“People don’t know where we are. When I tell them I’m the governor of South Dakota some respond, I love Charleston and the sea shore.” If Governor Dennis Daugaard can laugh about some American’s misplaced sense of geography it’s because South Dakota is one of the world’s best kept tourism secrets. Smack in the middle of its amazing landscape is a 120-mile long chunk of forested mountains called the Black Hills. It is a land Native Americans hold sacred to this day. A place of stunning peaks and natural rock formations, of ancient dinosaur relics and relics of old decency otherwise called cowboys.
Rapid City is the gateway to the Black Hills. The regional airport is one of the most convenient in the nation with regular flights by every major airline from connecting cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Las Vegas and Salt Lake. Only a hop, skip and a couple of jumps depending where a vacationer originates. The airport is user friendly and convenient, on the short list of the best in the world.
Fine hotels abound as do motel and hotel chains along Interstate 90 near the airport. It is a lot of fun to stay right in Rapid City. There is the classic Alex Johnson Hotel, built in 1928 by the Chicago and Northern Railroad. The lobby resembles a scene from a movie, something one would expect to see in a National Park lodge. The stone hearth and Indian décor is welcoming. Rooms have been modernized so that no convenience is overlooked.
If you prefer modern, and eco-friendly the Adoba Eco Hotel Mt. Rushmore is nearby. Adoba’s grand entrance is enhanced by a marble mosaic of Mt. Rushmore. Early morning sun and afternoon sunsets offer panoramas from room windows flooded with daylight. Even when snow is blowing outside, the hotel’s Enigma Restaurant offers warm hospitality and delicious cuisine. There are plenty of places to eat in Rapid City, choices run the gamut from fast food chains to local pubs with good home cooking. While everything in South Dakota is informal, Enigma boasts good food, reasonably priced, and tasteful decoration. Adoba is committed to saving the environment with unique rooms, original artwork, U.S.A. made furnishing and eco-friendly amenities.
Mt. Rushmore with it carved presidents is just a short drive from Rapid. Car rental is easy. There are plenty of organized bus tours that take in the mountain of presidents as well as Crazy Horse.
A stone carver who worked on Mt. Rushmore was inspired by an Indian leader’s request to memorialize one of their heroes. Korjak Ziolkowski died before the project was finished. His wife Ruth and members of his family continue carving the mountain. The Museum of the American Indian and a café with outside dining overlooking the mountain make Crazy Horse an ideal place to spend time.
There are many attractions near Rapid. One not to be missed is Doc Casey’s Bear Country USA. Bear Country is a drive through safari adventure. Doc was a dentist in Rapid City. “He was born in Mitchell, South Dakota, one of 9 children. He bought land. We own 350 acres this side of Highway 16 and 88 acres on the other side. One day he said, ‘I want to build a bear park.’” Pauline Casey recounted. He founded the bear park in 1972. Bear Country USA has become one of the most successful attractions of its kind. Pauline continued to run the park after Doc’s death in 2000.
“He knew this was a pass through to Yellowstone National Park. People go to Yellowstone to see bears. So he decided to start a bear park. I said he was sniffing gas in his dental office,” Pauline smiled.
Doc Casey purchased bears from zoos. Game and Fish gave the park orphaned bears that were less than 6 months old, “Never older than a year. They'd be too hard to adapt,” Pauline said. “We raised bear cubs in the kitchen on bottles like kids. We raised mountain lions, wolves. Mountain lions are just like kittens, they purr and like to be scratched. Wolves get a little rowdy. We bottle feed the pups. Bears are just like hogs. We are in a birth control situation now because of the land,” she added.
The drive through takes about an hour. It can be as long or short as a visitor desires. It is a photographer’s dream. Bear Country USA is set up in a way so that many pictures look as though the animals are in the wild. Perimeter fences are distant and bears, wolves, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, reindeer, buffalo, mule deer and mountain lions do what they normally would. The mountain lions are kept behind a wire mesh enclosure. All other animals roam their sectors freely. Wolves and bears share the same territory.
Bear Country is only a 15-minute drive from Rapid. Even closer to the city, on the same road, is Reptile Gardens. Another gem just six miles south of Rapid that requires time to discover. John Brockelsby took over the attraction from his father. Reptile Gardens has been in existence since 1937. “We were the first and original indoor jungle. Now zoos have tropical rain forests. We’re pet friendly,” Johnny B, as he is known, said. A visitor holding the family dog in her arms passed by a stand of tropical trees inside the heated dome that maintains tropical climate for plants and animals.
“These are South Dakota’s only banana trees. We have orchids, lots of little lizards running around. The longer you look the more you see.” What visitors don’t see running around is the collection of snakes, crocodiles and alligators. They are kept in other areas. “The temperature year around here is 65 to 70 F. Flowers and plants don’t need more. For the exotic reptiles, even in dead of winter, we keep their temperature at 85 degrees,” Johnny B said.
The history of Reptile Gardens is extraordinary for South Dakota. “My father founded the place when he was 20 years old in 1937. What possessed him to do it?” A good question. South Dakota has snakes but winters are not what one would associate with tropical plants and animals.
“Well when he was 19 there was a tourist attraction called Hidden City. Dad would play with snakes. First he handled harmless snakes started to handle rattlesnakes. He worked with them and tamed them down. He was hired to take tourists through Hidden City. At the end of the tour he‘d take his hat off. There’d be a live rattlesnake on his head. So he got the idea and next season borrowed $400, caught animals and opened the original Reptile Gardens. He set up on top of the steepest hill out of town. Cars in 1937 weren’t what they are today. Old time cars slowed down going up a hill. Dad would jump on the running board and convince people to pay ten cents to see him jump in his pit and play with snakes.” What a fantastic tale about and enterprising country boy.
Reptile Gardens now has more species of reptiles on display than any other zoo or park in the world. There are parrots from the Solomon Islands and rare birds of every description. The birds are not leashed, allowed freedom of the tropical indoor garden.
Upstairs there is an exotic collection of everything from a giant alligator snapping turtle to a frightful giant saltwater crocodile. Terry Phillip is the snake handler. His is also a tale worth recounting. Terry worked for a pet store. When he was 18 he came to Reptile Gardens. “The gator wrestler got bitten.” Terry told Johnny B, “I can learn to do that. I’ve been working here for a decade,” he said.
Many zoos send their keepers to train at Reptile Gardens. “We have a hands on program. Many zoos do not allow work around venomous snakes. This sri lankan Tree Viper has enough venom to do you in. We raise, breed and trade snakes to other zoos, everywhere from the Moscow Zoo to Australia,” Terry explained.
The large collection of very rare snakes means that Reptile Gardens is the only place where certain types of venom can be obtained. “We will do venom extractions if there is a real reason. A lot of medical research is conducted with snake venom. We have such a large inventory many universities contact us for bio-medical research. We store $75,000 worth of venom in our refrigerators. Never use it. It has a shelf life of 3 years,” Terry explained. Hoping certainly that no accident will make anti-venom necessary as he handles exotic reptiles with dangerous reputations for deadly bites.
“If he were bitten, in my billfold is a list of all venom people,” Johnny B said.
“A hospital has to have a protocol. Have to be fast and do it right. A fasciotomy is not recommended. Doctors do a lot of wrong things. When we tell what is the most venomous we mean what is the most amount of venom that it takes to cause death. The Black Mamba is the fastest mortality with 2 ½ minutes. It is not the most toxic. That is an irrelevant conversation. Were you run over by a Ford or Chevy?” Terry laughed. His point was well taken.
“I treat them all with a lot of respect. I was bitten by a western Massasauga rattlesnake. Hospitalized for 1 ½ days; hand was swollen…” Terry ventured.
“The hospital bill was $25,000. We don’t have to have him go and get bit,” Johnny B retorted. The snake collection is extraordinary as is the 12‘ alligator Terry brought from St. Augustine’s Alligator Farm. The 16’ giant saltwater crocodile weighs 1,500 pounds. He is called Maniac. No wonder. When Terry opens the door to the pond where the giant crock is kept Maniac opens his mouth. “He’s magnificent. Maniac is a man eating crock,” Johnny B said. Actually Maniac was born in captivity at a theme park in Sydney, Australia and “When they were trying to get rid of stuff, they called us.”
On the way along the displays do not miss the 22‘ 4“ reticulated python that weighs 207 pounds. At every display Johnny B has a story. ”When I was 8 years old we had tortoise boys. Dad put a bull snake around my neck and I’d tell people where tortoises came from. I was a tortoise boy 3 days a week.”
Not far away is Historic Fort Hays. It is an attraction on a hill made from the sets carted there from the movie Dances With Wolves. Ft. Hays is a hoot. Get there before dinner to enjoy the exhibits. Learn how to make tin cups and plates, see old cars toot and offer rides and be sure to stop by Greg Ferrier’s forge.
Greg is a former B 52 crew member. When he retired from the military he began making knives by hand. Greg begins with a chunk of 1 ½“ wide ¼” thick spring steel. He cuts it to desired length. Works the steel in his hot forge and hammers it on an anvil. Greg’s craftsmanship with steel is a lost art. It requires about 40 hours of work to make a knife. The finished blade is something every sportsman or collector will cherish.
Spend time exploring the movie sets before going inside for a chuck wagon dinner and country music show. Plenty of food, corny jokes and a good time.
A lot has been written about gold in the Black Hills. When a strike was made in Deadwood Gulch in 1875, thousands flocked to the area to strike it rich. One was Henri LeBeau. The Frenchman fell off his horse and was dazed. When he woke he was surrounded by grapevines. Instead of prospecting LeBeau began to make jewelry with the grape leaf design using miner’s gold. The tradition is continued today at Mt. Rushmore Black Hills Gold. Factory tours are free and it is an interesting way to spend an hour watching craftsmen work with gold to make finished jewelry. The retail store offers shopper’s temptations, most articles are made on the premises. The factory is right on Mt. Rushmore Rd. in Rapid.
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