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Original 1880 Town

Friday, June 26th, 2009 by Alyice

Feeding into my love of the old west, my husband took us to Murdo, South Dakota where I got to see over 30 original buildings dating back to 1880, along with lots of relics from the time period. While I’ve come to realize that I could never live in that era, there are many things about that era to appreciate—from historical figures to family traditions to glorious wide-open spaces with plenty of room to run amuck.

The name of the town, Original 1880 Town, is a little misleading since it doesn’t depict the buildings from an “actual” 1880 town. But that’s easy to get past since every building, on the lot, is dated back to 1880 and comes from South Dakota.

What really fascinated me about this town is the “hands-on” approach. You walk into a town with such historical value and you think, “Museum, no touching allowed.” And that’s not the case. You don’t just walk up to a window and door and peek into the buildings—well some buildings you do—but you actually get to step foot inside the buildings. And in many of the buildings, you get to touch the relics displayed—period furnishings, table settings, and old clothes.

The only relics you cannot touch are in the actual museums, the “Dances with Wolves” props display, and of course, the few buildings that haven’t been opened up to the public. Other than that, you can climb onto an old wagon or stage coach, walk the stairs of the hotel, step foot into the chapel, play a game of checkers, and climb inside an old railway car for that perfect picture.

I must admit that this town had a lot of photo opportunities and upon a return visit we plan to take full advantage of the $5 costume rentals and take lots of “period” photos—and why not, we’ll be back out that way when we drop our son off at college.

What was lacking, however, was the entertainment. Whether they choose to hire a few stage hands or ask for volunteers who perform for tips, they need to provide a little more for the entrance fee. A shoot out between gun fighters, a saloon act, a hay ride, something… Heck, a few hands-on crafting and/or baking classes from that period would be great, too!

It would also benefit the place to include a restaurant within the town where guests can enjoy old favorites: homemade pie, barbecue ribs right off the grill, and sarsaparilla. Currently, they have a snack stand that serves pop, popcorn, and jerky within the renovated hotel and a 1950s train diner outside the town but due to the hours of operation, it was closed when we arrived—which was a real downer! We had already been on the road for several hours and were ready for a nice dinner, the only food offered was prepackaged crap at the local gas station—not something you want to eat on a road trip/vacation.

Until next time…

Disclosure: I paid for this attraction. This is “my opinion”. I was not paid to give a positive review.

Posted in SD Transplant | 2 Comments »

Bear Country USA

Thursday, June 25th, 2009 by Alyice

As I mentioned before, I am a big fan of zoos and an even bigger fan of wildlife parks—for the “safe” picture taking opportunities they present. That being said, I commend Bear Country USA on preserving the natural habitat of bears, but have to admit that I found the park lacking in entertainment for patrons.

Upon arriving at the park, we were greeted with a toll booth and a window cleaning gentleman. “Nice touch,” I thought. “With the bugs cleaned off our windows, we’re sure to get a good view!”

Upon entering the park, I was excited. I couldn’t wait to see the wildlife. Now keep in mind, I understood that with its namesake the focus would be on bears, however, being a wildlife park, I had hoped to see more than a few dozen bears and I had hoped to be in the park longer than 30 minutes!

Upon entering the gate, we were greeted by these guys.

I believe they’re rams. They spent most of their time huddled up close to the fence that was only a few feet away, munching on some grass. Every so often, they’d look up at us, then return to crazing. This guy, however, decided he wanted a closer look and began walking towards our van.

Turning the corner, we were greeted by two goats. One that appeared to be sleeping with his eyes open—and whom my children thought were dead. And this guy…doesn’t he remind you of Billy Goat Gruff?

As we rounded the corner, we saw them. Bears! Lots and lots of glorious bears. This guy was probably the most interesting of the bunch. He seemed to get a kick out of walking right in front of the cars, then walking right along side them until the next car appeared. And in a zig-zag motion, he’d walk up and down the same road.

After leaving the bear encampment, we saw a buffalo huddled on the ground in the distant thicket and three donkeys grazing in really tall grass. Then we were out of the park.

As we left the wildlife enclosure, we were welcomed by a snack shack, a gift shop, and a short walking zoo where we were able to observe baby raccoons, skunks, porcupines, wolfs, and yes, bear cubs. At first, the bear cubs didn’t want to come out and play—they stayed huddled in their cave—but along came a zookeeper and everything changed. The minute they saw her, they took off running; scattering in all directions.

Some right up her leg, some around the cave, and others for the nearby tree, as you see here.

Overall, it was a nice park—very clean and the animals were very well-cared for. However, I wanted to leave the park feeling as though I got my money’s worth. I suppose after such a short run in the wildlife park, I expected a little more out of the ending arena—a bear act, a picture opp area, or a presentation where we learned more about the bears—what they eat, why they hibernate, how to protect one’s self when encountering a bear in the wild, etc.

I’m not sure I’d go back in the near future as the picture taking opportunities were very limited and that’s the main reason I go these places; however it’s definitely a place I’d recommend anyone visiting Rapid City or the nearby area to visit—at least once.

Until next time…

Disclosure: I paid for this attraction. This is “my opinion”. I was not paid to give a positive review.

Posted in SD Transplant | 1 Comment »

Wall Drug, South Dakota

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 by Alyice

Ever since we moved to South Dakota, I have seen painted, wood-like highway signs with a short caption followed by the words, “Wall Drug”. Captions like: “5 cents coffee”, “T-rex”, “homemade donuts”, “6 foot rabbit”, “as seen is…”, “hooked on”, “have you dug”. No real explanation. No directions. No contact information. Boy was I curious! I had to know what “Wall Drug” was and where it was. I asked the locals who told me, “Oh it’s the largest drug store in the United States.”

“Okay,” I thought, “Doesn’t sound all that impressive.” And yet, every day I passed by one of those highway signs my curiosity was peaked until finally, on the way to Rapid City, I just had to stop and see what all the “hype” was about.

Turns out that Wall Drug was purchased by a couple, back in 1931, who honestly believed that their drug store, in a town in the middle of nowhere, had a chance to succeed—especially once Mount Rushmore was complete. They gave the store five years to make a profit and prove itself. Upon nearing the five year mark, the store was still in dire need of customers and a profit.

Then the wife got a brilliant idea. She talked her husband into putting up signs that read, “Free Ice Water” on the nearby highway. No sooner did the signs get put into the ground, did travelers stop by their humble establishment for a nice, cold glass of water. Today, Wall Drug has over 250 simple, yet intriguing, signs along the highway; boasts of 77,000 square feet; and serves 2 million visitors a year.

For shop-a-holics, it’s the perfect destination. The place is filled to the brim with clothing, home décor, knick-knacks, and souvenirs of the old west. There are even several places to order food, snacks, and drinks—including homecooked meals and freshly fried donuts.

I, however, detest shopping and was disappointed to learn that their “backyard” area didn’t include a single amusement park-style ride. Hey, I would have paid to take the kids on an “old-fashioned” hay ride around town or to sit in an air-conditioned wagon as it took us through the old west (like that Star Wars ride in Disneyland or Back To The Future ride in Universal Studios). I wasn’t asking for anything fancy, just something more than shopping.

Luckily, my daughter got a kick out of “panning for fossils” and my son enjoyed watching the little kids freak out when T-rex smoked and roared every 12 minutes.

As for my husband, he made the best of the situation and got me to take a snapshot on the oversized jackalope—which is no small feat considering I absolutely hate taking photos now that I weigh 183 pounds.

Until next time…

Disclosure: I paid for this attraction. This is “my opinion”. I was not paid to give a positive review.

Posted in SD Transplant | 2 Comments »

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I'm a freelance writer, mixed media artist, SMVA, and the owner of The Dabbling Mum.

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