Peter Norbeck Visitor Center
Peter Norbeck visitor center, Custer State Park South Dakota
Top 16. Tourist Attractions & Things to Do in Custer, South Dakota
Top 16. Tourist Attractions & Things to Do in Custer, South Dakota: Custer State Park, Wildlife Loop Road, Needles Eye, Sylvan Lake, Iron Mountain Road, Black Hills National Forest, Jewel Cave National Monument, Cathedral Spires Hiking Trail, Peter Norbeck Visitors Center, Legion Lake, Sunday Gulch Trail, Little Devil's Tower Trail, Custer County 1881 Court House Museum, Stockade Lake, Four Mile Old West Town, National Museum of Wood Carving
20121010; Custer State Park & Hwy 87
(Edited/updated version)
10 October 2012: Included in this video is a quick tour of Custer State Park, including the Wildlife Loop where the buffalo roam, the Peter Norbeck Visitor Center, and the State Game Lodge...home of both Presidents Coolidge and Eisenhower's Summer White House. Rounding off this video is a tour of the Needles Highway, SD State Hwy 87, a very scenic ride with views of magnificent granite spires.
To view a short, 5-minute, slideshow of this tour, check the YouTube link at:
DETAILED DESCRIPTION:
Custer State Park & The Needles Highway (87); The Movie
10 October, 2012
(To View The Slideshow, Go To:
On the 10th of October, 2012, we headed for Custer State Park to view the herd of approximately 1,500 Buffalo and other game to be found in the Park. The tour starts out at the State Park Office where we were seeking directions to the Buffalo herd, and where we found out we had to purchase a State Parks Pass to visit the Park. After obtaining the pass and directions, we headed on down the road towards the Coolidge General Store and Gift Shop, where items were on sale at a 40% discount due to the lateness of the tourist season. A short rest for us and the two dogs, along with the purchase of a pair of windbreakers, was followed by a visit to the picnic area bounded on one side by a bubbling stream.
We then headed towards the Peter Norbeck Visitor Center to view the collection of stuffed animals and various gift items, and to converse with the attendant about the weather. This center, along with various other buildings around the park, were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC).
After leaving the Center, we headed towards the State Game Lodge, a combination restaurant and hotel. This lodge was at one time the Winter White House for both Presidents Coolidge (1927) and Eisenhower (1953). After having the buffet lunch and an order off the menu, we headed for the Wildlife Loop Road.
Experiencing a bit of a drive we finally arrived at the current Buffalo herd's location. These animals are simply magnificent to watch...even though there wasn't a lot of movement within the herd...I think it was nap time.
We headed on towards Highway 87, the Needles Scenic Highway, and experienced a rather interesting ride along a narrow road along hairpin curves and through three tunnels carved out of the rocks stretching across the road. We observed as a rather large RV made it through one of the tunnels, wondering if he'd left any parts behind!
Along the way we encountered a deer attempting to cross the road which caused me to jump on the breaks as quickly as possible to avoid hitting it. This resulted in our two dogs, in their crates, experiencing a ride towards the front seat of the car. Exciting ride for them as well.
We eventually ended up at Sylvan Lake, the site of another resort and general store. This was our last stop prior to heading on out towards Hill City, SD and our campground.
20121010; Touring Custer State Park, South Dakota; Slideshow
10 Oct 2012: Touring Custer State Park, The SlideShow
To view the 15-minute HD video version, go to YouTube link:
We left our campground located near Hill City, SD heading towards Custer, SD...a 12 mile drive along US Hwy 16. We then traveled along US Hwy 16A until we arrived at a Custer State Park office, where we purchased a South Dakota State Parks Pass. A daily park license fee is $4.00/person $6.00/vehicle.
We continued along 16A to the Peter Norbeck Visitor Center where our slideshow begins. Our next stop was at the State Game Lodge where we ate lunch. This lodge was built in 1920-21, two years after Custer State Park was established. This lodge also became the Summer White House for both President Coolidge in 1927, and President Eisenhower in 1953. We then traveled to the Wildlife Loop Road, which bordered buffalo herds, a prairie dog town, and on through the Blue Bell area. Thinking back to the days prior to the arrival of Europeans en masse to this area, there were hundreds of thousands of bison present. These herds, and many like this one across the country, are all that are left. This herd consists of approximately 1,500 bison. There are approximately only 250,000 bison left in America today.
We exited this trail and headed towards South Dakota Hwy 87 known as the Needles Highway Scenic Drive which would take us through magnificent granite spires and narrow tunnels which will long be remembered. We were barely able to squeeze through the tunnels...watched as several RVs came towards the tunnel as we came out...don't know if they exited the other side with their roof mounted equipment or rear-view mirrors still intact! Watch for the video on YouTube of these events. We eventually arrived at Sylvan Lake Lodge near the end of our travels along Hwy 87.
Sylvan Lake Lodge was the site of a hotel opened in July of 1895 near a dam built across Sunday Gulch to what was originally called Custer Lake. The lake was renamed Sylvan Lake and became a part of Custer State Park in 1921. The original hotel burned down in 1935, with a new hotel being opened in 1937. In 1991 an additional 12 rooms were added to the hotel. Sylvan Lake is designated as the Crown Jewel of the Black Hills.
Mount Rushmore
A video from Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Also included is some pictures from the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway.
Loversleap
The top of Lovers Leap trail in Custer State Park, my wifes birthday, Im a lucky guy...
Mount Rushmore National Memorial - FULL VIDEO TOUR (Keystone, SD)
There isn't a while lot to do in South Dakota! Everything is kinda crammed into the bottom west corner, however, once you're in that bottom corner, there is a lot to see and do, including: Mount Rushmore, Wall Drug and Crazy Horse! The car park to the memorial is private, so they charge for this. We found free parking 0.5 miles away and had a nice stroll into the memorial area. There is also a mini loop which takes you closer to the memorial (inside the park). In the evening they run a free light show which is worth checking out!
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore, a granite batholith formation in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota, United States. Sculpted by Danish-American Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum, Mount Rushmore features 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (2.00 sq mi; 5.17 km2)[3] and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.
South Dakota historian Doane Robinson is credited with conceiving the idea of carving the likenesses of famous people into the Black Hills region of South Dakota in order to promote tourism in the region. Robinson's initial idea was to sculpt the Needles; however, Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles site because of the poor quality of the granite and strong opposition from Native American groups. They settled on the Mount Rushmore location, which also has the advantage of facing southeast for maximum sun exposure. Robinson wanted it to feature western heroes like Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud, and Buffalo Bill Cody, but Borglum decided the sculpture should have a more national focus and chose the four presidents whose likenesses would be carved into the mountain. After securing federal funding through the enthusiastic sponsorship of Mount Rushmore's great political patron, U.S. Senator Peter Norbeck, construction on the memorial began in 1927, and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Upon Gutzon Borglum's death in March 1941, his son Lincoln Borglum took over construction. Although the initial concept called for each president to be depicted from head to waist, lack of funding forced construction to end in late October 1941.
Mount Rushmore has become an iconic symbol of the United States, and has appeared in works of fiction, and has been discussed or depicted in other popular works. It attracts over two million people annually.[1]
Video Title: Mount Rushmore National Memorial - FULL VIDEO TOUR (Keystone, SD)
Video File Created Date: 21 August 2016 (Video may or may not have been captured on this date, it shows the date the video was last converted.)
-- Video Uploaded and Managed using YouTube Bulk Uploader for the Lazy!
-- Manage and Auto-Tag your YouTube videos offline... Then upload!
--
-- GinkoSolutions.com
Badlands SD. OFOPOS Gathering 2008
Snowdog and Janet, Donna and Myself
Rode the Badlands of South Dakota
OFOPOS Gathering in 2008
Custer State Park - Harney Peak - the top
June 2006 - at the top of the mountain.
South Dakota Badlands 1880 Town Anderson Law Harrington Markley McGinnis
Our trip to South Dakota to meet with Bill Markley resident historian & actor, traveling Author Steven Anderson Law, professional photographer Ron McGinnis and myself Brian Harrington, Two full days crammed with sight seeing touring of 1880 Town, Famous Wall Drug, narration by our own Bill Markley resident Pierre SD, Scott KEY our Historian and curator museum restoration 1880 TOWN
Buffalo at Custer State Park (South Dakota)
Buffalo at Custer State Park (South Dakota)
South Dakota | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
South Dakota
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
South Dakota ( (listen)) is a U.S. state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who compose a large portion of the population and historically dominated the territory. South Dakota is the seventeenth largest by area, but the fifth smallest by population and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. As the southern part of the former Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889, simultaneously with North Dakota. Pierre is the state capital and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 183,200, is South Dakota's largest city.
South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota (to the north), Minnesota (to the east), Iowa (to the southeast), Nebraska (to the south), Wyoming (to the west), and Montana (to the northwest). The state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as East River and West River.Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the state's population, and the area's fertile soil is used to grow a variety of crops. West of the Missouri, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. Most of the Native American reservations are in West River. The Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, are in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is there. South Dakota has a temperate continental climate, with four distinct seasons and precipitation ranging from moderate in the east to semi-arid in the west. The state's ecology features species typical of a North American grassland biome.
Humans have inhabited the area for several millennia, with the Sioux becoming dominant by the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, European-American settlement intensified after a gold rush in the Black Hills and the construction of railroads from the east. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of Indian wars, ending with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Key events in the 20th century included the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, increased federal spending during the 1940s and 1950s for agriculture and defense, and an industrialization of agriculture that has reduced family farming.
While several Democratic senators have represented South Dakota for multiple terms at the federal level, the state government is largely controlled by the Republican Party, whose nominees have carried South Dakota in each of the last 13 presidential elections. Historically dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has recently sought to diversify its economy in areas to attract and retain residents. South Dakota's history and rural character still strongly influence the state's culture.
The Iron Mountain Road
Have you ever traveled along the Iron Mountain Road? The scenic route offers spectacular views of Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills. Learn about the history of the road and the people who made it possible.
Watch with audio description:
Mount Rushmore National Memorial | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
00:02:06 1 History
00:09:24 2 Ecology
00:11:53 3 Geography
00:12:02 3.1 Geology
00:13:55 3.2 Soils
00:14:14 3.3 Climate
00:14:49 4 Tourism
00:15:27 5 Conservation
00:16:25 6 Controversy
00:17:49 7 In popular culture
00:18:42 8 Legacy and commemoration
00:19:13 9 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is centered around a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the sculpture's design and oversaw the project's execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son Lincoln Borglum. The sculptures feature the 60-foot (18 m) heads of Presidents George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The memorial park covers 1,278.45 acres (2.00 sq mi; 5.17 km2) and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.South Dakota historian Doane Robinson is credited with conceiving the idea of carving the likenesses of famous people into the Black Hills region of South Dakota in order to promote tourism in the region. His initial idea was to sculpt the Needles; however, Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles because of the poor quality of the granite and strong opposition from American Indian groups. They settled on Mount Rushmore, which also has the advantage of facing southeast for maximum sun exposure. Robinson wanted it to feature American West heroes such as Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud, and Buffalo Bill Cody, but Borglum decided that the sculpture should have broader appeal and chose the four presidents.
Senator Peter Norbeck sponsored the project and secured federal funding; construction began in 1927, and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Gutzon Borglum died in March 1941, and his son Lincoln took over as leader of the construction project. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end on October 31, 1941.Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually.
Mount Rushmore | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Mount Rushmore
00:02:05 1 History
00:09:22 2 Ecology
00:11:50 3 Geography
00:11:59 3.1 Geology
00:13:52 3.2 Soils
00:14:11 3.3 Climate
00:14:46 4 Tourism
00:15:24 5 Conservation
00:16:22 6 Controversy
00:17:45 7 In popular culture
00:18:38 8 Legacy and commemoration
00:19:08 9 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is centered around a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the sculpture's design and oversaw the project's execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son Lincoln Borglum. The sculptures feature the 60-foot (18 m) heads of Presidents George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The memorial park covers 1,278.45 acres (2.00 sq mi; 5.17 km2) and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.South Dakota historian Doane Robinson is credited with conceiving the idea of carving the likenesses of famous people into the Black Hills region of South Dakota in order to promote tourism in the region. His initial idea was to sculpt the Needles; however, Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles because of the poor quality of the granite and strong opposition from American Indian groups. They settled on Mount Rushmore, which also has the advantage of facing southeast for maximum sun exposure. Robinson wanted it to feature American West heroes such as Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud, and Buffalo Bill Cody, but Borglum decided that the sculpture should have broader appeal and chose the four presidents.
Senator Peter Norbeck sponsored the project and secured federal funding; construction began in 1927, and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Gutzon Borglum died in March 1941, and his son Lincoln took over as leader of the construction project. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end on October 31, 1941.Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually.