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Well; wife and I just got back from a 9 day trip to Black Hills and Badlands. It was seriously the single greatest trip we have taken in a long, long time. Full report with odds/ends/observations to come later on today/tomorrow.
But first,
THANK YOU ALL.
The advice that we got from here was amazingly useful. Thanks for sharing your amazing state with us.
See you all soon.
Not really sure what a "luxury"car dealership has to do with a bustling economy. There are plenty of places in the U.S. that have luxury dealerships and are suffering economically. As far as factories, it has already been said. While I agree with you that we need to get back to hard goods to buy and sell rather than relying on the service industry to sustain us, they are all but gone.
I now live in a Texas city that has some very, very bad areas with high crime yet we have a Mercedes Benz dealership. I think it has more to do with the populace and culture rather than decline. People like "bling" in certain parts of town here. We lived in a mediocre apartment complex when we first got to town waiting for our house to close. We have decent cars, but not flashy or foreign... and not the most recent model year. Anyhow, we're in these crummy apartments and it seemed like we had the most modest vehicles. Some people would rather spend the cash on a Benz or something else flashy than put a decent roof over their heads.
I'm honestly surprised that Rapid ever had a Merc dealership, they're not a practical car to own when there are much better options for the area. And people in that part of the country are way more practical.
Just read through all the comments. Very interesting! (Although not sure how much someone was kidding or not about their experiences with large insects and humidity.)
But where's the report from the OP? After all those requests for info, it would surely be nice to hear about his trip and impressions of the area.
Just read through all the comments. Very interesting! (Although not sure how much someone was kidding or not about their experiences with large insects and humidity.)
But where's the report from the OP? After all those requests for info, it would surely be nice to hear about his trip and impressions of the area.
It's like right above your post (#52) . And it has been sitting there for 4 months just waiting on you.
Just read through all the comments. Very interesting! (Although not sure how much someone was kidding or not about their experiences with large insects and humidity.)
But where's the report from the OP? After all those requests for info, it would surely be nice to hear about his trip and impressions of the area.
I'm the OP.
The trip was truly amazing. I'm sorry that I didn't write up a formal review - but suffice it to say that it really was everything we were looking for and more.
The highlights:
1. Cruising all over the Black Hills and seeing the amazing topography.
2. Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore were awesome.
3. Hiking thru Custer state park was great.
4. HELICOPTER RIDE all over the B.Hills ... unparalleled natural beauty.
5. Hiking all thru Spearfish Canyon... great way to get "close to nature".
6. Touring the Badlands (both via Jeep and Helicopter).... this was the best. My wife totally freaked out when she saw the first overlook.
7. Great people and friendly hosts all the while; from Rapid to Custer and from Hill City to Wall... South Dakotans are really the friendliest and most welcoming of anywhere we have been in the US.
We are so lucky to be able to see your beautiful state. Thanks again to all for the recommendations and help.
The trip was truly amazing. I'm sorry that I didn't write up a formal review - but suffice it to say that it really was everything we were looking for and more.
The highlights:
1. Cruising all over the Black Hills and seeing the amazing topography.
2. Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore were awesome.
3. Hiking thru Custer state park was great.
4. HELICOPTER RIDE all over the B.Hills ... unparalleled natural beauty.
5. Hiking all thru Spearfish Canyon... great way to get "close to nature".
6. Touring the Badlands (both via Jeep and Helicopter).... this was the best. My wife totally freaked out when she saw the first overlook.
7. Great people and friendly hosts all the while; from Rapid to Custer and from Hill City to Wall... South Dakotans are really the friendliest and most welcoming of anywhere we have been in the US.
We are so lucky to be able to see your beautiful state. Thanks again to all for the recommendations and help.
Ah ha! Thank you for the more detailed trip report! So when you moving over?
We had a brief visit during a road trip in June of 2017 and it was so much fun! We could have spent a much longer time exploring Custer Park and the Black Hills, and we were especially surprised how much we enjoyed the Badlands! Since we were there in June we were delighted by seeing the mountain goats (or sheep?l) and their babies. Ha ha, Wall is a trip... free ice! All those signs didn't lie. Oh and we did a quick visit through Spearfish as well... very pretty.
Anyway, we too are looking at Rapid City as a possible location as my hubby can work remote. I hear South Dakota can have some pretty crazy weather, but honestly I don't know if I would survive Florida's heat and humidity. Yipes! Growing up in So Cal made me a weather wimp.
Anyway. Thanks again for checking in.
Ah ha! Thank you for the more detailed trip report! So when you moving over?
We had a brief visit during a road trip in June of 2017 and it was so much fun! We could have spent a much longer time exploring Custer Park and the Black Hills, and we were especially surprised how much we enjoyed the Badlands! Since we were there in June we were delighted by seeing the mountain goats (or sheep?l) and their babies. Ha ha, Wall is a trip... free ice! All those signs didn't lie. Oh and we did a quick visit through Spearfish as well... very pretty.
Anyway, we too are looking at Rapid City as a possible location as my hubby can work remote. I hear South Dakota can have some pretty crazy weather, but honestly I don't know if I would survive Florida's heat and humidity. Yipes! Growing up in So Cal made me a weather wimp.
Anyway. Thanks again for checking in.
Having been in the SD and Nebraska areas working on cattle ranches for the last two years, these states are VERY harsh in the winter. Get the summer time wonder out of your head, because wind and snow and ice and WIND are the reality. If you work inside, not a big deal, but you still to deal with very little to do in the winter. Boredom is a reality if you don't like hours of TV and drinking beer. All of those wondrous discoveries and activities the OP posted are summer time fun, not the day to day reality of living here.
He is right. The people ARE nice and that helps....in South Dakota anyways. Nebraska people don't care who you are or where you're from though they beg you to stay. It's bipolar.
Ah ha! Thank you for the more detailed trip report! So when you moving over?
We had a brief visit during a road trip in June of 2017 and it was so much fun! We could have spent a much longer time exploring Custer Park and the Black Hills, and we were especially surprised how much we enjoyed the Badlands! Since we were there in June we were delighted by seeing the mountain goats (or sheep?l) and their babies. Ha ha, Wall is a trip... free ice! All those signs didn't lie. Oh and we did a quick visit through Spearfish as well... very pretty.
Anyway, we too are looking at Rapid City as a possible location as my hubby can work remote. I hear South Dakota can have some pretty crazy weather, but honestly I don't know if I would survive Florida's heat and humidity. Yipes! Growing up in So Cal made me a weather wimp.
Anyway. Thanks again for checking in.
You're right on; Florida is a hot, wet mess. We're actually looking at other places for potential relocation/second home. Might sell our present home down here in FL if we move permanently, might rent it out... the details are unclear right now. We're headed to Chattanooga next week to scope that out as well - but my wife and I look at each other every now and again and say "Maan, how beautiful and how much fun was that SD trip?!"
On to the more nuanced bits of the trip. I want to stir discussion and have fun.
1. This thing you SD folks call.... chislic. We tried it at a few joints. The first was breaded/fried steak cubes. My wife found this totally gross. I was neutral. In her defense, the dish was overcooked and was dried out. Later in the trip, it was more like a steak-kabob dish. I was a fan. I'm unclear on the variance in the dish, though. Will the real chislic please stand up?
2. We made the drive from Deadwood to Devil's Tower one day. Beautiful country, beautiful drive. The space between towns is considerable, which begs me to ask... is/are there an abundance of small airports/heliports in these small prairie/hill towns? I'm in medicine by profession... and I imagine trying to get a patient *emergently* to the regional mothership trauma center or tertiary care center (which, I assume is in Rapid City) relies on either helicopters or small fixed-wing aircraft.
3. Spearfish seemed to us like the "second-biggest" city in the region, behind Rapid. We drove around town for a bit, and drove thru Black Hills State University. Cute campus; saw crowds going to a football game (the trip was in mid-September). What is BHSU's focus? Education? Humanities? Engineering?
I'm sure I can come up with more. Gotta head out to work just now, though. Take it away, y'all.
[b]Having been in the SD and Nebraska areas working on cattle ranches for the last two years, these states are VERY harsh in the winter. Get the summer time wonder out of your head, because wind and snow and ice and WIND are the reality. [/B]If you work inside, not a big deal, but you still to deal with very little to do in the winter. Boredom is a reality if you don't like hours of TV and drinking beer. All of those wondrous discoveries and activities the OP posted are summer time fun, not the day to day reality of living here.
He is right. The people ARE nice and that helps....in South Dakota anyways. Nebraska people don't care who you are or where you're from though they beg you to stay. It's bipolar.
This is actually exactly how I pictured. Tourism is huge there for obvious reasons, but the window of reliable weather is tight, so especially summer time when the kids are out of school would bring in the crowds! (we drove into the parking lot of Sylvan Lake, then out of the parking lot, no thank you! Lol!) Does Rapid City and the Black Hills become ghost towns from I'm guessing October through March? April?
Are there people who snowbird and get out of dodge for the dead of winter?
As far as being cooped up in winter, I hate the heat so not living right on the coast, I'm cooped up in my apartment in the summer, and we only go to the beach once in a while on a Sunday evening to take a walk after the hoards have gone, (of course summer is the worst) Sometimes our summer last from May to November, and we're in an older upstairs apartment that doesn't have central air, just the little wall one. It's really annoying. First couple of years we dragged our mattress out to the living room where the air conditioner was just so we could sleep. After realizing we were going to be there for a while we bought a portable one for the bedroom and that helped a lot! We've been here for a while now becuse the rent is way cheaper (a little over 1600 for our one bedroom) than anywhere in our well to do area because it's more working class.
So yes, I've seen the thread in this forum about South Dakota's "exciting" weather, lol! We have hard rains here in So Cal sometimes that cause mudslides especially in the areas where the wildfires chewed up all the vegetation. But still rain is rare and most of the time not that big of a deal no matter how much the news likes to dramatize it!
So... do you guys have anything going on in the winter? Any snow activities? Cross country skiing? Dog mushing? While I grew up in California, most of my older relatives are from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, yeah, I hear they get a little snow up there. Remembering the stories of Grandpa having a window on the second floor that was also a door so they could get out! Lol! Hubs would have a home office so no commuting... we like our walks, bike rides and scenery when the weather is nice, but we're also homebodies for the most part. I would suspect RC has movie theaters? We're not drinkers really, but maybe there are meet up groups? Church activities or line dancing? We're "Trekkie" and sci fi fans so maybe we could start a club if there isn't one already. (we belong to a group of geeks here for sure).
I do have a question about the humidity and mosquitoes... I'm hearing mixed messages about that, some have said it's is relatively dry in the western half of the state and that it's the east side that get most of the humidity? I bet our OP "RustedFox" wouldn't even notice any humidity coming from Florida, ha ha!
BTW, when are the mosquitoes out and about? We didn't notice any when we were there 3rd week of June '17. Do they swarm later in the summer? Are they gone by September?
Thanks in advance to you or anyone wanting to chime in about this stuff.
This is actually exactly how I pictured. Tourism is huge there for obvious reasons, but the window of reliable weather is tight, so especially summer time when the kids are out of school would bring in the crowds! (we drove into the parking lot of Sylvan Lake, then out of the parking lot, no thank you! Lol!) Does Rapid City and the Black Hills become ghost towns from I'm guessing October through March? April?
Are there people who snowbird and get out of dodge for the dead of winter?
As far as being cooped up in winter, I hate the heat so not living right on the coast, I'm cooped up in my apartment in the summer, and we only go to the beach once in a while on a Sunday evening to take a walk after the hoards have gone, (of course summer is the worst) Sometimes our summer last from May to November, and we're in an older upstairs apartment that doesn't have central air, just the little wall one. It's really annoying. First couple of years we dragged our mattress out to the living room where the air conditioner was just so we could sleep. After realizing we were going to be there for a while we bought a portable one for the bedroom and that helped a lot! We've been here for a while now becuse the rent is way cheaper (a little over 1600 for our one bedroom) than anywhere in our well to do area because it's more working class.
So yes, I've seen the thread in this forum about South Dakota's "exciting" weather, lol! We have hard rains here in So Cal sometimes that cause mudslides especially in the areas where the wildfires chewed up all the vegetation. But still rain is rare and most of the time not that big of a deal no matter how much the news likes to dramatize it!
So... do you guys have anything going on in the winter? Any snow activities? Cross country skiing? Dog mushing? While I grew up in California, most of my older relatives are from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, yeah, I hear they get a little snow up there. Remembering the stories of Grandpa having a window on the second floor that was also a door so they could get out! Lol! Hubs would have a home office so no commuting... we like our walks, bike rides and scenery when the weather is nice, but we're also homebodies for the most part. I would suspect RC has movie theaters? We're not drinkers really, but maybe there are meet up groups? Church activities or line dancing? We're "Trekkie" and sci fi fans so maybe we could start a club if there isn't one already. (we belong to a group of geeks here for sure).
I do have a question about the humidity and mosquitoes... I'm hearing mixed messages about that, some have said it's is relatively dry in the western half of the state and that it's the east side that get most of the humidity? I bet our OP "RustedFox" wouldn't even notice any humidity coming from Florida, ha ha!
BTW, when are the mosquitoes out and about? We didn't notice any when we were there 3rd week of June '17. Do they swarm later in the summer? Are they gone by September?
Thanks in advance to you or anyone wanting to chime in about this stuff.
Frankly, when I visit the hills I don't remember ever being bit by mosquitos. They're not even close to what we have in the eastern part of the state. You want miserable? Go up to northern Minnesota where they have landing strips for the mosquitos, yet they're not the biggest annoyance. The biting black flies will drive you bonkers.
Humidity wise, once again, the Black Hills area does not even hold a candle to the humidity that is the eastern 1/3 of the state which is FARM country, not ranch country. However, having been in Florida, our humidity for the approx. 2 months where we get nailed isn't worse than what Florida gets a big share of the year.
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