The Mount Rushmore KOA boasts just about every amenity a campground can offer from a pool to restaurants to trail rides. We picked this place as a stop to give us an opportunity to reunite with our sons and their families.
We booked a small Deluxe Cabin for Benjamin, Rose, and Zane. The cabin had a full-size fridge, a microwave, and a hot plate. A queen size bed in one room and bunkbeds in another room. Two TVs one in the living area, one in the bedroom, a small kitchen table with chairs, a good sized deck with BBQ and a large fire ring.
This cool carving of a bear has pride of place in the Lodge's lobby,
Daniel and his girlfriend, Evie, got a king size suite in the lodge. You get free pastries and juice for breakfast at the Lodge, but Daniel and Evie opted to join us for breakfast.
We got a campsite with full hook-up.
The horses got covered stalls in a barn, so they would have shade and be protected during thunderstorms.
We were the only equestrians, so we used the empty corrals for turn out.
The equestrian area is located in the far back of the campground. This campground is HUGE, so we rented a golf cart and also used our truck to get around the campground.
There are tons of activities every day. The worker shortage has affected this campground as well. Many of the activities started late or not all simply because they didn't have the people to staff it.
This goes for the entertainment too. It is disappointing, but totally understandable. You can see the worker shortage has affected the retail shops and restaurants in the local towns as well.
We arrived a day early - on Thursday - so we could scope out the campground and get settled in.
On Friday afternoon, Ari drove to the airport and picked up Daniel and Evie. We took them out to dinner at the Bumpin' Buffalo in Hill City. This restaurant is located in an old saloon on the main drag and the food is pretty good. Mostly, burgers and sandwiches, but still good.
Benjamin opted to drive as he is still very concerned about COVID-19 and Zane, at 8, is too young to be vaccinated. They arrived around 10 pm Friday night.
There is a hitching post next to the barn so you can tack up your horses. We stored our hay and grain in one of the unused covered stalls and drove our tack in our truck or the golf cart we rented. You aren't allowed to tack up at the trailer.
You can ride to Mount Rushmore from this campground. The trail out of the Mount Rushmore KOA takes you to the Willlow Creek Horse Campground, from there you have access to all sorts of trails. They are well maintained, marked, and simply beautiful.
Saturday morning was filled with time with Zane. The water park was deserted. This is because the water is super cold and the water guns don't work.
Zane played ping pong with Ari after playing miniature golf with me.
Then it was time to build a rocket - one of the activities.
They use an air compressor to launch the rockets. The rockets are just cardboard tubes. Zane's rocket blew up on the third launch. Another kid had made two rockets, so he was kind enough to let Zane launch his rocket a couple of times.
After lunch, Rose was going to ride Lennox and I was going to ride Mercy and take her out on the trails. But we couldn't get Ari's saddle stirrups to adjust for Rose. So we put my saddle on Lennox so he could carry Rose and Ari's saddle on Mercy and Ari took Rose out for a ride in the Black Hills.
I put my helmet on Zane and let him ride Mercy while Rose was getting ready for her ride. Zane enjoyed his saddle time.
While Rose and Ari were out on the Black Hills Trails, Benjamin, Evie, Daniel, and Zane got set up with their trail horses for a guided ride for beginners, an easy one hour ride on the Keystone trail.
Saturday evening was spent at Mount Rushmore. We attended the lighting ceremony and ate ice cream. The cafe uses Thomas Jefferson's ice cream recipe.
We were disappointed in the lighting ceremony. I am not sure what we expected. Basically, they play a 20 minute video outlining the history of the monument. Then they do a short ceremony honoring service members - active and veterans - and bring down the flag.
Then they basically turn on the lights so you can see the monument.
That's it.
We returned to the campground and roasted marshmallows and made s'mores using the fire pit at Benjamin's cabin. It had rained the night before so getting the fire started was a bit of a challenge.
Sunday morning, Zane built a marshmallow gun in the Build A Gun activity and went down the water slide a couple of times.
We took Daniel and Evie into Keystone for lunch and ate at Desperado's.
This is a scale model of what the monument will look like when completed. Right now all that is done is the face and the outstretched arm. They are relying completely on donations to do the work, so it is slow going.
Sunday night we were to the Crazy Horse Memorial. We ate dinner at the Laughing Water restaurant. The Navajo tacos and Navajo stew were outstanding. I ordered a couple of pieces of fry bread to go so I could make my own Tatanka stew in the trailer.
I enjoyed visiting the museum and reading all the stories.
The light show was much better than the one at Mount Rushmore. I highly recommend it. Bring your own camp chairs so you can be comfortable.
Our last breakfast together was Monday morning, so Ari made his French crepes as a special treat for everyone.
Me and Zane.
Daniel and Evie
Benjamin and Rose
We drove Evie and Daniel to the airport. On the way, we opted to drive through Bears, USA.
Bears, USA is basically a drive-through wildlife reserve. We got to see lots of bears as well as elk, a few mountain lions, and mountain goats.
It was a good choice to spend some time before their flight.
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