Let’s Go To The Black Hills of South Dakota

   What beautiful and still wild country is the Black Hills area of South Dakota. Those of you who followed my wife and I through two weeks in Maine on this blog already know, we are far from rich, but can still go on ” bucket list vacations”. You can as well and I can tell and show you how. Maine for two weeks in 2023 and South Dakota in 2024. Here is how you can make your dream vacations come true also.

   We started this vacation the same way we did our Maine trip. Research and plan, pay for the travel, hotels, and anything you can well in advance of your trip. My wife, Darlene and I, started looking for places we wanted to go in late January. We listed ideas and settled on The Black Hills area of South Dakota. Just like Maine, plan how long you will be gone, what you want to see and do, are you flying or driving, and how to break your trip up. Are you staying in the same place or doing multiple towns and hotels? Keep in mind, we are not going until mid June, so we took our time and decided on three different towns, all in the same area, but also separated by enough distance to not be on the road much.

   We decided we would fly because it’s too long to drive from our home in Alabama. We wanted to stay near the Black Hills area so we flew into Rapid City South Dakota. The state is so sparsely populated, there are only three major airports. Sioux City in the eastern part of the state, Pierre in the center, and Rapid City in the western part of the state. We started looking at prices and airlines. We did this as we had the previous trip to Maine and signed up with the airline notification site. This will let you know when prices go up or down, so you can book quickly when you are ready.

   We then knew where we were going and had a rough idea of how much flights would be. We also knew we would need to rent a car but had plenty of time to do that. Remember, however a small and sparse population means a smaller selection of vehicles. Now time to start saving for airfare. You can book them as they begin to fill up. Since it was early February, we knew we had time to watch the prices.  Next we looked at what we wanted to be sure to do. Mount Rushmore was a must. We discovered it was in Keystone, South Dakota which is only about 30 miles southwest of Rapid City. What else is in or near Keystone we might enjoy seeing? Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Memorial, many scenic drives and more. Check, check, and check. All of this within 25 miles of Keystone. This looked like 3 days and nights for us.

   Our next stop was based in the area of Deadwood, South Dakota, which is only a 55 mile drive from our first stop.  I have mentioned before what a history buff I am and this town and area are loaded with it. Same as with the other area, what else is there to see and do? Spearfish Canyon, Belle Fourche, Sturgis, and only 65 miles to enter Montana. Remember how Darlene and I like to check off another state we have visited. Well this looked like another 3 days and nights.

   We continued studying what else we really wanted to do and how much more time we needed or could take. We decided on driving 75 miles on the interstate due east to Wall, South Dakota. We kept hearing about Wall Drug and what a “must see” it is. So, of course, we had to go. Especially since it is only  12 miles from Black Hills National Park. We planned a full day for those two stops and a short 40 mile drive back to Rapid City for one night and then fly back home.

   So, we then knew we needed hotels in three different cities. Time to start that search. We looked at the areas they are in and read as many reviews as we could find. You can decide, keep a look in them every couple of weeks, then book closer to time for your trip. We now have planned flights, rental car, and hotels. Paying at different times spread your costs out, keeps from paying all at once, and still has the most costly parts of your trip paid for, before you ever leave the house.

   Check back in a few days to follow our trip to Keystone, South Dakota. Get a review of where to stay, what to see and do, and where to eat.