Bookstore owner and South Dakota resident Laural A. Bidwell offers her firsthand experience and advice on Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills — including the Southern Hills, the Badlands, and Keystone. Bidwell provides unique travel strategies such as Best Hiking Trails, Viewing Wildlife, and Fossil Collecting in the Parks, Grasslands, and National Forest. Expert tips include the best sights for dining, shopping, accommodations, and camping, providing travelers with the tools they need for a more personal and memorable visit to Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills.
Laural Bidwell grew up in Connecticut but left the rolling hills of the east to live in the wide open spaces of the American west. Living first in Colorado Springs, Colorado, moving on to Denver and then migrating north, she found her western home in the rolling Black Hills of South Dakota. Like many, she discovered South Dakota more by accident than on purpose. On a rambling road-trip, drifting north and east across the plains, she pulled into Crawford, Nebraska late in the afternoon. Glancing at the map, she realized she was within an hour of South Dakota, a state she'd never before visited. She decided to head for the border town of Ardmore to get gas and stay the night.
Ardmore, South Dakota, had (and still has) a population of 4. There was no gas station. The post office was an empty brick shell, the roof on the floor, the windows long gone. There was no place to stay. The dot on the map was larger than the town. Low on gas, she had the choice of returning to Crawford or forging on to the next town on the map. She chose to be optimistic and headed toward Hot Springs, South Dakota, where she got gas, found a place to stay and discovered the Black Hills. It was love at first sight. Now owner of The Wild Burro Bookstore in Hot Springs, her passions include words, road trips and her golden retrievers, Lucky Charm and Willow.
