Old Governor's Mansion, Rapid City, South Dakota

Returning to Rapid City from Badlands National Park on Route 44, we noticed this sign and decided to investigate.

The Old Governor's Mansion was originally located in the state capital of Pierre. Built by the WPA in the 1930's, it served as the Governor's Mansion for over 60 years.

When a new mansion for the governor began construction in 2004, the former mansion was relocated and abandoned...that is, until found and purchased for a song (how about $1!) by Dr. Leon Brodie.

The problem was the house had to be moved. Relocating the house to a location on the outskirts of Rapid City was surely quite an expense. They even requested and got permission to transport the house through Badlands National Park!

In its new location, The Old Governor's Mansion operates as an event center holding family reunions, weddings and a regular Sunday brunch.

We happened across the Mansion about 5pm, a few hours after brunch had ended. Dr. Brodie's niece, Tammy Brody-Gusmano, manages the facility and prepares all the food herself. She surprised us by giving us a personal tour.

Thoughout the Mansion, memorabilia from its history is displayed.

Photos indicate that many of the furnishings and decor of the Mansion are as they were when the building was a functioning residence.

The Mansion can also be rented out as a bed and breakfast complete with four suites, including a Honeymoon Suite.

A 1985 poster shows the Mansion in its original location.

The spectacle of moving the building is quite a story in and of itself.

The location and surroundings of the building provide excellent photo opportunities for special occasions.

It's great to see the Old Governor's Mansion living on for all to enjoy.

For more information about South Dakota's Old Governor's Mansion, visit their website here .

For more of our pictures, click here pictures 124-147.

As we left the Old Governor's Mansion, we saw this.

As we drove down the drive to Hart Ranch, we spotted a huge family of deer.

To be continued...

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Today we visited Badlands National Park.

Don't take your newly washed car here.

The Badlands consist of 244,000 acres of geologic formations and mixed-grass prairie ecosystems.

X's mark the spots where tragedy has occurred. Don't be a statistic.

One of the finished roads in the park.

The geologic formations are layers of sand, silt and clay that have joined together to form sedimentary rocks.

They are many millions of years old.

Fossils from the Eocene and Oligocene epochs have been located here in the Badlands.

Some fossils can be viewed here daily.

As far as one can see, the formations are breathtaking.

The Badlands was established as a National Monument in 1939 and then became a National Park in 1978.

Several large prairie dog communities can be found in the park.

Some more views of the Badlands follow...

An alert eye and the help of other visitors will allow you to see more animals.

Have car will travel...

Have legs will walk...

Have butt will sit...

Follow the brown dirt road...follow the brown dirt road...

For more pictures, click here pictures 1-123.

To be continued...

Pedra Goes to the Vet

Today, we visited Noah's Ark Animal Hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Pedra has spent the last two days walking back and forth between two litter boxes trying to go to the bathroom.

She hopes she can find some relief soon. She will have an enema and then spend the night.

To be continued...

Center of the Nation, Belle Fourche, South Dakota

Down this dark old gravel highway, you will find the Center of the Nation.

This sign is located several miles northwest of Belle Fourche, South Dakota.

This spot became the Center of the Nation when Hawaii and Alaska were admitted to the United States in 1959.

Not much in the way of funding has been used to spruce up this remote location.

Heading back toward Belle Fourche...

The Tri State Museum, located in Belle Fourche, boasts the official "Center of the Nation" monument.

The monument lays flat on the ground and has a diameter of 21 feet. The disk in the middle represents the center of the 50 United States.

The center of the continental United States is located in Smith Center, Kansas.

According to this sign, the new center, as of 1959, is at Latitude 41 degrees 58 minutes North and Longitude 103 degrees 46 minutes West. Okay...

For more pictures, click here pictures 136-178.

To be continued...

Petrified Forest of the Black Hills & Sturgis, South Dakota

Our ultimate destination today was Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming.

Along the way, we detoured to The Petrified Forest of the Black Hills.

The tour is a self-guided walking tour through centuries-old trees.

Here are two old stumps. One weighs 9,000 pounds, while the other weighs 175 pounds. Can you guess which is which?

This log got broke.

Sitting on an old petrified log is not recommended for long periods of time.

This is the longest log in the forest. It also got broke.

This "Winter Wood Pile" contains over 900 pieces of petrified wood.

Next up was the location of the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Sturgis is extremely quiet in late April.

The infamous Full Throttle Saloon waits for this year's rally.

Tru TV films daily during the 9 day celebration when 70,000 bikers converge on the city.

For more pictures, click here pictures 1-41.

To be continued...