44. South Dakota – Part 1

Month: May 2018

Location: Rapid City, Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Badlands National Park

One of my favorite movie experiences has always been Alfred Hitchcock’s, “North By Northwest”.  The most iconic scene is of course, Cary Grant being chased by the “crop dusting” plane, but close behind is the climax on top of ‘Mount Rushmore’.  When I saw it for the first time, I was sure that it was an imaginary set and there were no giant-sized heads carved into a mountain.  Well, yes it was a set, but there is indeed a monument like that.  Then I thought that it would be in some of the more popular locations, such as California…perhaps next to the “Hollywood” sign.  The fact that it was in South Dakota of all places, surprised me.  So, when I had to pick a location to visit for this trip, it was a given that it would be Rapid City.  Then I debated going to Sioux Falls, but soon came to my senses.  Of course, I would want to visit the location of one of my favorite movies.  Plus, I could also take a day trip to ‘Badlands National Park’, since it was the long “Memorial Day Weekend”.

I would be in Rapid City for 3 nights and some research on places to visit – both in terms of sights as well as food & drinks – wasn’t much promising.  There were some highlights, but I would need to be creative in filling up my time.  One of the bars that came highly recommended was a place called ‘Blind Lion’ and getting into that was like infiltrating a ring of spies!  There was a passcode and a password as well as a secret location, all of which you would get via a text message, if you only knew the phone number.  What was this place?  A little bit of online sleuthing got me the phone number, though the text would need to be sent on the day of your proposed visit.

It was far more "greener" than I had expected

I took Friday off from work and hopped on a direct flight to Rapid City.  When I envisioned what South Dakota would look like, for some reason I equated it to an arid and dry region with brown patches.  As we approached the city from the air, I was surprised to see some green fields, but I had no idea what was in store.  As soon as we landed, I sent a text to ‘Blind Lion’ and soon enough, they responded with enthusiasm, and included their location, the passcode to the door and the password that I would need to get seated.  With that out of the way, I headed toward the “Rental Car” station and was soon outside in the parking lot.  That was my first indication that I was in a special place because in front of me were lush green fields and green hills.  At first glance, Rapid City, South Dakota appeared to be a very beautiful place.

Starting off at 'Marlin's Family Restaurant'

This was further emphasized as I drove into town, since there was greenery all around me.  It was just a few miles drive to my hotel, which was located next to a park.  I tried to check-in and they said that the room wasn’t ready yet.  I had things planned for the afternoon, so I told them that I would be back later and left to get some food.  I was going to a place called ‘Marlin’s Family Restaurant’ and boy, they weren’t kidding with the name.  This was a “blue-collar” place and everyone in there seemed to be a regular.  After glancing at me curiously, they went back to their food and I looked around at a place that seemed to have been last remodeled in the 70s.  The pace was laid back, though the servers were very friendly and treated me like I was visiting their family home…which in a way was true.  The food was typical diner fare, and while not exactly “Michelin quality”, I was pleased to have visited the place.

At the 'Black Hills Caverns'

I was now going a few miles outside of town to a place called ‘Black Hills Caverns’ and the drive there took me through some beautiful landscape.  The road turned into gravel and led me to a dead end where there was a wooden cabin announcing itself as the “Visitor’s Center”.  I went inside and the girl behind the counter told me that there were 2 options as far as the tours were concerned.  There was the “Crystal Tour”, which was a short excursion inside the caverns to look at some of the natural crystal formations. There was also something called the “Adventure Tour”, which delved much deeper inside the caverns and was of  longer duration.  I asked the girl if that tour included us getting on our hands and knees and crawling, and she said that while that wasn’t the case, there were some narrow areas and some elevation changes to navigate.  I picked the longer tour and then walked about the “Gift Shop” till it was time to depart.

The narrow and low interior of the cavern

There were 2 other couples besides me and we were led by our guide through a back door to the opening of the cavern.  He was a young man who told us about the discovery of these caves, by accident, in the late 19^th century.  It was a warm day and he mentioned that as soon as we got inside, we would notice a drastic drop in the temperature.  Was that true or what!  A few steps in, it was as if I had stepped inside a room blasting air-conditioner.  Our guide mentioned that this temperature was constant all year round, irrespective of the season outside.  He reiterated that we should stay together as a group as he was once on a tour with an elderly couple and when he couldn’t locate them after a tour, he panicked, thinking that he had left them in the caverns.  Seems like they had just left, but what a scare!

More tight spaces

Another key advice was to mind our heads as there were places where we would need to bend low.  I was reminded of that a bit later, as I hit my head against a low rock, and cursed under my breath that they should really provide “hard hats” for this tour.  If there ever was a need for that, this was it.  Besides our heads, we also had to mind our footing since the ground was uneven and, in some places, wet and slippery.  But, they had done a good job of creating a pathway and as we descended, our guide pointed out some of the natural rock and crystal formations that were just outstanding.  He told us how people have seen shapes of animals in them, so much so that the animal's name has stuck for that part of the cavern.  At one spot he gathered us around and told us of a local club “initiation ceremony”, where they would bring recruits down here and then switch off all the lights and leave.  The recruits then had to find their way back to the surface.  Considering I couldn’t see half an inch in front of me, that seemed like an impossible task, although if you struck the rocks in the cave, they produced a spark…as if that would help.  It was by far one of the most unsettling feelings of my life, the 10 seconds when the lights were off.

It wasn't pleasant when these lights went out

We kept descending and reached 225 feet underground, where there was an opening, where we were told people came to get married.  Try getting all the folks in their wedding attire down here!  We started on our way back as he kept telling us stories, one of which was about folks going “spelunking” through narrow outlets – an insane activity if there was one – and how one of them had gotten stuck and had to be rescued after a few days.  It was a bit scary being down here and I had a greater appreciation for miners after this.  We emerged back from the cool cave into the humid air and before departing, our guide told us about local attractions and encouraged me to drive down something called “Needles Highways”.  He also mentioned that we should look out for South Dakota’s 14-year old drivers, that being the eligible age here I suppose.  He said that on our way back into town we should stop at the “Reptile Museum”.  Yeah, that wasn’t happening with me.

The 'Chapel in the Hills'

I was however, planning to visit a place called ‘Chapel in the Hills’ before returning to my hotel.  I did not know much about it and as I parked the car, I saw a wooden structure which appeared to be, well, a chapel.  Reading more about it, I learned that this was a functioning chapel, with daily services during summer, and was modeled after a similar church in Norway.  So, I guess it made this, “Norwegian Wood”!  It was a gorgeous setting, not only the area around the chapel, but also the vista’s in the distance.  Once again, this place was impressing me to no end.  I visited a small log cabin museum, which was replica of a similar cabin in Norway in the 1800’s and included articles from that era.  The actual chapel itself was small and modest, with wooden interiors, but was beautiful in its simplicity.  It was serene in there and I could imagine this being a great place for service.

Into the woods on the "Meditation Trail" 

Outside I saw a pathway called “Meditation Trail”, which led into the hills and I decided to explore.  It was a small path with benches and statues, which allowed people to meditate in solitude.  I reached the end and then turned back to get into the car and head to my hotel.  The skies had been threatening all afternoon and just as I was gathering my things from the car, there was a huge downpour causing me to rush inside.  My room was ready now and I was able to settle down for a bit before heading out.  By now the rain had stopped and the sun was blazing.  The park outside my hotel – called ‘Memorial Park’ was quite big and had a pond as well a couple of bridges going over a stream.  Now that the rains had subsided, people had come out to enjoy the weather – though it was quite hot.  At one end of the park they had an exhibit of remnants of the “Berlin Wall”, apparently the largest in the US.  I walked over there and then headed into the main part of town which was just a few blocks away.

Downtown Rapid City

Across a few rail tracks, was what I suppose passed of as the the downtown area.  There were a few blocks of restaurants and bars as well as what looked like a central square with a fountain.  It was still early in the evening – as well as hot – and so the area was empty.  I still had some time before my reservation and so visited something called ‘Pawnseum’, which claimed to be world’s only… “Pawn Museum”, I guess.  It looked like an antique store as I walked through it, with a section on wall clocks and some other stuff.  However, the biggest area of the store was reserved for guns…a lot of them.  There was other hunting gear and weapons and I guess the rest of the place seemed irrelevant.

The secret passage to
'The Blind Lion'

It was almost 6 pm, which is when I was due at ‘Blind Lion’, and I had a general idea regarding the entrance.  They claimed to be below ‘Murphy’s Irish Pub’, but it wasn’t as easy as walking through the pub and then taking the stairs downstairs.  The entry was through an unmarked door in the back alley, next to the garbage dumpsters.  I found the place and went down through some water and other stuff, past the kitchen and came to the “safe door”.  I had been sent the passcode via text and I entered inside to find a classic “speakeasy”, with dark interiors.  I was the first person in there and my final screening was the password, “I am here to see the Heroic Hamster”, which had been sent as well.

And the safe with a passcode

I took a seat at the bar and was told that I should not use my phone when there, something that I could respect.  The menu was full of craft cocktails and I ordered “Bartender’s Choice – Three Course Tasting”.  The gentleman behind the bar was named Austin and he was quite popular, especially with the ladies.  There were some regulars, but the rest of place wasn’t as full as I would have expected, especially considering the hoops to get in.  My first drink was based on “Tequila” and was followed by something called “The Colonel”, which was unlike anything I had tasted before in a cocktail.  The final drink was based on an “Irish Whiskey” and as far as craft cocktails go, these folks were as good as any in the nation.  And for fraction of the cost of a drink in bigger cities.  I had also seen some other creative drinks being made, such as a green one with herbs and another which included a big puff of “Cotton Candy”.  Yes, they had a machine making that.  I told Austin that I would come back again tomorrow, though I would still need to do the same text process.

Dinner with music at 'Wine Cellar'

Nearby was ‘Rushmore Hotel’ and its bar called ‘445 Martini Lounge’ and I stopped there for a drink before dinner.  Unlike the earlier place, this one looked like a generic hotel lobby bar and there wasn’t much to write home about.  While looking for dinner options, one of the recommended places had been ‘Wine Cellar’.  It was a short walk away and I suppose was the local “French Bistro” or “Wine Bar”.  There was a gentleman playing a guitar, though it felt a bit out of place.  I learned that today was “National Wine Day” and so perhaps it was appropriate to be here.  I ordered a dish called “Poulet en Croute”, and on the menu they said that it was “made to order”, meaning it would take some time.  That it did…a whole 45 minutes, but it was well made and so I decided to give them a pass.

A lovely evening

By the time I left the restaurant, the night had set in, and with it, the towns population had come out to play.  The fountain area that I had seen earlier, now had people around it.  I was walking back to my hotel and saw several people around enjoying ice cream.  I was now craving some of that, and almost asked some folks where they had picked it up.  I saw a narrow alley with some bars and on a whim turned in there.  Sure enough, I saw a place called ‘Silver Lining Creamery’, which had a line of people waiting to get their hand on the goods.  I got “Birthday Cake Ice Cream” in a “Waffle Cone” and walked back to my hotel…though in hindsight, I should have called for a ride, considering the dark and empty road.  But I arrived at my room soon and that was it for my first day in Rapid City.  Tomorrow would be the visit that had been waiting for me for many years.

To Be Continued...