When you come to western South Dakota the most obvious place you'll go is Mount Rushmore but while you're in the Black Hills of South Dakota you should also see Crazy Horse Monument, Custer State Park, Pactola Lake, the 1880 Train and if you are feeling really lucky Deadwood would the spot for a little gambling. After you win big in Deadwood you could head to Spearfish thru Spearfish Canyon. If you come the 3rd weekend in July there is Festival in The Park at the Spearfish City Park. Lots of arts and craft vendors and can't forget about the food. When you finish there you can go east to Sturgis and if you're a motorcycle mama or dad check out the Harley Davidson Museum. There will probably be some bikers in the area but it gets really crazy in August for the big Motorcycle Rally. Now is the time to head north towards Lemmon and you will see plenty of wide open spaces where there is nothing but antelope, a few sheep and lots of cattle. If you are into Leo DeCaprio and seen the Revenant you can stop at the Shadehill Resvior and see where the real Hugh Glass started his journey. Shadehill isn't to far from Lemmon and when you get there need to stop in and see some of the amazing sculptures John Lopez makes out of old farm machinery parts. He's done some fantastic work and will be opening a studio on main street that will house his newest piece. You can find pictures of his work at
www.johnlopezstudio.com. and see other sculptures scattered all over Lemmon. When you go east on Hwy 12 you will come to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation and unless you lived under a rock you are aware of the protest that the tribe had regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline. Whatever your views on the protest hopefully you would be able to watch a Powwow and see the Native American dancers. Keep going west and you will hit the Missouri River and the town of Mobridge where you could do some walleye fishing or go on main street to the Scherr-Howe Auditorium and see the murals painted there by Oscar Howe. It's time to head back south. You'll go to Pierre which is the State Capital and keep heading south until you get to I-90 and head back west. Be sure to stop at Wall Drug and then go into the Badlands National Park to see an other world landscape. Very barren but very beautiful. You can end your trip back in Rapid City or go east and check out the east side of South Dakota. I'll have to let someone else tell you about that because I've been a western South Dakota girl all my life.