Someone recently asked my advice on travel to the west, especially for both affordability and nature photography opportunities. While the Grand Canyon has its awesome vistas and the Rockies have their grandeur and the deserts of the southwest have their unique aura, I did not hesitate to recommend western South Dakota for both affordability and opportunities for nature photography. I could not have done that until July 2015, when my wife, her sister, and I traveled to Deadwood, South Dakota.

 It was a birthday present for my wife, Elizabeth, that her sister Susan and I cooked up. Elizabeth has always, from childhood, been a follower of Custer’s Last Stand. Many times she and her parents almost made it to the battlefield but something always “came up.” With this knowledge in hand, I did some research & developed an itinerary for the week before her birthday on July 4^th.

There is absolutely no way to get a direct flight from the Asheville, Atlanta, or Charlotte area into Rapid City, SD. One must pass through Minneapolis/St. Paul, Detroit, Chicago, or Denver.  The “Big Three;” American, Delta, and United are the only regularly scheduled airlines that service RAP regional airport (I do love the small regionals, though, quick in and out with very little hassle). I opted for Delta, so it was three hour drive to Atlanta, two and a half hour flight to Minneapolis/St. Paul, and a two hour flight to Rapid City. We were off the plane and quickly into a rental car and on our way to downtown.

Rapid City is, as Elizabeth says, “Adorable!” It has a warm, cozy, small town feel with a lot going on (more about later). After some lunch we headed for Deadwood where I had made our reservations at the Spring Hill Suites by Marriott. While Deadwood is only about 40 minutes from Rapid City by car it took us about two hours as we meandered along back roads stopping several places along the way.

We checked into our hotel and once again, its choice was based on my preferences of indoor pool, hot tub, and gym, with breakfast included. The hotel had all the standard amenities plus a very good in house restaurant and a casino. They actually gave us daily free play at the casino, which netted us $85 at the end of the week. Deadwood is a historic “gitchy” little town with some excellent restaurants and a “shoot-out” several times each day.

In 1876, Wild Bill Hickok was shot from behind and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood by Jack McCall, an unsuccessful gambler. The hand of cards which he supposedly held at the time of his death has become known as the dead man’s hand: two pair, aces and eights. There is also some history here regarding Calamity Jane; in fact the two of them are buried side by side in the local “boot hill.”

We used Deadwood as a central location to visit surrounding sights, of which there are many. Just to name the few that we visited: Devil’s Tower, Custer’s Battlefield, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, the best wildlife viewing I have ever experienced, Custer State Park located south of Rapid City, and a day in Rapid City itself.

Our journey out to Custer’s Battlefield took us 13 hours (4 hours out on I-90, 4 hours at the Battlefield, and 5 hours back on US 212) and we could have spent many more hours at the Battlefield. Devil’s Tower was iconic in the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but even more awesome up close. We took in Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument on the same day and while certainly worth the price of admission they were not the highlight of our trip.

We experienced every kind of awesomeness in our visit to Custer State Park. The drive took us through the 14 mile stretch of the Needles Scenic Highway that includes sharp turns, narrow tunnels, granite spires and world class views. On the Wildlife Loop Road we encountered herds of bison, deer, big horn sheep, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs, a rock pile full of chipmunks, and wild burros. It was a photographic smorgasbord!

Our day in Rapid City was, again as Elizabeth says, “Delightful.” It was a day of antique stores, thrift stores, taverns, cafes, on again/off again trolley, and ending up at Culvers on West Main. We are huge fans of Ted Drewes and Fritz’s in the St. Louis area, both purveyors of great frozen custard and members of Our Frozen Custard Hall of Fame. We can attest after several samples of various frozen custard delicacies that Culvers could very easily be inducted at any time.

We do not hesitate to recommend the western South Dakota area as a great place to visit and certainly bring your camera. We have actually talked about going back and seeing some of the sights that we were not able to get to the first time around. We enjoyed everything about this journey: accommodations, the scenery, the myriad of things to do, the food and drink, and especially the friendly people that we found there. Becca, we do not believe you will be disappointed in any way.