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South Dakota: stone faces and the Badlands
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South Dakota packs a rare density of wonders into the Black Hills in the west. Here the giant faces of four American presidents are carved into the granite of Mount Rushmore, and the still-unfinished Crazy Horse Memorial rises in tribute to the great Lakota leader. Nearby, Badlands National Park unfolds a labyrinth of pinnacles, buttes and canyons shaped over 75 million years, while Custer State Park is home to more than 1,300 free-roaming bison. Underground, Wind Cave was the first cave system designated a national park. To the north, Deadwood revives the gold rush and the spirit of the Wild West. Between grand nature, Native American history and pioneer legend, South Dakota is one of the finest distillations of the American West.
Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959) climaxes on Mount Rushmore, but the state barred filming, so the scene was shot on a Hollywood model.
Korczak Ziolkowski, sculptor of the Crazy Horse Memorial, worked just 19 days on Rushmore before an argument led him to start his own monument.
Pair Rushmore with nearby Badlands National Park: its colorful ridges and sudden elevation changes catch nearly every visitor off guard.
The Black Hills are at their best in early June and late September: mild temperatures around 25 C, lower prices and thinner crowds. Avoid the first two weeks of August, when the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally draws nearly 500,000 people and fills lodging. A car is essential; Rapid City airport is the main gateway, about an hour from Deadwood. Bring good walking shoes and water for the trails. As for connectivity, mobile network coverage is strong in Rapid City and the Black Hills towns, but can weaken in the Badlands, canyons and remote corners of the parks.