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Planning for Mount Rushmore’s Fireworks Show
This whole Fourth-of-July thing has taken me a little by surprise. It's barely even June, isn't it? Wait, the 27th? Blast. Where's the summer gone? I haven't been playing outside nearly enough. If you haven't made plans yet, you've still got a week to get your act together. If you're struggling for idea, think about Mount Rushmore's Independence Day celebration, which kicks off next Thursday. I did a little research and found surprisingly little about the festivities. Even the National Park Service site, which set up a special area for Independence Day activities, barely even acknowledged that Rushmore's doing anything special for the Fourth. Strange, considering they've got pictures of Rushmore plastered everywhere.
Travel down but not out for July 4
The bad news: AAA predicts Americans will travel less this year for the Fourth of July holiday. With gas prices at $4, who can blame them? The good news: AAA says the drop will be just 1.3 percent, not bad under the circumstances. “While the numbers of travelers are a bit off from last year’s levels, it is important to note that there are still millions of Americans who plan to travel,” said Mark Madeja, spokesman for AAA South Dakota.
Segways hit the Hills The other day I was taking a lunchtime stroll with my buddy Frankie (a little black pug who is our office dog) in Deadwood when we met a group of Segway riders zipping down the sidewalk on Sherman Street. Even Frank, not easily impressed, stopped and stared. At first glance, a Segway seems an improbable form of transport. Riders seem to defy gravity as they stand on the platform between two large wheels. There's a handlebar, which stands just above waist-high. The riders were patrons of Rushmore Segway, a new tour business in Deadwood and Hill City. For $35 to $45, you can take a 90-minute guided Segway tour through town.
State to show off new Roughlock Falls
Roughlock Falls is an idylic spot in Little Spearfish Canyon. It's just up from Savoy, also known as the Latchstring Restaurant. It has a great little picnic area, and on a hot day there is no better place to go wading. There was always lots of kids and dogs and grownups splashing around under the falls on Sunday afternoons. For years, Roughlock Falls and the surrounding property was the property of Homestake Mining Co. But in 2006, the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department bought the property. Last fall, the state began $500,000 in rehabilitation work. Now, the GFP is ready to show off the improvements at the Roughlock Falls Nature Area, as it is now called. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house is scheduled for Sunday, July 13, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jeff Vonk, GFP secretary, will be the keynote speaker.
Live Chat Launches on BlackHillsVacations.com
More than a few people have looked at the popularity of chatting, texting and instant messaging and prophesied the downfall of civilization. "No one will know how to talk to each other anymore!" "We're raising a generation of kids with no social skills!" "Darn kids, get off my lawn!" I agree. Not only do the neighbor kids play on my lawn (darn kids), but I think we lose a little something by firing up the instant messanger instead of picking up the phone. Not that I'm going to do anything about it. If anything, I'm texting on my phone and using IM more than I ever have before. Chatting on the computer is easier, cheaper, and a lot less threatening than having to make a call. That's exactly why a lot of service-based websites have launched live chat. Black Hills Central Reservations is the latest to jump on the chat bandwagon, having launched instant messanging on www.blackhillsvacations.com about... oh, two minutes ago.
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