Read our South Dakota guides: adventuresofaplusk.com/blog/category/south-dakota Check out South Dakota Tourism’s website to plan your own trip: bit.ly/southdakota-aplusk See the rest of our South Dakota trip: ru-vid.com/group/PLZKRTK1yCEM6Wn30wCYRfOJbPtjOh5p_v Safety is our #1 priority and we want to stress that this adventure, and all future adventures, will be done responsibly and with the health of others in mind. Here are the steps we are taking everyday, including in these videos: 😷Masks and face coverings. We wear these anytime we are near others outside and especially indoors. If we don’t have a mask on in a video, it’s 99% because there was no one around. ⏰ Exploring early. We normally start at sunrise anyway because of less crowds, but especially so with COVID. We have been starting our days before sunlight so we can limit our interactions. 🧼 Washing and sanitizing our hands, especially after touching anything outside of the van. 🚐 Being in the van 95% of the time when we’re not filming. The adventures we share are a small sliver of our lives. We are staying in the van all day everyday when working and the only time we leave is to do laundry, get gas, or go to the store. 6️⃣ Keeping our distance. We are trying to stay at least 6 ft from others, which truthfully isn’t always possible (and then we make sure we cover our face).
@@AdventuresofAplusK Thank you. My son is 37 but hasn't been able to see out west. We have been to Florida many times and Hilton Head Island, NC a couple of times. I will find a way to have to take a road trip over that way some time soon.
Just got back home from SD. Me and my wife did everything you guys did and it was a blast! Bear county was awesome! We also went to old MacDonald farm it's was down the road from Bear county, very fun petting zoo! Thanks for all the recommendations it was a great time thanks to your videos. Thanks again and keep having great adventures. Great thanks from your fans in Montana.
Love to see other people enjoy all that the Black Hills has to offer as much as I do. By far, it is my favorite place to go. There is much more to see and do than most people realize. Deadwood especially.
I love how you guys capture the beautiful part of South Dakota. This is a great video of what you can do or see in South Dakota beautiful. Very spot on what I like to see in my Beautiful State of South Dakota. Thank You Guys for visiting and telling us about where you went and ate. I will definitely check out your channel for more vacation ideas.🤗🤗🤗❤❤
The Bison have the right a way and they know it. The burros were very friendly and come right up to you. They love Harley Davidson motorcycles. We had a great time in Custer State Park. Nice video. 👍👍🇺🇸
Anyone taking the trip to South Dakota, take the extra few hour trip up to North Dakota to Theodore Rosevelt National Park. The parks are filled with wildlife and beautiful views. The South Unit of the park has Ferrell horses, and the North Park is known for their long horn. =)
South Dakota is a beautiful state. We were there this past September and it snowed and was very cold! But I saw some of the most beautiful sceneries in the country. Thanks for sharing!
I have some videos of an elk and some bears at the Bear Country with snow on the ground. I still have to put my videos together so I can upload it here in RU-vid! 😀😀😀
I watched in awe...My husband and I did the same exact trip last week! All the same places. We are now in Glacier National Park. Have a fun rest of your trip
I have the feeling these two took the Presidential Trail counterclockwise. I recommend you go clockwise keeping the studio for last. Do this and most of those steps will be downhill. I'd like to add, it is possible to drive the Wildlife Loop Road and hardly see a thing. Most of the time you will see a lot, but it is possible. Custer Park operates Jeep Buffalo Rides that will take you to where they are and off road. If you were unlucky, move up to the Jeep Tour. The park keep's a track of where they are and their jeeps can go where they are regardless of the roads. These operate from the State Game Lodge.
This was a fun video and chronicle of this day’s adventures. I know Mt. Rushmore has controversy but it is still a pretty incredible site to witness and marvel at the effort it took to construct. Loved seeing your reactions to it as my family had similar reactions when they saw the monument for the first time. Crazy. I cannot believe you didn’t see the begging burros. I have been to Custer 3 or 4 times and have always seen them on the Wildlife Loop. All the more reason to return. If you do return, do not overlook Jewel Cave. Wind Cave was neat with the boxwork formations but everyone in my family enjoyed Jewel Cave more. I am not sure if they have changed tour ticket process but we had to get in line at the ticket booth at least an hour or so before they opened. Tickets go fast during the summer. They sell out for the day probably late morning. Finally, I can’t believe I missed that burger place. It looked awesome! I remember going to the Purple Pie Place in Custer. I recall it being decent. Fun building though.
Yeah the controversy and how much it has hurt native Americans is really hard for us to swallow and to be honest, we have learned a lot more since this visit. So it’s conflicting! But how they were able to sculpt this is also impressive. And I don’t know how we got so unlucky lol!
Great video,enjoyed the Mount Rushmore segment.We went a few years ago and were amazed at the size and the skills that the workers must have had.Thanks
We are just back from a trip to South Dakota and your tips were spot on! Get to Mt. Rushmore early--we did not make it for sunrise but did arrive at 6am. No crowds and then hit the Presidential Trail and it was so peaceful. Over on the Wildlife Loop, we stopped at the Visitor's Center to find out where the buffalo might be found. And, yes, after some driving we turned a corner and there they were. THANK YOU!!!
We're so glad to hear you had such a great trip! That makes our day to hear that we could help in anyway! The getting up and getting started early trick pays off 99% of the time! Thanks, Andrea!
You guys without a doubt are the best on RU-vid!! Enjoy all of your vlogs. Those burgers sure looked good, you can''t beat buffalo for taste. As always stay well and safe.
Definitely going to need to get more buffalo burgers in the future, it was sooo good! Although, it’s probably even better being in buffalo country! And thank you so much for the kind words ❤️❤️
Thanks for sharing this. The early admission helped. On a road trip from Houston and scheduled to arrive around 5am tomorrow! Would make for a great reward!
That why we all so proud to be American . The land of Free Dome of speak . One work hard on their dream will always come true . I visited the Mount Rushmore! this iconic place in 2005 . It 's really proved the U.S.A one of a kind also so special place. All of us and continuing generation must keep & proud to be Americans. God bless Americans.
Last time I went I stayed at a cute ranch that Calamity Jane stayed in one of the cabins. In the fridge they had a bag of carrots to feed the Burrows at Custer!
Awesome South Dakota, I think the Buffalo roll in dirt to help keep the flies away, like horses do, I don't remember where we saw the burros cause it was about 13 yrs ago, but they do come right up & stick their head in your window, pretty sweet! I see this trip was a few years ago, but hope it helped
Found you today! Glad I did. We were in SD over 4th of July week after Yellowstone. We did not have near enough time and plan to go back. Thanks for the great ideas of where to go when we do!
Thank you so much guys for this useful info!! I took notes and can't wait to visit these beautiful places including that burger joint in Custer!! P.s. just subscribed to the History on Fire podcast. Always wanted to learn more about the Lakota Oglala nation and it's history! 😊
Ohhhh man. You missed the burrows. They are bossy and will push their way in windows and trunks for food. But they are also really friendly. Glad to see you experienced the bison. You only saw the smaller part of the herd. Again thank you for making these videos.
I stumbled upon your blogs and wanted to mention that I'm from eastern South Dakota and we took a family trip to the Black Hills over Labor Day. We did the wildlife loop but only saw the bison and a couple of prong horn/ antalope while there. If you do Sioux Falls I strongly suggest eating at Phnom Penh on North Minnesota Ave. Jesse James jump in Garretson is pretty cool to see.
I’m glad we weren’t the only ones that missed the burros! And thank you so much for the suggestions! We did visit Sioux Falls and will have to check out that spot next time. It looks delicious!
My memory of Mount Rushmore was turning up in completely the wrong clothes. I think similar to you Kathryn, I was in shorts and a tank top. The difference being, it was freezing cold and SO foggy you could barely make out the faces on the rock. I remember cowering in the heated visitors centre which I think was under the walkway with the flags on it. I was 20 and still a newbie to travelling (that's my excuse anyway!) You guys definitely got a lot more out of the visit than what I did and I feel like I've properly seen it now - thank you! 🙌 The footage you caught of that bison rolling around in the dirt and then standing was all kinds of epic. How was Kona with all of the animals? So pleased you included the photo of the Burrows as I was going to have to google what they are. So pleased you made it to the Crazy Horse. I hadn't heard you mention it so I'd assumed it it was closed due to Covid. It really doesn't look like much has changed since '06, I guess this is what things were like back in the 'olden days' before technology could speed up construction. Often people wouldn't live to see the end of projects. However I have a lot of respect for why it's going as slow as it is.
Oh no! That would be such a bummer to not be able to see their faces! Glad we could show you! The bison were SO much fun to watch! We had to force ourselves to keep driving because we could've spent hours just watching them. Kona didn't see any of them, but 1000% would've freaked out and barked lol! Crazy Horse was also incredible! We wish we could've seen it up close, but maybe next time we will time our visit with the Volksmarch (when they let you walk up there). It is going to be absolutely mind blowing when it's done!
Great job with the filming and narration here- I visited the area in the fall of 2019 and had an unbelievable time. Two local things I really enjoyed were chislic, which is essentially fried steak cubes, and red beer and olives, which is SODAK's version of the michelada. Both are delicious if you're a fan of savory food/drink. Those burgers looked killer.
Ooooo the chislic sounds good! It sounds like the Pitchfork Fondue we had in Wyoming. They fry the steak on oil. We’ll have to try that on our next visit
@Adventures of A+K: Another fantastic video. Im so happy Ive found this series, as Im planning my own trip to SD. I do have a question for you. Ive been searching for a good backpack in/on which I can carry my cameras, snacks, water, etc. what bag do you use and from what source did you get it? Id love to see a video showing how you pack and carry your equipment. FYI: I also have very real food sensitivities (gluten, nightshades, nuts, lectins), so I REALLY appreciate your mention of Sensitivity-friendly restaurants.
Hi! Thanks so much for watching. Sorry to hear about your food sensitivities. It’s no fun to have them! We have all of our gear listed here if you’d like to check it out: adventuresofaplusk.com/gear/
As far as Custer State Park goes a must see if you are a history buff is The Blue Bell Inn. This is where President Teddy Roosevelt loved to stay and is where he started the National Parks and Monuments acts.
Aloha from Honolulu!! It's so nice to discover your channel as my boyfriend and I plan to hit as many National Parks as possible in our lifetime and we are 70 years old already! We've hiked 30+ National Parks so far, and next month in mid May, we are doing exactly what you are doing in South Dakota, but hoping Wind Cave NP will be open by then! We are also hiking Glacier NP on this same trip. Do you have a video on Glacier NP? Huge malaho, I'm enjoying your videos sooooo very much!!
Aloha! Way to go! You will love South Dakota and we hope Wind Cave is open for you. We didn’t get to experience the cave on our visit We do have a few videos from Glacier! Here’s a playlist: ru-vid.com/group/PLZKRTK1yCEM7-vmrms23ggfUXzB8Oq9M4
We are in Custer and could not wait to try those delicious burgers. Guess what? The couple that owns the restaurant rebranded and it is now a pizza place called Black Hills Sauce & Dough. They don’t even sell burgers anymore more. WTH?
Some great camera work here and overall nice job. Most State Parks are a “No Drone Fly Zone”. Did you purchase stock footage for this video or do they allow drones in Custer? How did you fly?
Drones are allowed in the state park according to their website, which we agree is very rare for state parks. gfp.sd.gov/camping-regulations/ We are strict drone law followers and as long as you do not fly in the wilderness areas (which borders the park), it was legal at the time of our visit.
I just went for my birthday in October 2021 and it brought me to tears. I asked about the trail and anything else we could see and the employees there were rude, looked at me with blank faces. Horrible experience at the gift shop just asking for recommendations so we just left.
I can’t believe we as humans built such an incredible and amazing masterpiece.. I can only imagine how epic it would look at night with cold winds howling through the air.. all we need next is a bonfire Next to that ledge and we have ourselves a dark souls location 😁
As someone that lived in SD for 17 years, the Black Hills and Badlands are a must see! However, in my opinion, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse are highly overrated. If you haven’t seen them, go see them at least once, but for the amount of people that visit both of these, I’d rather skip the crowds. This is an opinion from someone that prefers more natural beauty of the outdoors though.
Typically we have: an extra camera lens, all of our camera batteries and chargers, a GoPro, tripod, and then just random stuff like chapstick and sunglasses. Sometimes an extra camera too if it’s not on the clip on the strap!
I am not sure how I found your vlog... But I am glad I did... I was born and raised here in South Dakota, spent 20 years in the Military, and 9 more working for the Government before I came home in 2014... (Although I am in Sioux Falls) I make as many trips to the Hills as I can and solo back pack in the Black Elk Wilderness area between CSP and Mt. Rushmore. (My wife thinks I am crazy for doing it at my age solo...) But it's so therapeutic for me... I really enjoy seeing people who've never been here's reactions to the Black Hills, and South Dakota in general... I already know (SPOILER ALERT) you're nervous about Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road... LOL Can't wait to see your next post.
Hi Greg! We loooove your state! It was such an incredible surprise! We would love to backpack in the Black Elk Wilderness, we especially loved that area. And you're 100% right...Adam was VERY nervous about the Needle Highway tunnels lol 😂 We somehow forgot to do the pigtails on Iron Mountain, even though we really wanted to...oops, next time! Our next vlog will be a fun one, super excited to share it!
I can't tell you how much I love this video! SD was my FAVORITE childhood vacation and I've been dying to take my bf there! I've searched RU-vid and no one captures how fun and pretty SD is. Thanks for showing the Midwest some love!!
Went to South Dakota this summer. Hadn't been there in 35 years. Really love the southwestern corner. Wish I would have had time to do everything you both did. Went through there on the way back home and made a few stops. Can't wait to go again next year and check everything out!
Just found your Vlog and you're giving me the urge to hit the road and live the vanlife dream. You guys have such great energy. Total naturals and look great! Keep 'em coming and keep inspiring!
Love your genuine enthusiasm when you see something for the first time!!! It's feels like your viewer's are there with you, very exciting!! Thanks for showing us around 😷🍁
@@AdventuresofAplusK this! The excitement & awe & wonder you can hear in your voice!! That. Makes. This. A. Hit. Period. I have Never ever Ever wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon stalking someone's RU-vid history for "Vacation Videos"!!! (There is an abundance of "VacayVids" in the world!)
@@AdventuresofAplusK I just love seeing genuine expressions of pure enthusiasm & wonder & discovery! So honest & rewardingly entertaining! [(Gives me the same feels as watching hidden camera video of young animals discovering the world around them; always wonder & enthusiasm! & most all of us are usually 💯 Totally charmed by those videos. You guys are vibing the same feels!!) I will be watching n sharing whenever I am able. ALSO, Question time: haha, I am curious what part of America you are vacationing From..? & how/why S.Dakota was chosen. And do you do this often? (Vacation & Vlog?) Do you have a schedule? Like where you going next? & when? OMG this is the most excited I have ever been about someone Else's vacationing!! Sorry it is causing you to hear (read) the no filter low key stalker gushing compliments version of me lol. You guys are Just That Damn Good. I will be watching more videos if there are more videos. And I believe I will be o the road again before too long because watching your 'joy of discovery' inspires me & makes Me wanna do it too. You Are Inspiring!! Don't ever stop
Hahaha thank you, we really appreciate the kind words! 💗We actually live and travel full time in our van that we converted, so we are always visiting new places, but legally we are from Texas. South Dakota was chosen because it was on our route for this year, we saw how beautiful it was, we are trying to visit all of the national parks, and we partnered with the tourism board! We work full time from the road and typically film vlogs on the weekends, but have taken some vacation days this summer to spend more time in a few places, like South Dakota, where we filmed 7 days in a row. We actually left South Dakota a month ago and spent some time with family, but will be sharing a new destination more east soon! Hopefully that helps answer some! 😄
Great video. We visit the Black Hills often…our favorite vacation spot. At the southern end of Custer State Park there is a small side road where the burros often use as their begging station. Bring some apples to feed them. Also in The town of Custer there is a great restaurant either called the Purple Pie place or at least there is a purple pig at the front of the location. Best home made pie you will ever have. They also have a scrumptious chicken pot pie. Just as an aside we visited during the height of Covid. Very few people wore masks. Went to the Deadwood rodeo…few if anyone with masks. South Dakota has a great Governor. We come from the People’s Republic of Maryland governed by fools.
Y’all continue to put out such awesome content, every video makes me feel like I’m just along for the ride! And those bison, wow!!! That would be pretty cool to be so close to hundreds of them just enjoying life.
Thank you so much Micah, that put a big smile on our faces this morning! 🥰 South Dakota has been by far the best wildlife state we have been to! So much wildlife along the roads, just living their life!
Hi guys. Mt. Rushmore is so amazing!! I have never seen it so clearly before!!! Thank you so much for getting up early and climbing up those stairs! Now I want to go visit there. I couldn't stop smiling when you two were having a first big bite of those Burgers. Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip.
That was soooooo incredible! I can only imagine how surreal it must be to see “The Presidents” in person! Even though I don’t eat beef or bison, those burgers did look very yummy! So cool to get to see some personality in the bison when he was rolling around...made me think of Maui when she does it on the carpet... but to see something so large rolling in person must have been exciting!
Custer SP is a national treasure! But don't tell anyone. You might see more wildlife than in Yellowstone. I always took a bag of apples for the burros, but if you like your fingers, you can't hand feed apples. Next time a bag of carrots!
Awesome video guys! I have lived here in South Dakota my whole life of 42 years. I have seen Mount Rushmore over a thousand times probably but 4th of July this year was the coolest ever! Having President Trump give a speech then seeing the Blue Angels do a flyover along with the B-1 bombers and the president's own Marine 1 helicopter and to top it all off the most breathtaking fireworks show ever!! Seeing all that will be something that I never forget the rest of my life. Thanks again for the video! P.S.... yes you can feed the donkeys. They even sell "Donkey Snacks" (carrots and other veggies) at the gas station in Keystone.
If you make it to the east side of South Dakota, make sure to check out the Devil's Gulch in Garretson SD, near Sioux Falls. My favorite place in the whole world.
My favorite Mt Rushmore movie is an old one. Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest. See it before visiting the monument and see how much the viewing area changed from the 1950s.
@@marksauck8481 the visitors center and parking lot has changed so much. My first trip was in 1986. There might have been a total of ten cars there and a few people in the tiny gift center. Boy have things changed.
We kept checking out Adam's watch to see how early it was when you guys were out - we've never seen so little people or other cars in anyone's Rushmore/Custer SP vlogs! Good inspiration to make sure that we too wake up and get out early next summer. Thanks for such great content and giving us ideas for our vacation! BRB, got 3 more vlogs of yours to watch...
Lol, the answer is: too early! 😂😴 We got to Mount Rushmore at about 5:45 AM haha. Surprisingly not the first ones there, but it was definitely super empty! Totally worth being tired though 🙌🏼
You have done a great job describing how fantastic SD is. Born and raised there, and now live in Iowa. Have visited the Black Hills every year for decades. It is the most relaxing, enjoyable vacation place.
We live in SW North Dakota and this is our favorite close place to visit, only 3 hour drive. Honestly, it never gets old driving through the hills. I grew up in Western Montana (Missoula) which is like the Black Hills on Steroids. I actually like the black hills better because so much stuff to do.
If you go on the wildlife loop at the right time of day and year, it's infinitely better than Yellowstone. Not only will you see most of the same animals, you wont get stuck in miles long traffic jams, and won't be subjected to 300 plus dollar a night rip-offs for dive hotels that should realistically go for about 60 bucks anywhere else! I don't think they have Grizzly bears, but I've been to Yellowstone 3 times for multiple days and have never SEEN ONE! I've seen black bears a couple times that I could see at any given time during a day trip to the Smokey Mountains, but NEVER a Grizzly. If you want Grizzlies go to Alaska.
We want to thank you for your wonderful travel videos. They have been so helpful in our travels in South Dakota. Your information is totally accurate and helped us decide which places to visit and what to do. Today we went to Buffalo Burger and Buns. We waited an hour to be seated and we credit your video with helping us decide to wait out the hour. The burgers were by far the best we have ever had anywhere. Thanks again!
Thank you very much! it's been around 14 years since we've been to Mount Rushmore! And It's nice to get a good look at what's changed in the time since!
Hello to this awesome couple... Watching your video helped me out alot this weekend I went so South Dakota . I explored several things y'all talked about. I was a wonderful adventure. I'm definitely going back soon... Thanks for your videos.keystone was nice ... I ate a buffalo burger from ruby's awesome. Thanks again
and they do the Volksmarch Twice a year one in the spring and one in the Fall. You donate 3 cans of food to the food bank and pay $5.00 to hike. Do it while you can I am sure hey will not offer it forever.
Must say we're so proud of you two for showcasing this amazing national monument. Never been but it's definitely on our bucket list as soon as possible. Would love to see drone scenes of this place.
Oh it's too bad you didn't get to see the donkeys. Every time I've gone I've seen them and it's true that they're incredibly friendly. I don't know if it's advised but when I went in May of last year, they were conveniently gathered by a parking lot so people just got out of their cars and went right up to them to give them pets. They were so sweet!
Soooo bummed we didn’t see them! We were looking everywhere! 😭 We must’ve just had bad timing. But I’m so glad they are as friendly and sweet as advertised!
Hi gang … your videos are great. In fact, we have planned a trip this year to South Dakota based on your VLOGS! Quick question … for Mt Rushmore and other US parks in SD do you need a reservation? Friends of our were telling us that some US National Parks needed a reservation. But not sure if that was true in SD or maybe just because of COVID these last two years. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks, and keep Vanning!! Jeff.
We haven’t heard of any reservations at Mt Rushmore or the other parks around there. That’s mostly for the major national parks around the US like Yosemite, Smoky Mountains, etc. but it’s best to check their website. That makes us so happy to hear about your plans for your trip! Thanks for watching!
We just returned from a whirlwind trip through north and south Dakota and were so grateful for all your tips! Unfortunately the Black Hills Burger Co is now a pizza place instead!😞 But, it was still pretty good lol.
Watched your great (and super helpful!) video ahead of our own visit to Custer State Park this week. On the Wilderness Loop we didn't see many animals, but we DID see lots of burros! Our son even fed a few. Sorry to hear you missed them on your visit... I guess that just means you'll have to come back to catch them in action :)
Also next time you're out there, go to Hot Springs and Red Shed Smokehouse for some food. It's only like 10min away from Wind Cave and has amazing BBQ. Honestly better than OMC in Duluth in my opinion and I love OMC.
Aloha from Rapid City! We explored Custer State Park yesterday and was able to find those hungry burrows about a mile away from the Bison House. We also toured Wind Cave yesterday and the cave was totally awesome and I highly suggest you return to this National Park and check it off your NP list as we are doing as well. Did you get a Passport Book stamp book too? It’s a lot of fun to fill that book up with NP stamps and stickers! Mahalo for your excellent videos once again!❤️
Aloha! Yes we really want to get back there and see Wind Cave! We loved our time in SD! We don't do the stamp book, but we collect a patch from each park! Thanks and thank you for watching!
Just an observation, when describing the beautiful views or wildlife on the road and the amount of buffalo how about showing the viewer what you’re describing instead of having the camera face y’all….
I don’t live local but I wonder if the original name for Burros is supposed to be pronounced “boo-rohs” instead of “ber-rows” because of the spanish influence. Burro means small donkey or pack animal in spanish
Yes, like many words, it can definitely be pronounced with more of a Spanish accent. We said “Ber-rows” because that’s just how we grew up saying it I guess. But yes if you were speaking with proper Spanish pronunciation it would be “boo-rohs” with the r’s rolled
Sorry you didn't get to see the Burrows. If you ever make it out to Rt 66 in AZ there is an old gold mining town called Oatman. There you will easily see Burrows. They typically come from the hills around lunch time.
Shout out from Texas, loving the videos. I've been to a few of these places (Yellowstone, Glacier, Mt. Rainier, Yosemite, Sequoia, Cascade, Custer St. Park, Rocky Mt. Natl. Park, and a few others). Really enjoy seeing these places again through your videos. I hope I can hit the trails soon. I'm longing to be back in the mountains on those beautiful trails.
