Thursday Thirteen #17

This week I give you 13 things about The Black Hills of South Dakota. I originally got tagged for the 5 restaurant meme, and thought I'd just add 8 things to do when you're done eating.

I got tagged by NOLADawn over at Kids, Cats & Books for this one.

Here's the rules:

These are the rules:

1. Link to the name of the person who tagged you.
2. Include the state and country you’re in.
3. List your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location (locally).
4. Tag 5 other people (preferably from other countries/states) and let them know they’ve been tagged.

1. Sanford's Grub & Pub- This place has a real junkyard feel and roughly 800 tvs (all muted). They serve my favorite appetizer ever- Fried pickles. I'm also a big fan of the salad called "Where the Buffalo Roam" and the burger "Kardiac Arrest" Here's a link to Humphrey's Bar & Grill, which is the same restaurant in another town. Humphrey's is sports themed, and the menu items have different names, but it's the same things.
2. The Alpine Inn in Hill City. An old convert inn, they now have a very popular restaurant on the bottom floor. At lunch they serve German food- the only restaurant in the area that does. For dinner there are two choices- the large or the small. You get a filet, baked potato, and lettuce wedge. At all times there are homemade desserts- pie, cake, bread pudding, and these awesome waffles topped with sundae toppings. They don't appear to have a website, but here's a link to some reviews.
3. Roma's Ristorante in Spearfish. Spearfish is a little more of a drive, but Roma's makes it worth it. Italian food with a huge wine selection. This restaurant is a little fancy for South Dakota (we're pretty casual around here) and is a nice place to go for special occasions. They don't appear to have a working website, but here's a review page.
4. Jake's is in Deadwood. It's the top floor of The Midnight Star, which is a casino owned by Kevin Costner. This is where we went for my 30th birthday- in a limo. It was great.
5. The Loud American Roadhouse in Sturgis, SD. Sturgis is famous for it's annual motorcycle rally, and many of the businesses on Main St. close for the remainder of the year, but not the Loud American. They have a great steak tip dinner, live music most weekends, pool, tvs, darts... I was just there tonight!

I'm not tagging people, if you want to do it, do it!

8 Things to do in the Hills.

1. (The most obvious) Mt. Rushmore.
2. Crazy Horse Memorial. I think Crazy Horse is more interesting than Mt. Rushmore. Once a year they do a 3 mile hike through the woods than ends up on top of his outstretched arm looking up his nose. People of all ages do it, and it's a lot of fun.
3. Visit Deadwood. You may have seen the HBO show. Modern day Deadwood is a lot different- very touristy, casinos, and bars. It's still a lot of fun.
4. While you're in Deadwood, be sure to visit Mt. Moriah Cemetary. Wild Bill and Calamity Jane are both there, and the drive back to town will take your breath away.
5. Badlands National Park. This is my personal favorite. Pictures don't do it justice.
   
6. The Mickelson Trail- miles and miles of bike trails, most of it through National Park lands. Do a little or do a lot!
7. Bear Country USA. This one is a drive through animal park. Bears, moose, wolves, bison, elk, big sheep and at the end- BABY bears!
8. The one and only- Wall Drug. The Rock City of the North, you can't miss it. A little shopping, a little eating, a lot of kitsch. All in one place. Wall Drugs is a warren of little shops and weird things. Once is probably enough.