Day Two -Mitchell to Rapid City to Keystone to Hill City
Day Three- Mount Rushmore
Day Four-Sylvan Lake & Wildlife Loop
Day Five-UTV rental in Keystone
Day Six-Wind Cave and Legion Lake
Day Seven- Bear Country, Badlands, Wall Drug
Day Eight- Sioux Falls
Activites
Hotel in keystone
Hiking, swimming, picnic.
Hiking, swimming, canoeing.
Great drive, or buffalo safaris.
Sioux Falls
Rapid City
Keystone
Alpine slide, Keystone
We rented this car carrier which was helpful for our extra gear! The guy is awesome and will help you install when you pick up.
Custer State Park Cabin #31 Large Sleeping Cabin, Duplex.
Review
We had a large sleeping cabin that was a duplex (number #31). We loved how close these cabins were to the Park entrance, State Game Lodge, walking path, and Coolidge General Store. The other cabin dwellers in the area were very quiet and there was little to no traffic on the driveway going to the cabins. However, our cabin was a duplex which we knew going into the booking. What we did not anticipate was that there was clearly one picnic and fire pit area for both cabins. There was a table out back, but it was a hassle to get things from inside to the outside. Also, the walls inside the duplex were very thin and it was noticeable if there were loud neighbors. We had an odd situation where each night we had different neighbors, many just treating the cabin as a hotel room with no one eating or cooking outdoors. We were worried there would be issues with sharing the table and fire pit but there none due to those circumstances.
The cabin had two queen beds and a pull-out sofa. There was a fairly large bathroom with a tub and a shower. For a kitchenette, we had a small dorm fridge, microwave, and coffee maker. There were plenty of towels and we had housekeeping every day to refresh the beds and towels. The air conditioning worked well and there were also good screens and windows that opened for fresh air. Storage was a bit of an issue but we utilized part of a dresser and a nightstand for our food, utensils, and kid entertainment. There was only one tv in the unit but we were able to move it back and forth between the bedroom and the living area (the outlet in the living room did not support two devices which we were trying to use for a chrome cast). There was also no seating options besides the couch or a table inside. We used the outdoor picnic table and two chairs/end table for relaxing and eating outdoors.
Wifi situation
I thought I'd better take a minute and talk about the wifi situation on our trip. We had great wifi at the actual hotels we stayed at, Rushmore Express and Dakotah Lodge. For Custer State Park, we had zero wifi at our cabins. I had to hike to the lodge to get on wifi and while it was good, it was not strong enough to do video conferencing. I also used the wifi at the Creekside Lodge and they had a very comfortable lobby (think hotel lobby) whereas the Game Lodge felt a bit more private and you could sit on the porch. The first few days I used their wifi I felt odd, but later in the trip, I saw several people camped out with their laptops or ipads.
As for cell signal, we got a good data signal at some parts of our cabin but spotty at other parts. I'm not sure how that works, but I was able to get a good signal one afternoon studying for my test while Anna and Brynn rested/played. I'm not sure I would have wanted to spend hours away from them studying at the lodge so it worked out well. Your mileage will vary in the black hills but that was our experience and for what is worth we use Verizon as our carrier.
Food ideas
I love making camping food when we are camping or cabin camping. It makes it seem more outdoorsy!
Here are some of the things we made:
-hamburger patty, carrot, potato, onion foil packets
-chili/chili dogs/hot dogs
-spaghetti o's
-eggs and bacon
-french toast on the grill
-pancakes
-cold cereal and fruit/yogurt
-pb & j, lunch meat and cheese with plenty of chips, cookies, fruit for easy picnic lunches on the go
-french press coffee every morning (my fav!)
-we ate a meal at the game lodge as well as a few lunches out
Another tip which I was glad we did was pack reusable water bottles and coffee cups for everyone to use in the car, cabin, and on outings. I felt like it made for a lot less waste and cleanup.
We cooked mostly on a coleman camping grill (on the picnic table) and a little butane burner we got at walmart. We packed some basic pans and utensils as the cabin had zero. We used paper plates and utensils.
Media:
You guys know we love digging into media before we travel. Here is what I reccomend:
I actually loved this book more than my kids! There are short verses for kids as well as longer passages that dive into the meaning of the illustrations. I learned a lot in this book that I noticed as we were traveling. A great, simple overview of the state's history!
Westworld, specifically Kiksuya Season 2, Episode 8
We love the series Westworld on HBO and watching the Kiksuya episode really made me want to watch Dances with Wolves because of the beautiful way they portrayed Native Americans. They spoke the Lakota language the whole episode and it was really beautiful. Watching this and Dances with Wolves back to back is a great way to see the similaries.
Not only is Dances with Wolves one of my all time favorite movies, it is a great showcase of the staet of South Dakota. So many times we were driving and it looked just the movie. We had to break up the viewing into two parts and Michael really liked it. We also saw a great documentary on the movie but I can't remember where I saw it or what it was called. It talked a lot about the process of filming and being on location in South Dakota. It might be worth a dig, too!
You can't visit South Dakota without watching the underrated National Treasure Book of Secrets where Nicholas Cage has to find the secret book inside Mount Rushmore. They also visit Sylvan Lake but it is grossly misportrayed in the film. This is the second in the series you might have to watch the first one if you are not familiar with the story. It is pretty good, too.
