So many activities, so little time.  City of Presidents is the nickname for Rapid City where there are forty life size statues of former presidents on the downtown street corners.  That was how the Frugal Diva learned that she and President Madison were around the same height.   The Journey Museum takes you on an incredible trek through time as it tells the story of the Black Hills through interactive displays. Try on old clothes and read original letters from settlers while seeing how the geology of the area brought gold miners from all over the country.

If you watched Deadwood on HBO, it’s time to see the real town and the cemetary where all the characters were buried. Casinos are the new outlaws in the area however it still retains the feel of the Old West.  Move on to Lead and tour a gold mine.  These were harrowing jobs where men and later women spent eight hours underground alongside mules.

The Indians wanted to represent their hero in a monument to Crazy Horse .  Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear officially started Crazy Horse Memorial June 3, 1948.  The Memorial’s mission is to honor the culture, tradition and living heritage of North American Indians.

Flanked by towering limestone cliffs, this 20-mile route along US 14A, cuts through Spearfish Canyon. A forest of spruce, pine, aspen, birch and oak covers the hillsides while Spearfish Creek flows along the canyon bottom.  Bridal Veil and Roughlock Falls are highlights along the route. Stay at the Spearfish Canyon Lodge and enjoy a babbling brook, hikes along the falls, and delux accomodations. We paid $80 (with a AAA discount) for a beautiful double room. Please check for current rates.

How many remember Close Encounters of the Third Kind?  What a great opportunity to hike around Devil’s Tower and see if the aliens left anything behind.  This 1347 acre park is covered with pine forests, woodlands, and grasslands. Deer, prairie dogs, and other wildlife are seen. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument in 1906.

The all time dinner deal for meat eaters is the Alpine Inn in Hill City. Order a perfectly prepared bacon wrapped filet mignon. baked potato, Texas toast with a starter salad of  lettuce wedge and ranch dressing.  Choose between the 6 oz. for $8.95 and a 9 oz. for $10.95 and pay in cash. If you would like a glass of wine, they are mostly under $6.

Custer State Park has unobstructed views of herds of buffalo, elk, wild turkeys, and burros so friendly you pet them from your car window.  This is indeed where the deer and the antolope play. For those so inclined there are camp grounds as well as reasonably priced motels.

If you want a area with lots to do both indoors and outdoors, visit Mt. Rushmore and the South Dakota area. The Frugal Diva was amazed at how friendly people were and how easy it was to get around.  Living in Los Angeles it’s exciting to be able to park for a nominal fee and drive across town in five minutes during rush hour.

The vacation the Frugal Dude had been talking about since we first starting seeing each other was Mount Rushmore. It took him fifteen years to convince me and now I wished that I had acquiesced sooner. Fabulous does not even start to describe it.  And frugal is the other great thing about traveling to South Dakota. 

For me sitting at the computer till I get the best price for a hotel room is fun. Some like to sit at the blackjack table in Las Vegas and try to win. The Frugal Diva likes to sit and be assured that she will save after checking all the sites and then seeing what Trip Advisor thinks. It’s not a bargain if the the place is dirty, miles out of the way, or rundown.   And the winner is Microtel Inn  of Rapid City.  At $56 and change before taxes it was an outstanding bargain. Clean and modern rooms with a free continental breakfast, free shuttle from the airport,  pool for the kids, and a great location for easy access to all the attractions.  We were staying in Rapid City as our base for four days of our vacation so the savings were considerable.

The other big expense for the trip was a rental car.  Instead of picking up the car at the airport, I was advised by Brandon at the local Enterprise Car Rental Agency to simply get the car after we were settled in town. The price was almost half without all the fees, taxes, and add ons that come with airport pickup. Whenever possible use this approach for car rental.  Not only is it cheaper, they sent a courtesy pick up and the woman gave us great local information about the area.  They included a placard for parking at Mt. Rushmore which saved us another $10 since it was good for the entire visit. So the $315 that we paid for ten days of car rental was reduced to $305. My vacation was already made and I hadn’t even seen anything.

Awsome, inspiring, amazing describe Mt. Rushmore and the effort it took to blast these images out of the mountains.  You can return as many times as you wish for the single $10 fee.  Saturday night they do a movie about the history of the area and turn the lights on after dark.  There were approximately 400 people that worked at Mount Rushmore during the carving process from October 1927 to October 1941 supervised byGutzon Borglum.  Between the films about the history of Mount Rushmore, the ranger talks, seeing the heads from every angle, and hiking the area you can easily spend a full day and return in the evening. 

In a few weeks I will fill you in on Rapid City and the other great attractions in this area including the Crazy Horse Monument, the Badlands, Custer State Park, and Spearfish Canyon plus eats, shopping, and entertainment.