bobkat's Old Fashioned Purple Pie Palace. SO fun!
Then, it was on the road again to hit up Prairie Berry Winery and Miner Brewing Company. The wine was a bust, but Michael really enjoyed the beer at Miner. He even got a crowler to take home with him. We did a quick stop at the Firehouse Winery (their larger location) right before and I much preferred those wines. So much so that I brought a bottle home (complete w/ Mt. Rushmore on the label).
After these two stops, it was off to Rapid City for "big city" fun. Our first task was to find all 42 president statues (no Obama or Trump yet) that are scattered throughout downtown Rapid City. We got a cool map that even had a scavenger hunt on the back where you had to find things like a baseball, toy airplane, certain clothing items, etc. And if you brought the map back to the visitor's center you got a free water or soda. We were very careful and examined all the statutes closely, but we still missed one of the items. SO SAD! My competitive side did not handle this well, but we had other places to be and it looked like rain was coming, so we called it a day. Next time, Rapid City....next time! I will figure out which president has those stupid cross swords.
We stopped at a brewery (Lost Cabin) on the edge of town and then headed back to Deadwood for the evening. When we got back to Deadwood it wasn't raining yet, but it started to rain just as we were deciding on a dinner place. We ducked into some sad, sad restaurant/bar and had "steak tips" and fries for dinner. Not the best, but it was food. After that, we checked out one more winery that had a tasting room in Deadwood and when it was time to leave it was POURING! So, we worked our way back to the hotel ducking underneath various awnings and stopping at DQ for a blizzard. We had free drink tickets at our hotel so we got some sad red wine and I played some penny slots. Sadly the storm had caused a power outage shortly before I started playing the slots, so any money I made (it was nothing) was stuck in the machines as they were all messed up. Eventually I went upstairs, took a nice hot shower and watched the fireworks on PBS as there were no fireworks near us w/ all the rain. This also meant our mini-golf plans were cancelled, but oh well. Michael stayed out a bit longer and enjoyed bar hopping in the rain.
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