Siouxland Families

South Dakota might be right at the heart of a fun idea to celebrate American history as we head into the nation's semiquincentennial: the National Garden of American Heroes. The idea itself has been around for a few years, but a new offer of Black Hills land in Keystone, SD via Governor Larry Rhoden might be the catalyst needed to actually bring this garden to life. Lewis & Clark (as seen at Sioux City's Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center) are two proposed statues for the Garden In 2020, President Trump proposed a "Garden of Heroes" and set up a task force and offered some ideas of who might be captured in statue form in  EO 13934 . In this initial order about the Garden of Heroes, he suggested: "The National Garden should be composed of statues, including statues of John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Daniel Boone, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Henry Clay, Davy Crockett, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Franklin, Bil...

Could the best peanut butter in the world be from just up the road in South Dakota?? I love trying and sharing about brands based in the three states that make up Siouxland, so when I heard about Nerdy Nuts, a gourmet peanut butter company based in Rapid City, South Dakota, I knew I had to try their peanut butter out! I ordered some (spoiler alert: delicious!!) Here's what you should know about Nerdy Nuts: Nerdy Nuts is a gourmet peanut butter company started by a pair of South Dakotans, Erika and Craig who wanted fresh-ground peanut butter. Their peanut butter was so good that first friends and family started buying, then customers at a farmer's market, and now, the wider world via their website. Their products exude creativity and fun, and they've gone viral on tiktok with their imaginative flavors. Basically, they make really delicious peanut butter from scratch in classic flavors like honey roasted peanut and white chocolate, plus a gazillion fun seasonal an...

Family vacations can add up quickly, and including some free fun in the mix is a great way to keep your budget in tact while still having a great time! We went to Rapid City in summer of 2019, and found tons of totally free fun for kids, plus some ways to keep our costs down with some of the non-free fun. here are my top FREE attractions for kids in Rapid City, South Dakota.   PS: Check out my post on visiting Badlands National Park with kids for suggestions of fun stops along the way if you are coming from Sioux City, Sioux Falls, or other points east! Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills photo of Mt. Rushmore, taken by my 10 year old! Rapid City's most famous monument is actually in Keystone, South Dakota, about a half hour from downtown Rapid City! You could easily spend your entire Rapid City vacation in the Black Hills, where you find Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills!  Mount Rushmore is very kid friendly, and the main plaza is stroller friendly. However to get a closer l...