Afternoon: Check-in time at the K Bar S Lodge is at 3:00 PM. Collect your Road Scholar Program Welcome Packet at time of check-in. Orientation will take place at 5:30 PM in the Lodge.

Dinner: K Bar S Lodge.

Evening: Feel free to settle into your room after dinner.

Lodging: K Bar S Lodge

Meals Included: Dinner

Breakfast: K Bar S Lodge

Morning: We'll kick off the week by discovering the Black Hills and surrounding area's rich Native American history and culture with a field trip to Tatanka - Story of the Bison, a native interpretation center with live demonstrations and personal contacts with native Lakota Sioux interpreters. Here we'll also see the third largest bronze sculpture in the world. Commissioned by actor Kevin Costner after making his block-buster movie, Dances With Wolves, this sculpture features several Native American riders chasing buffalo over a cliff. Each piece is 125% life size and incredibly well done. Later this morning travel into Historic Deadwood City. Here learn about of the struggles of the early gold seekers of the 1870's. Jump aboard a trolley and travel to Boot Hill to hear about legendary characters such as Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Poker Alice who helped to create the colorful history of Deadwood

Lunch: In Deadwood

Afternoon: This afternoon travel to the historic town of Lead. The sister city to historic Deadwood, Lead has played a pivotal role in the history of the Black Hills. Home to the Homestake Gold Mine, the streets of Lead tell a tale as rich as the gold mined from its hills. The Homestake Gold Mine was one of the early enterprises associated with the Gold Rush of 1876. The mining of gold from Homestake ceased several years ago due to low gold prices but, has begun a new life serving as a laboratory 4,850 feet underground. The lab is working towards a revolution in physics by studying neutrinos.

Dinner: K Bar S Lodge

Evening: Tonight the instructor will lecture on related information to the Black Hills and its surrounding peoples and cultures.

Lodging: K Bar S Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Custer State Park / Needles Scenic Byway / Crazy Horse Memorial / Presentation

Breakfast: Breakfast at K Bar S Lodge

Morning: The Custer Expedition of 1874 is contributed with the illegal flood of white settlers into Sioux territory and the Black Hills. Colonel George Custer spent nearly two months exploring and recording the area around and within the Black Hills. It was during this trip that gold was discovered in French Creek near the current Custer State Park, thus creating the gold rush of 1874. This morning explore Custer State Park. The Park's pine forests, grassy meadows and towers of granite offer spectacular views while also providing a lush sanctuary for the park’s four-legged residents. Nearly 1,500 magnificent bison, along with fleet pronghorn, elusive elk, sure-footed mountain goats and a band of begging burrows freely roam the park’s sprawling 71,000 acres.

Lunch: Enjoy an outdoor Western Cookout at the State Game Lodge - 1927 Summer White House to President Calvin Coolidge.

Afternoon: In an effort to honor the rich heritage and traditions of Native Americans, Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear set out to carve a mountain just south of Mount Rushmore. In 1948, the two men agreed that this monument would be carved without any federal funding. Korczak and a handful of others began blasting the mountain and removing the rock. Ziolkowski died in 1982 but his family, led by his widow Ruth, continues to work on his great vision. The face of Crazy Horse was dedicated in 1998 and today precision blasting is carving out the features of his horse. When completed, the mountain will be 563-feet high and carved in the round. Korczak Ziolkowski wanted more than just a mountain carving. His 220-page master plan included museums, a medical school and training center, recreation area and an Avenue of Chiefs that would be lined with sculptural portraits of great Lakota and Native American leaders. His family plans to continue to work until this vision is realized. Today, the Crazy Horse Memorial campus offers visitors breath-taking views of the ongoing carving from its viewing veranda. The campus also includes an Indian Museum of North America, gift shop, welcome center, and Native American Cultural Center.

Dinner: K Bar S Lodge

Evening: Tonight the instructor will lecture on related information to the Black Hills and its surrounding peoples and cultures.

Lodging: K Bar S Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Mount Rushmore Memorial / Journey Museum / Rapid City / Lighting Ceremony

Breakfast: K Bar S Lodge

Morning: Amidst the emerald carpet of the Black Hills, sculptor Gutzon Borglum looked out upon craggy pine-clad mountains and saw not simply granite, but rather nature’s foundation for a majestic monument. Borglum’s vision became Mount Rushmore National Memorial as the noble portrayal of four of America’s leaders gradually emerged from the enduring granite. The towering faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln embody the birth, growth, preservation and development of the United States. This morning immerse yourself in the shadow of Mount Rushmore. Learn about the monument, the land it occupies and the artist whose vision created a symbol for all of America. Optional ½ mile walk with numerous stairs down the Sculptor’s Studio is available.

Lunch: K Bar S Lodge

Afternoon: This afternoon continue your week of exploration with a visit to the Journey Museum. The Journey takes you on an incredible trek through time, from the violent upheaval that formed the mystical Black Hills over 2.5 billion years ago to the continuing saga of the Western Frontier. The Journey Museum brings together four major prehistoric and historic collections to tell the complete story of the Western Great Plains - from the perspective of the Lakota peoples and the pioneers who shaped its past, to the scientists who now study it. Get a close up look at the struggles settlers and sod busters went through to tame the vast and wild land.

Dinner: K Bar S Lodge

Evening: Tonight attend the lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore. This is a very patriotic program presented in the open, outdoor auditorium. SUBJECT TO SEASONAL DATES AND WEATHER.

Lodging: K Bar S Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: K Bar S Lodge

Morning: The settlers and gold seekers of early days often struggled daily just to stay alive - in their very effort to live and eat. En route to the Black Hills many traveled across the Badlands. This morning, on the edge of the Badlands, we'll visit an original sod house on the prairie still owned by the descendants of hardy explorers. The Prairie Homestead Historic Site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and gives us a true sense of the rough life of settlers of this by-gone era.

Lunch: Sack lunch in the field

Afternoon: This afternoon we’ll tour Badlands National Park. Time becomes difficult to comprehend as we learn about the deep canyons, towering spires and flat-topped tables of the Badlands. An inland sea covered this area 68-77 million years ago. Layers of sediment deposited over the next 75 million years give the Badlands their bands of colors while erosion continues to expose the inner most secrets of these lunar-like deposits. This land of sharp ridges, steep gullies, pyramids and knobs has been so ruthlessly ravaged by wind and water that it has become picturesque. The Badlands are a wonderland of bizarre, colorful spires and pinnacles, massive buttes and deep gorges. The forces that carved these features have not only created a unique topography; they have given a strange beauty to this almost desolate land.

Dinner: K Bar S Lodge

Evening: This evening enjoy a unique look into the colorful past of those who blazed the trail expanding the western frontier.

Lodging: K Bar S Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Presentation / Historic 1880 Train Ride / Hill City / Black Hills Geological Institute / Final Banquet

Breakfast: K Bar S Lodge

Morning: This morning the instructor will lecture on related information to the Black Hills and its surrounding peoples and cultures. Later this morning travel back in time as you ride through the beautiful back country of the Black Hills on the Historic 1880 Train. You'll have prime opportunity to spot a plethora of flora and fauna. The train will take you to the neighboring town of Hill City. This afternoon discover creatures from long ago with a group tour of the Black Hills Geologic Research Institute.

Lunch: On your own in Hill City

Afternoon: This afternoon enjoy the local flavor of Hill City. Immerse yourself in the colorful art galleries and shops of this quaint town. Hop back on the iron horse for your return trip to the K Bar S.

Dinner: Tonight enjoy wine, champagne and hors d' oeuvres before dinner. This is the conclusion of the program.

Lodging: K Bar S Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: K Bar S Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast