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Home , Reptile Gardens, Rushmore Cave, The Mammoth Site

International Roundup Post FAM May 2-5, 2019 Legends, Memorials and Monuments of the

GUIDELINES:

Welcome to ! We are pleased that you will be exploring beautiful South Dakota following IRU in Spearfish, SD. Your rooms, meals and attractions will be hosted complimentary. Incidentals, such as phone calls, in-room movies, faxes, massages, etc. are your financial responsibility. We are looking forward to your visit to South Dakota!

Calley Worth – Global Travel & Trade Representative South Dakota Department of Tourism 711 E. Wells Ave. Pierre, SD 57501 Phone: 605-773-5969 E-mail: [email protected]

Thursday, May 2

* Please show attraction letter to state park attendant for complimentary entry and day pass into the park

Breakfast at Spearfish

8:00 A.M. Depart Spearfish Hotel

9:30 - 11:30 A.M. Contact: Mike Pflaum, Superintendent SD Hwy 240, PO Box 6, Interior, SD 57750 Phone: 605-433-5361 Website: www.nps.gov/badl

The hauntingly beautiful landscape of Badlands National Park arises mysteriously from the surrounding prairie. The Badlands are a geological wonder featuring a maze of buttes, canyons and gullies formed by millions of years of erosion. It is the only national park providing basic lodging in a beautiful setting.

12:00 – 1:30 P.M. Wall Drug Store- Lunch Contact: Rick Hustead 510 Main Street Wall, SD 57790 Phone: 605-279-2175 Website: www.walldrug.com

Getting its start with something as simple as free ice water, Wall Drug Store is now one of the world’s most well-known roadside stops! Visitors cannot help but stop at this attraction including a Frontier Town, 26 retail departments, and a restaurant with beautiful dining rooms that seat 520 guests. Wall Drug offers many specialties, including their 5 cent coffee and homemade donuts.

3:00 – 6:00 P.M. – Buffalo Jeep Safari and possible Highway 13329 US Hwy 16A Custer, SD 57730 Phone (605) 255-4515 Website: www.custerstatepark.info

There are few truly wild places left in this country. Custer State Park is one of them. Nearly 1,300 magnificent bison wander the park’s 71,000 acres, which they share with the swift pronghorn, shy elk, sure-footed mountain goats and a band of curious burros. Visitors often enjoy close encounters with these permanent residents along the 18-mile Wildlife Loop Road that winds around the southern edge of the park. Slender granite formations nicknamed the needles dominate the skyline, and grassy meadows fill the valleys. Amidst pure nature, you’re free to explore via trail rides, scenic drives, mountain bikes, paddle-boats, hay rides and safari tours. Five lodges in the park provide beautiful accommodations for a great night’s sleep.

6:30 P.M. Dinner at State Game Lodge

Overnight at Custer State Park

Friday, May 3

Breakfast at Custer State Park

7:45 A.M. Depart State Game Lodge for Hot Springs

8:30 – 10:15 A.M. 26611 US Highway 385, Hot Springs, SD 57747 Phone: 605-745-4600 Website: www.nps.gov/wica/

Over many years of exploration and mapping, Wind Cave has grown to be one of the world’s largest known caves. Currently over 142.75 miles of passages have been mapped making it the third longest cave in the U.S. and the sixth longest cave in the world. Wind Cave has few and , but many unusual formations and a variety of minerals are found in the cave. The cave is well known for its outstanding display of , an unusual cave formation composed of thin calcite fins resembling honeycombs. Along with this massive cave, Wind Cave National Park also features 28,295 acres of mixed-grass prairie, Ponderosa pine forest and wildlife. The park’s mixed-grass prairie is one of the few remaining and is home to native wildlife such as bison, elk, pronghorn, mule deer, and prairie dogs.

11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. Site of Hot Springs Contact: Bethany Cook 1800 SD Hwy 18 Bypass, Hot Springs, SD 57747 Phone: 605-745-6017 Email: [email protected] Website: www.mammothsite.com

Travel back to the time when Ice Age mammoth, camel, and giant short-faced bear roamed the Great Plains of North America. Imagine a sudden collapse of a 60 foot deep karst sinkhole. Bubbling from the bottom, a warm spring percolates through the layers of limestone, now creating a large steep-sided pond. Picture thirsty animals venturing down to the water below...then, after drinking, animals unable to gain a foothold to escape. - is the world’s largest mammoth research facility, where you can tour an active paleontological dig site and view Ice Age fossils exhibited as they are found.

12:00 – 1:00 P.M. Lunch with Hot Springs Chamber Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce Contact: Olivia Mears PO Box 342, 801 S. Sixth Street, Hot Springs, SD 57747 Phone: 605-745-4140 Email: [email protected] Website: www.hotsprings-sd.com

Hot Springs Boasts majestic sandstone buildings filled with shops, galleries, spas and restaurants. The community was named one of America’s Distinctive Destinations in 2009 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

2:00 – 3:00 P.M. Memorial Contact: Amanda Allcock 12141 Avenue of the Chiefs Custer, SD 57730 Phone: 605-673-4681 Website: www.crazyhorse.org Once complete, this memorial to Lakota leader Crazy Horse, and to all North American Indians, will be the largest mountain carving in the world. Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski began the project in 1948. Members of his family and their supporters are continuing his artistic intent to create a massive statue that will be 641 feet long and 563 feet high. Workers completed the 87 ½ foot-tall Crazy Horse face in 1998. In addition to the sculpture itself, seeks to provide educational and cultural programming to visitors about Native American people through the Indian of North America and the Native American Educational and Cultural Center.

4:00 – 6:00 P.M. Palmer Gulch 12620 S D Hwy 244 Hill City, SD 57745 Phone: 605-574-3412 Website: http://www.ridesouthdakota.com/

Leisurely (30 min) horse drawn covered wagon ride. The wagon train departs from the Lodge at 5:00 PM and travels into the Black Hills National Forest to a picturesque chuck wagon camp where guests are greeted by the entertainers, cooks and a beautiful view of Harney Peak. Our wagon drivers are very experienced teamsters with years of Draft Horse knowledge. A great cowboy music show featuring the baritone voice of Paul Larson ), with a dash of western humor and cowboy poetry from local rancher Donley Hewett.

Dinner in Keystone

Overnight in Keystone at Ramada Mt. Rushmore or Baymont Inn & Suites

Saturday, May 4

Breakfast at Hotel

8:00 – 10:15 A.M. Rush Mountain Adventure Park Contact: Tom Hagen 13622 Highway 40, Keystone, SD 57751 Phone: 605-255-4384 Email: [email protected] Website: www.RushmoreCave.com

Rush Mountain Adventure Park & set the standard for family adventure in the Black Hills with four thrilling attractions in one location. Carve the mountain on the all NEW one of a kind Rushmore Mountain Coaster! Offering an electrifying ride of up to 31 mph speeds on 3400 feet of track. You control the speed as you descend the mountainside on your eight minute journey! If you like roller coasters, you will love the Rushmore Mountain Coaster! Rushmore Mountain Adventure Park is currently home to Soaring Eagle Zipline Ride, Gunslinger 7-D Interactive Ride and the -filled Rushmore Cave – soon to be the first cave with WIFI!

10:30 – 11:45 A.M. National Memorial - Lunch Contact: Cheryl Schreier Lloyd 13000 Hwy 44, Bldg. 31, Keystone, SD 57751 Phone: 605-574-2523 Email: [email protected] Website: www.nps.gov/moru Mount Rushmore National Memorial is host to almost three million visitors a year from across the country and around the world. They come to marvel at the majestic beauty of the Black Hills of South Dakota and to learn about the birth, growth, development and the preservation of our country. Over the decades, Mount Rushmore has grown in fame as a symbol of America - a symbol of freedom and hope for people from all cultures and backgrounds

12:00 P.M. Depart for Rapid City

12:30 – 1:30 P.M. Contact: John Brockelsby, Director of Public Relations 8955 South US Highway 16 Rapid City, SD 57702 Phone: 605-342-5873 Email: [email protected] Website: www.reptilegardens.com/ Founded in 1937 by reptile loving patriarch, Earl Brockelsby, Reptile Gardens has grown to the largest reptile zoo in the world, housing more species of reptiles than any other zoo or wild animal park as officially declared by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2014. Since its beginning, Reptile Gardens has been a source of entertainment and family fun as well as an unforgettable learning experience for millions of visitors by providing them the rare opportunity to observe these exotic animals up close. Don’t miss touring the dome as well as the following shows!

1:40 – 3:00 P.M. Journey Museum Contact: Troy Kilpatrick 222 New York Street, Rapid City, SD 57701 Phone: 605-394-6923 Email: [email protected] Website: www.journeymuseum.org

Take 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.

3:15 – 4:00 P.M. Tour Downtown with Visit Rapid City Contact: Lindsey Beasley 512 Main Street, Ste #240, Rapid City, SD 57701 Phone: 605-718-8481 Email: [email protected] Website: www.visitrapidcity.com Situated at the gateway to the Black Hills, Rapid City started as a hay camp during the gold rush. Today it is the state’s second largest city. The Rapid City Tour and Historic Districts features many free attractions throughout the community. One-of-a-kind shops and galleries, elegant to eclectic eateries and pubs, presidential statues and turn-of-the-century buildings. These all describe historic downtown Rapid City. The city serves as the medical, transportation, education and entertainment hub for the Black Hills. Whatever the season, there is plenty to do in Rapid City.

4:00 – 5:00 P.M. Wine Tasting at Fire House Wine Cellars 610 Main St. Rapid City, SD 57701 Phone: 605-348-1915 Website: http://www.firehousebrewing.com

Firehouse Brewing Co. has been crafting beer in Downtown Rapid City for 25 years and is the oldest operating brewery in the state of South Dakota. This award winning brew pub offers a wide variety of styles; from hearty stouts to crisp refreshing ciders and light ales the rotating beer menu has something for everyone.

Housed within the city's original fire station, a structure built in 1915, the building is listed on the National Historic Register. The bar is adorned with authentic firefighting items from the days of Rapid City's first brigades - including the original fire pole, ladders, helmets, patches, photographs and more. Sit inside or under the heated outdoor patio with beautiful views of downtown Rapid City and live music during summer months.

5:15 P.M. Dinner at Firehouse Brewing Co.

Overnight in Rapid City – Holiday Inn – Rushmore Plaza Hotel

Sunday, May 5

Breakfast at Hotel

Flights out of Rapid City