Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse & the Badlands With Your Family

Activity note: Lodge check-in from 3:00 p.m.

Afternoon: Program Registration. 4:00 p.m. After you have your room assignment, come to the Road Scholar table in the lobby to register with the program staff and get any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived. Orientation. 5:00 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will review COVID protocols and will adhere to applicable requirements and guidelines throughout the program. This is a Road Scholar Grandparent program. Grandparents are responsible for their grandchildren at all times. If/when separate age group activities are conducted concurrently, program staff will supervise. Minors are never to be left unsupervised. All talks and field trips will be led by local experts and expert Group Leaders. Transportation will be via motorcoach, requiring going up/down a few steps when getting on/off, unless specified otherwise. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Dinner: In the Lodge dining facility.

Evening: At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow participants, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 110 miles throughout the day, approximately 3 hours riding time plus stops. Getting on/off horses; riding approximately 1 hour; long pants and boots or tennis shoes required for horseback riding; helmets supplied. Walking about 1/2 mile; dirth path, mountain meadows, pine covered forests.

Breakfast: At the Lodge.

Morning: We’ll board a motorcoach and kick off our Black Hills learning adventure on a field trip with our Group Leader to Custer State Park. The park covers more than 71,000 acres full of mountains, plains, forests, and wildlife — one of the Top 10 places for wildlife in the world! We’ll stop first at the Visitor Center and explore interactive exhibits to learn about the Park’s history, mysteries, landscapes, and wildlife. We’ll then hop back on the motorcoach and ride along Wildlife Loop Road to look for wild bison (buffalo), burros, prairie dogs, elk, white tail deer, and more.

Lunch: Sack lunch in the field.

Afternoon: At the end of the loop, we’ll “cowboy and cowgirl up” and ride horses on a trail with experienced wranglers. After the ride, we'll return to the Lodge.

Dinner: At the Lodge.

Evening: At the Lodge, we’ll have a fun, hands-on activity to set the stage for our Mount Rushmore field trip tomorrow. We’ll learn how sculptor Gutzon Borglum made small scale models to plan how he would blast and carve huge images out of the mountain. We’ll team up with our families and work together to create our own scale drawing of Mount Rushmore.

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 55 miles, approximately 1 hour riding time. Walking about 1/2 mile indoors and out and standing; groomed paths some stairs.

Breakfast: At the Lodge.

Morning: Mount Rushmore National Monument is much more than four gigantic faces carved out of stone. The sculptor who made it, Gutzon Borglum — a Danish-American — intended it to be not just a memorial to four of our greatest Presidents, but a “shrine of democracy.” Why these four? Washington led the army during the Revolutionary War with Great Britain and later became the first President of the United States. Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and doubled the size of the country with Louisiana Purchase. Lincoln led the country through the Civil War and saved the Union. Roosevelt developed the “Square Deal” that promoted the conservation movement, controlled corporations, and protected consumers. Abroad, he made the Panama Canal happen and won the Nobel Peace Prize for settling a war between Russia and China. We’ll then see Mount Rushmore from a different angle on the top of a ridge about two miles away. We’ll ride up on chair lifts (like ski lifts) for amazing views. Great opportunity to take pics! Going back down, we can ride the chair lift again or, if feeling adventurous, take the alpine slide, controlling the individual speed sled as it glides 2,000 feet down the hill. We’ll then return to the Lodge.

Lunch: At the Lodge.

Afternoon: Mount Rushmore, with its majestic figures of four Presidents, is an American treasure. But there’s an even bigger monument being created less than 20 miles away. This monumental project uses the image of Crazy Horse — legendary Lakota warrior and leader — to symbolize the culture, traditions, and living heritage of North American Indians. Work started in 1948 and when it’s finished, the Crazy Horse Memorial will be the largest mountain carving in the world. We’ll visit the Memorial to learn all about it and explore the Native American Educational & Cultural center there. We’ll have breathtaking views of the carving and surrounding landscape, see pictures of Native Americans from long ago, and an exhibit carved out of rock that tells the story of the bison (buffalo) and how important they were. We’ll take part in a hands-on art activity led by museum educators, then return to the Lodge.

Dinner: At the Lodge.

Evening: We’ll gather around a campfire with our Group Leader for a hands-on lesson about how Native Americans utilized all parts of a bison. We’ll also take this opportunity to roast marshmallows and make S’mores. We’ll then return to Mount Rushmore and attend the Lighting Ceremony, a patriotic event in the open-air auditorium.

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 200 miles round-trip, approximately 4 hours total riding time plus stops. Walking about 1/2 mile; boardwalks, groomed paths.

Breakfast: At the Lodge.

Morning: We’ll set out via motorcoach with our Group Leader for a field trip to Badlands National Park. It’s an incredible place with beautiful and weird looking buttes, pinnacles, and spires. But 69 million years ago, everything was covered by an inland sea where dinosaurs roamed along the shore. Millions of years later, there were animals such as ancient camels, dogs, horses, rhinos, and saber-toothed cats. They’re long gone, but we’ll stop at different locations in the Park to explore and see what’s there today. We’ll then ride on to the town of Wall. The main attraction is Wall Drug Store, known around the world as a highlight of roadside America. Starting in 1931, it became famous for giving away free ice water to thirsty travelers.

Lunch: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like in Wall. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Afternoon: Next, we’ll ride to the Journey Museum and Learning Center in Rapid City. The Journey is made up of four different museums that tell their own stories. We’ll explore the Pioneer Museum and see illuminated story walls that tell the story of the Black Hills from the first Europeans who came here up until today. We’ll also participate in a hands-on activity to understand what early settlers and pioneers went through in their struggle to live and travel here with a fun and interactive “Load Your Wagon” experience. We’ll also get to get our hands wet and learn the techniques settlers used as they fed their gold rush fever gold panning. We’ll then return to the Lodge.

Dinner: At the Lodge.

Evening: We’ll be joined at the hotel by a local expert who will captivate us with stories and traditional Native American dance.

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 105 miles, approximately 2 hours riding time. Walking during field trips, standing up to 1 hour at a time. Bring swimming suit and towel for swimming activity.

Breakfast: At the Lodge.

Morning: We’ll ride out to the famous Mammoth Site just outside the city of Hot Springs. Mammoths are a hit in pop culture from movies like “Ice Age.” Real mammoths lived in the real Ice Age. This site is here today thanks to a trick of nature more than 26,000 years ago. An ancient sinkhole collapsed and spring water flowing up from the bottom made a watering hole. It attracted mammoths and other animals such as Ice Age camels, coyotes, giant short-faced bear, llamas, and wolves. Some of them fell in and died. The sinkhole later filled in, preserving the skeletons as fossils. The site was discovered in 1974 when a construction company was excavating for a housing project. They found the bones then turned the site over to scientists. It’s now a laboratory, research facility, and working museum with exhibits. Excavations and scientific investigations are continuing into the future. We’ll go behind the scenes with one of the collectors and curators to learn more about some of the discoveries and see some of the mammoth fossils. Kids will get to become Junior Paleontologists as we help dig for signs of prehistoric life.

Lunch: At a local venue with an outdoor covered patio.

Afternoon: Next, it’s Evans Plunge in Hot Springs where we’ll spend the afternoon enjoying the world’s largest indoor, natural warm spring, rejuvenating, mineral water pool. It’s fed by an enormous thermal spring producing 5,000 gallons per minute! Native Lakota and Cheyenne people knew these waters and used them for centuries before settlers arrived. In 1890, a man named Fred Evans built the first structure over what became known as Evans Plunge. It was soon famous as people came here to swim and soak in the crystal clear waters that stay at a temperature of 87°F. There are water slides, rings, and life guards are on duty. See the Evans Plunge website for pool rules: http://www.evansplunge.com/rules/ Swim and have fun!

Dinner: At the Lodge. Share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.

Evening: At leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning

Activity note: Hotel check-out 11:00 a.m.

Breakfast: At the Lodge. This concludes our program.

Morning: If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!