Finne's Follies: Enjoying South Dakota

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Enjoying South Dakota

We spent our second week in the Rapid City area at Hart Ranch RV Resort, which is a little closer to Rapid City proper. It is also very close to some favorite Black Hills attractions. Two places we hadn't yet visited were the Reptile Gardens and Bear Country, both of which were within ten minutes of our campground. So we decided it was time to check them out.

The Reptile Gardens is essentially a reptile zoo. Its indoor building houses snakes, alligators, crocodiles, lizards, frogs, toads, and turtles of all kinds from around the world. It also has a disturbing display of cockroaches! Ick! And spiders! Not sure what THEY have to do with reptiles, but maybe they double as food for the reptiles. Outside you'll find giant tortoises and a variety of other creatures, some of which are not reptiles, but interesting all the same.

White wolves sleeping away the afternoon

Down the road a few miles is Bear Country, which is a drive-through wildlife park. Considering the woeful lack of wildlife we found out in the actual "wild," we decided to fork over the cash and check out this attraction. We were not disappointed. Well, I was a tiny bit disappointed in that we happened to be behind some other vehicles. By the time they moved out of the way, so did the wildlife, and I missed out on what would have been some very striking photo opportunities. But as they say, timing is everything. Speaking of timing, one suggestion I would make, and something we plan to do next time we visit, is to go in the morning while the animals are more active. We found that by afternoon, many of them were sleeping.

Bear Country also has a zoo-type area with animal enclosures that you can walk around and view. This is where they keep the critters that are more likely to escape a drive-through park-- mountain lions, bobcats, badgers, and such.

Our last day at Hart Ranch was Mark's birthday, so we planned a special day for him that began with a train ride on the "1880 Train" that runs between Hill City and Keystone. Mark loves trains and this one is pulled by a steam engine. This is a must-do if you're in the area. Whether you start your ride in Hill City or in Keystone, be sure to plan your round trip to give you time to browse the other town before returning. This is something we (and by "we," I mean Mark) neglected to do when purchasing our tickets. There are two reasons-- the obvious one being the opportunity to check out the other town. The second reason being to give your bum a rest. The train seats are hard wooden things that become very uncomfortable after sitting on them for the duration of the ride's 45 minutes. The train ride includes narration about the history of the steam engine, the train, and points of interest along the route.

Our day concluded with dinner at the Alpine Inn in Hill City. This restaurant is famous for its $14 filet mignon steak dinner. Delicious and affordable! In all it was a lovely day.