Rapid City, South Dakota, United States
Heading back toward home we made stops in two western South Dakota
towns along the edge of the Black Hills. Rapid City is the largest city in
western South Dakota and second biggest in the state after Sioux Falls. It is
of a similar size to Bozeman in terms of population with a state university and
an Air Force base. I believe I drove through on previous visits to South Dakota
but never stopped to check out much of the town. Located close to Mount
Rushmore, Rapid City is a base for many people who visit the Black Hills and
Badlands and seems to have a decent tourist infrastructure with a number of
things to see and do in the town itself. It is nicknamed “The City of
Presidents”, both for its proximity to the monument but also for the life size
statues of all the American presidents on the corners of its downtown
streets. We didn’t find all of them but
did find most of the presidents who served during my lifetime. Whether Trump and Biden are up yet, I’m not
sure. We didn’t see those.
Rapid City’s small downtown reminds me a bit of Bozeman too.
The main streets around downtown are lined with some attractive historic
buildings housing stores and restaurants and there are new taller buildings
which look to be condominiums or hotels under construction. I was most
impressed with Prairie Edge Trading Company, a large store spanning half a
block and two stories full of Native American artwork, much at reasonable
prices. I was similarly impressed with
the next door Firehouse Brewing Company where we had dinner and beers.
I had a massive barbecue platter and then
shared a huge Tiramisu with Rodrigo. There are lots of breweries around, but
this was one of my favorites across the country for both its atmosphere,
facilities, and great food as well as beer.
Our motel for the night was 30 miles down the road in Sturgis. For some reason Super 8 was having problems
with the rooms in one wing. “Would you be able to take an upgrade to a
two-story suite?” Of course! Well, it
looks like we got put in the honeymoon suite, with a massive bathroom, upstairs
bedroom connected by a narrow spiral staircase, and a heart-shaped whirlpool
tub. It gave us a good laugh.
Sturgis is another town I had never stopped in before. The
town is, of course, best known for the massive biker rally that takes place
there every August. Back in 2020 it was derided by lefties as the biggest Covid
superspreader event in the country. The rest of the year, though, Sturgis is a
sleepy small town but interesting for a stop because of all the motorbiking
related businesses around Main Street. And so many really big bars! It makes
you wonder how they stay in business when they have very little business over
the rest of the year.
2025-05-22