Flyover states? I don’t think so!
Flyover states? I don’t think so!
A bus tour across flyover country provides special view of Americana. Enjoy Mt. Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Monument, Devil's Tower, Badlands, and more.
The brochure describes the 11-day South Dakota tour as: “Today we depart on a journey reminiscent of the adventuresome spirit of the pioneering explorers Lewis and Clark, as we travel west to discover the untamed frontier of the ‘Mount Rushmore State,’ South Dakota. The major difference is we will travel aboard our deluxe motor coach and stay in comfortable first-class hotels.”
While this description of the “Faces of South Dakota” 11-day tour offered by Gunther Tours sounds interesting, I never would have considered going on a bus tour, let alone one through the Midwest… that is, until I saw my cousin’s photos and read his descriptions on Facebook.
Sometimes, photos on Facebook caught my attention.
Yes, my cousin Howard Smith, a retired Baltimore policeman, and his wife Anna recently returned from this June 29 to July 9 tour when he downloaded his 1700 photos and posted them on Facebook. While Howard would say he is just an amateur photographer, he is also both an excellent and a prize-winning one. Even when his shots were “drive-by shootings,” as they were taken through the window of the moving bus, those he posted showed the character and essence of where they were.
Howard noted that all but two of those on the tour were retired. Surprisingly these included five retired Baltimore Police, one of which was the driver. “We all worked different years and different districts or specialized units, but between the five of us, there were 122 years of experience,” Howard, on the right in the photo (above), said.
This tour of Americana touched every spot we had dreamt of visiting.
“These were all sites we wanted to see, but we never could have accomplished it driving on our own,” he added. “The hotels were all set up, almost every meal covered – we could just sit back and enjoy the scenery.”
And as Howard’s photos attest, they did. Their evening accommodations went from Maumee, Ohio, to West Des Moines, Iowa; to Sioux Falls, South Dakota; to Keystone, South Dakota, for a four-night stay at the K Bar S Lodge; back to Sioux Falls, South Dakota; to Dubuque, Iowa; and another night in Maumee, Ohio, before heading back to Baltimore with lots of attractions along the way.
Howard and Anna’s favorites were Custer State Park, with Mount Rushmore a close second.
As the tour description says, “Few truly wild places remain in this country, yet Custer State Park is one of them. The 71,000-acre park is home to a variety of wildlife and magnificent scenery.”
“Upon arriving at the park, we boarded stretched jeeps for six passengers, plus the driver as a tour guide. We hoped to see the wildlife, but it’s not a zoo, so there’s no guarantee that you will see anything,” explained Howard. “Our guide informed us that nothing was seen by their visitors the day before. Five minutes into the ride through the park, we spotted a few pronghorn antelope. Shortly after that, a large herd of buffalo was spotted, and they were on both sides of the road. We couldn't have asked for a better tour.”
And then came Mount Rushmore.
“I had been told by a few people that I would be disappointed seeing Mount Rushmore. They weren't impressed with it,” wrote Howard on Facebook. “SAY WHAT! To me, this was one of the biggest highlights of the trip—very, very impressive.”
Just looking at some of his close-ups of the individual presidents to “show the detailed work” had me agreeing with him. Since they were there on July 3rd, as an added highlight, individuals at the site dressed up as the presidents, too. Howard and Anna even took the time to listen to a speech by “Teddy Roosevelt.”
The group visited many other attractions in the area while staying four nights at the K Bar S Lodge.
These included Bear Country U.S.A., which, in addition to being “the home of the largest collection of privately owned black bears,” there was also a Babyland section with black bear cubs and young wolf pups to view.
They also got to see a country music show in Rapid City, South Dakota, the still-under-construction Crazy Horse Memorial, and in Wyoming, Devils Tower, a sacred site for the Native Americans but also known for being the backdrop in the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Both the Memorial and the Tower were very impressive, even though, for various logistical reasons, they couldn’t get really close to Devil’s Tower.
The Crazy Horse Memorial takes no money from the US government.
“The Crazy Horse Memorial, which was started 75 years ago, is another impressive work of man,” wrote Howard on Facebook. “This monument was started 75 years ago and takes absolutely nothing from the U.S. Government in its building. That is the reason that this monument may not even be finished in my children's lifetime. His face alone is larger than all of the Presidents on Mount Rushmore.” Howard also wrote that they no longer use dynamite to blast the rock away as they are afraid it would damage any supporting structure left. They are now using diamond rope saws.
“After leaving Devil's Tower, we headed to Deadwood,” noted Howard. “Scheduling is everything. Deadwood was another little town that I would have liked to have spent more time in. But Anna and I got a nice meal and watched one of the six gunfights they put on daily.”
The Badlands National Park added a notch to Howard’s national park belt…and the rest of the tour many more.
As the tour headed back East, it stopped at the Badlands National Park. “Another National Park under my belt,” said Howard, noting that the place was definitely a photographers delight. “Some of my shots had to be through the bus window,” he added, “but we stopped at one of the overlooks and once again at the visitors center. Too many steps for me to walk down to the edges of some of the overlooks, but I was still very happy with the shots I did get. I saw one deer and two bighorn sheep in the park.”
While we’ve only recounted some of the highlights, other stops on the tour included the Living History Farm, the Corn Palace, the Indian Museum of North America, the Native American Educational & Cultural Center, the Field of Dreams Movie Site, and the RV Museum (it was supposed to be the Studebaker National Museum, but it was too busy that day).
Flying over the middle of the U.S.A. misses much of our country’s beauty.
So now, even though where they traveled is often referred to as “flyover states,” I can’t help but think I am missing something, having flown over but not visited those sites.
“Believe me,” says Howard, “we really did have a great time and would recommend it to others.”
Karen Cummings
After several decades working in various jobs as a newspaper writer, event publicist, communications specialist, and marketing director, Karen Cummings is now “retired” and working on Travelers United’s social media and newsletters and contributing a travel-related article to TU’s blog. She lives close to her family in Fryeburg, Maine, and travels as often as she can.