Vacation Photos - - Lots of Photos!!

Hello Everyone,

I had a great time on our vacation to South Dakota. I hate to admit it, but I didn't realize just how much "history" that part of the country holds. It was very fun and educational. We broke the drive there into 2 days and stayed the first night in Billings Montana. The next morning before heading to Hill City, where we stayed in South Dakota, we went to Zoo Montana. Zoo Montana is a non profit, natural habitat zoo. Some of the images below are from Zoo Montana.

We stayed at a really nice, comfortable hotel in Hill City with owners that are really down to earth and terrific people, it's called the Lantern Inn. It's not a fancy place, but very clean, very friendly and like I said the owners Charlie and Janet are the best!!! Hill City was a perfect place to stay as all the great attractions we wanted to see where all in close proximity.

We hit about 2-3 attractions a day while staying in Hill City. We stayed there for 3 days before heading back home. We visited the following attractions and towns; Mount Rushmore, Keystone, Rapid City, Sturgis, Deadwood and Lead, which are both old mining towns. My hubby is an ex miner so this was great for him to visit. We rode a tram to the top of a mountain and could see Mt Rushmore from there also. We visited the South Dakota Air and Space Museum, the boys (hubby and step-son) really enjoyed this. We went to the Reptile Gardens and saw many, many reptiles!!! I do NOT like reptiles, but it was still very interesting.

And last but not least, was my favorite thing of the whole trip . . . we went to Bear Country USA. If you have never been there, it's a must see if you are ever in the area!!! This is a drive through wild animal park. The animals roam around free and you have to stay in your vehicle. At times the animals would be in the road and/or crossing the road and you just get to sit and watch them and take pictures, etc., until they decide to move. Unless you are the big black bear that seemed to like licking the dead bugs off of peoples front bumpers. One of the workers had to come in his truck and make the bear move out of the road so people could continue on. At the end you park and get to go to Baby Land and see some other animals and the baby bears!!!!

I am such an animal lover to begin with and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed seeing such a variety of animals all in one place. Most of them I would probably never see in my lifetime if I had not gone to Bear Country USA.

Below are some of the pictures I want to share with you and I've written above them where they were taken.

Reptile Gardens

Reptile Gardens

Bear Country USA.
This little guy was amazing and
I couldn't get enough of him!!!
He was up about 20-30 feet in a tree
sitting on a small branch and sleeping
most of the time. He woke up for a minute
looked around and went back to sleep.

Sleeping. He is so relaxed,
not a care in the world!!!

Soooooo Cute!!!! Look at those ears!!!

Another cutie!!

Momma Buffalo nursing her baby.
This and the next few images were taken
as we drove through the wild animals.

A Black Bear enjoying the water.

Arctic Wolf.
There were 2 young wolves,
probably a year old that were
running and playing and having a
great time. They ran back and forth across
the road several times, jumping on
each other and having a blast.
They were so fast that I was not able to
get a photo of the two of them together,
but they put on quite a show for all of us
that were watching!!

Rocky Mt. Elk

Mount Rushmore Photos
This gentleman worked on
Mt Rushmore from 1938 to 1940.
I bought a book he wrote with
Q&A about the making of Mt Rushmore.
If you purchased a book,
he signed it inside for you.

What a piece of history!!!

Me at Mt Rushmore.
Although I live in Idaho
I was born in Washington so I
thought it would be cool to have
a photo with the info about
the state of Washington.

Mount Rushmore

Zoo Montana Photos
Bald Eagle

Siberian Tiger

Old Wagon Wheels

Old Wagon

I hope you enjoyed seeing the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them :)

Keep Smilin'
Wendy