A Sneak Peek at another Family Friendly Vacation - South Dakota

What to do when visiting South Dakota.

It's beautiful in South Dakota! I want to really dig deep and share some of the historical background about some of the places we visited on a later post. I LOVE history and am the geek that actually reads the plaques, watches those informational videos and reads the brochures. So much interesting information! Honest. Oh the breathtaking views we saw! Here is a sneak peek:

A view of the faces of the Presidents at Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore is truly a beautiful thing to see. Of course, it's also the main thing to see when you visit. We had a beautiful day and totally enjoyed our time walking around and learning about history. There is a path where you can walk closer to Mount Rushmore. And, a museum that lets you learn a lot about the history about the creation of this amazing structure!

Custer State Park

Live Buffalo walking along the road in Custer State Park The live buffalo (bison) roam free at Custer State Park. Here they are walking along the road Buffalo at Custer State Park, S.D.

Yes, you do need to yield to the buffalo in Custer State Park. Sometimes they just stop on the road and you just have to wait. But, when you see the little guys, you just enjoy the cuteness!

Crazy Horse

A view of Crazy horse. The mountain that is still being carved Crazy Horse

I had never heard of Crazy Horse before. If you loved Mount Rushmore, you should definitely visit Crazy Horse also. But, here is a mountain still being carved. The amount of work that goes into these carved mountains is phenomenal. I'm hoping to go back in a few years to see the progress. It's a fascinating process!

Dinosaur bones being excavated. Mammoth bones at a South Dakota Dig site

We found an amazing museum. Built right over a dinosaur dig site. Can't get more historic than that!

Wind Cave National Park

Family Fun old fashioned car vacation in South Dakota.

Original, natural entrance to Wind Cave

We visited Wind Cave. I'm starting to LOVE national parks. Wind Cave got its name from the wind sound you hear at the original entrance of the cave. I had never heard of this national park and my kids and I really enjoyed our time visiting this park.

The Badlands

The Badlands are canyons of stone. The Badlands in South Dakota

Yes, we could see why they are called the Badlands. I'm just always amazed at how tough those pioneers were. No obstacle was too much. The pioneers had to get to the other side of the Badlands. It's mind-boggling that they survived the journey west.