Visiting Mt. Rushmore and South Dakota Was A Great Experience

On Picks Central, we have been talking about Pick6, which is a new DraftKings app that allows you to compete against other people by choosing greater than/less than in different player props. They thought it would be fun to send each of us on the show individually to a different state each week. We all drew from a hat and I got the last pick so I got "stuck" with South Dakota.

I've always wanted to see Mt. Rushmore so I wasn't upset at all that I got to go to a state I've never been. It ended up being a really great time. I honestly think that even though I picked last, I "won" the best trip. 

Before I get into Mt. Rushmore, I have to talk about how wonderful Rapid City is. This is the city that you fly into if you are going to Mt. Rushmore. It's about 30-40 minutes away. It's a perfect little city. 

I asked a couple weeks earlier what the best hotel/restaurants and I got about a dozen great recommendations from people like The Alex Johnson Hotel and Tally's Restaurant (both were far better than I could have imagined). I loved this town. Very walkable and the people couldn't be nicer. Big Ev went to North Dakota the week before and said it best when he stated that the people here had kindness that felt authentic. It wasn't forced at all.

I went on this trip with Meek Phil and he was a great travel companion. He trolled people (including me) far less than he normally does. He was also in a great mood for the rest of the trip after the Knicks won on Wednesday night. I think Meek liked South Dakota more than North Dakota (which he visited with Ev the week earlier).

Getting to Mt. Rushmore isn't very hard. You do have to pay $10 for parking but other than that, because it's a National Park, it's free to enter. You walk in and every state has a flag on both sides (you can see that in the picture above) Once you walk past the flags, you get a great view of Mt. Rushmore. It's simple yet kind of perfect. There is a gift shop and book store as well as an ice cream place but people are there see Mt. Rushmore. 

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I did forget to mention a couple facts like they did consider Susan B. Anthony to be on Mt. Rushmore initially and there likely will never be a fifth face. Both the sculptor's son (who finished the job after his dad passed away) and an engineering firm said it could jeopardize the rest of the sculpture to have an additional person up there.

Would I insist people check this out? I think it depends on the circumstances. If you are doing a cross-country trip, Mt. Rushmore and Rapid City absolutely have to be seen. I hope to go on a trip like that in the next few years so I know I'll be back to Rapid City. Should people fly out specifically to see Mt. Rushmore? That's a different question. If you're on the East Coast, you can't find many direct flights so you'll have a layover. It ended up being about 6-7 hours each way. That's a lot of time in the air.

For me, it was perfect. It might sound crazy but knowing what I know now if I had only one full day to spend in any location, I would have chosen South Dakota with the first pick. I got to see something I've always wanted to see and stay in a perfect city.