Tourism is big business, and I guess it is not too early for people to be making summer vacation plans. I can see states advertising their attarctions…California and Florida…it’s pretty obvious why you might want to visit those places. But SOUTH DAKOTA?? I mean,outside of Mt. Rushmore, what the hell is there to seeon the place?
Anyway, the jingleis pretty catchy…
Now, let’s see some cool ads forplaces like:
-NORTH Dakota (is there ANYTHING there-outside of lawrence Welk’s boyhood home?)
-Nebraska: anyone for breathtaking views of cornfields?
-IOWA (see above)
So, anybody planning on visiting South Dakota?
We camped in South Dakota about 10 years ago - best vacation ever! The Badlands were stunning, the prairie dogs adorable; we visited a dinosaur fossil dig (tourist trap) that was still somewhat unusual; and saw a whole bunch of bison. At one point we were in our car in the middle of a herd of bison, probably were someplace we shouldn’t have been, but we were mellow about it and they didn’t get riled. So we opened the sunroof and stood up to look out. Hubby said it was like being in a pot of boiling water.
Another cool thing was that, since people aren’t packed in elbow to elbow, the few times we did interact with fellow tourists they were awesome.
Just go in early June, and buy lots of ice.
South Dakota - top industry - agriculture, second - tourism.
Please be nice to us when you visit. We have an whole bunch of space and not much in it. We have made millions of dollars on suckerin’ tourists - please visit Wall Drugg - free ice water.
That being said - we have no income tax, or death tax. Republicans rule the roost, except in the US Senate. We want your money. We will put it into our mattresses and use it after the revolution.
Did I mention we want your money?
There is a lot of open space, especially west of the Missouri River. Civilization is widely spaced. Sometimes the scenery is incredible, however, the scenery is wide open spaces.
Please come visit us, we want your money.
Laugh all you want, but I defy anyone not to be moved…choked up…at the site of Mt. Rushmore. For starters, it’s so fucking big that it’s incomprehensible that human beings carved it. I’m talking BIG. Way bigger than you think it is.
Second, the landscape is beautiful.
It’s pretty mutherin’ hot in the summertime, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Wall Drug sucks. I was pretty young when I went, and I was expecting more. Duh. It sucks. The big one. In hell.
And don’t forget incredibly cold in the winter.
Come in May, that is when our one nice day is scheduled.
And by the way, leave your money.
Why, you could write Tourist Bureau brochures.
I visited Mt Rushmore (somewhat coerced to do so) on a cross-country trip, and was very pleasantly surprised. It’s well worth the detour if you’re in the area-- you can decide if it’s worth the trip in and of itself.
If you’re interested in Native American history, the Black Hills (Paha Sapa) are a great place to explore.
Thumbs up from me!
This has been kicked around the email in SD since 2001.
Issued by the South Dakota Tourism Bureau to ALL visitors:
- Don’t order filet mignon or pasta primavera at Al’s Oasis. It’s a diner. They serve breakfast 24 hours a day. Let them cook something they know. If you upset the ladies in the kitchen they’ll kick your ass.
- Don’t laugh at the names of our little towns (Wall, Murdo, etc.) or we will just have to kick your ass.
- Don’t order a bottle or a can of soda here. Here it’s called Pop. Accept it. Doing otherwise can lead to an ass kicking.
- We know our heritage. Most of us are more literate than you. We are also better educated and generally a lot nicer. Don’t refer to us as a bunch of hicks or we’ll kick your ass.
- We have plenty of business sense. You have to to make a living here. Naturally, we do sometimes have small lapses in judgment from time to time, but we are not dumb enough to let someone move to our state in order to run for the Senate. If someone tried to do that, we would kick her ass.
- Don’t laugh at our giant fiberglass cows and our turtles made out of car parts. Anything that inspires tourists to buy 50,000 postcards can’t be bad. And in Rapid City don’t point at the genitalia on the giant plastic dinosaur or we’ll kick your ass.
- We are fully aware of how cold it gets here in the winter, so shut the hell up. Just spend your money and get the hell out of here or we’ll kick your ass.
- Don’t order the vegetarian special at the local diner. Everyone will instantly know that you’re a tourist. Eat your steak well-done like God intended and have some potatoes with that, for heaven’s sake! Also, don’t ask what a hot dish is or we’ll kick your ass.
- Don’t try to fake a Dakota accent. We don’t have an accent. Do NOT mention the movie “Fargo” because that WASN’T us. That will incite a riot and you will get your ass kicked.
- Don’t talk about how much better things are at home because we know better. Many of us have visited big-city hell-holes like Detroit, New York, and Minneapolis, and we have the scars to prove it. If you don’t like it here, Interstate 90 is ready when you are. Move your ass on home before it gets kicked.
- Don’t complain that South Dakota is flat and that there aren’t enough trees. If you whine about OUR scenic beauty we’ll kick your ass all the way back to Milwaukee.
- Don’t ridicule our mannerisms. We only speak when spoken to. We hold doors open for others. We offer our seats to old folks because such things are expected of civilized people. Behave yourselves around our sweet, little grey-haired grandmothers or they will kick some manners into your ass just like they did ours.
- So you think we’re quaint or losers because most of us live on the prairie? That’s because we have enough sense to not live in filthy, smelly, crime-infested cesspools like New York or LA. Make fun of our fresh air and we’ll kick your ass.
- Writing it “Sue Falls” is NOT a joke. Your ass will be kicked.
- Last, but not least, DO NOT DARE to come out here and tell us how the prairie should “go back to the buffalo.” This will get your ass shot (right after it is kicked). Just mention this once and you will go home in a pine box. Minus your ass.
Now enjoy your visit and then go home.
I suppose it all depends on what you like to do on vacation! If you’re a “road trip” kind of person, or someone who enjoys visiting National Parks, SD is a great place. The Black Hills is more than just mountain carvings. Custer State Park is a highlight. “Wall Drug sucks?” I beg to differ–it’s a required stop if you’ve never been. Sure, there are more tourists than you can shake a stick at in summer–but you can just as easily find a trail and find some solitude.
I’m from San Diego, and love travelling in California, and I spent a month driving around in Florida, but I’ve gotta say that I had a blast in my two weeks in South Dakota.
South Dakota is a fantastic state to visit. And I’ve been to all 50, so I dare say I can make valid comparisons.
In the Black Hills area ALONE, there’s Mount Rushmore (duh), the Needles in Custer State Park, Flintstones Bedrock City, the Black Hills Reptile Gardens and Black Hills Caverns. East of that is gorgeous Badlands National Park, and further east you can check out the Shrine to Music Museum in Vermillion.
Don’t dis the SD!
the corn palace is a must see!
I can’t believe no one has mentioned the Crazy Horse Monument. See Mt. Rushmore first because it won’t impress you after you’ve seen Crazy Horse.
As for reasons to be in S.Dakota, if you’re making a cross-country trip, you got to get through the middle somehow, and S.D. is definitely preferable to the brain-death-inducing expanses of Kansas or West Texas.
I was going to mention it, but I didn’t because I thought it wasn’t finished. Is it done yet?
nope, not yet. it is looking rather good though.
Labor, That was originaly a North Dakota joke. Note the “Fargo” ref. Some lame-o just subbed S.Dak names and such in for our vastly superior N.Dak ones.
Sad really.
Mac Guffin Very sad actually.
One of my colleagues in ND refers to us as the Flintstones state. At first I was offended, then I realized he was right.
During the SD centenial (1989?, geeez who cares) someone wrote a new state song. The usual smarmy, maudlin crap that tends to coalasce for such events. A local group that sang it ad nauseum that summer changed the words to “open spaces, blank faces, forty years behind.”
I like it here though. Open spaces mean that I can avoid crowds and trends. Minneapolis is only 4 hours away be car. Cost of living is cheap. Crime is minimal. Due to the weather living can be an adventure (-20 in winter, 90 in summer, snow, wind, rain, thunder, lightning, tornados, humidity).