Rapid City is a small townhome to 60,000 people. Because it is very close to many tourist attractions such The Mount Rushmore Memorial, The Crazy Horse Memorial, The Devils Tower and The Badlands National Park, it became a tourist attractions of its own. The major monuments mentioned above were shown in 4 previous different Power Points. Outside these major attractions there are several more interesting places to visit in the area.In this last presentation, with pictures from this area, you will be able to have a glimpse of these additional locations:

CHAPEL IN THE HILL

BEAR COUNTRY

FISH HATCHERY

REPTILE GARDEN

AIR and SPACE MUSEUM

The Chapel in the Hills is an exact replica of a famous 850 year old Stave Church from Laerdal, Norway. It was constructed in 1969, using mostly the same techniques from the construction of the original church.

The roof is adorned with many dragonheads and crosses. No two crosses are alike.

Rear of the Church

The 16,000 shingles that cover the roof were hand-cut with a saw. The ones on the original church were cut with an axe.

Excellent craftsmanship is evident inside and out.

The ceiling is constructed like a Viking ship turned upside down.

Many columns are carved at their top.

The main door has carvings of snakes and dragons, the battle between good and evil. The dragon was a symbol of good luck for the Vikings.

Door detail with intricate carving.

Near the Church there is a gift shop, and its construction blends perfectly with its surroundings.

Back view of the gift shop. The roof is covered with a grass thatch. The Norwegian flag is blowing in the wind.

I am wondering who will cut the grass on the roof!

All the landscape is beautifully decorated and perfectly maintained.

On the grounds, there is also a small Norwegian museum inside a log cabin.

I am not sure if I am welcome to come in.

It grows trout and salmon to replenish South Dakota's lakes and rivers. There are about 250,000 fish or 70,000 Lb. produced annually.

Free tours are offered daily.

The reptile garden is beautifully landscaped with more than 40,000 plants. Entertainment includes alligator, bird and snake shows. Exhibits include a Sky Dome with an indoor jungle with lizards, snakes, parrots and orchids.

The Reptile Garden contain other animals beside reptiles.

The bald eagle, America's symbol, is part of the bird show.

I am not sure if she is part of the exhibits!

Prairie dogs

The South Dakota Air and Space Museum is near the Ellsworth Air Force Base.

It displays, between others, very large planes from all the eras of aviation.

It is open every day, except for the major holidays, and it is free.

The Boeing B-52 was the biggest plane used during the Vietnam war. It has 8 turbo engines, a maximum weight of 450,000 Lb., a maximum speed of 636 mph and a top ceiling of 46,000 ft. It was the first turbo plane to circumnavigate the earth non stop. For this flight, it was refueled in the air only three times.

is a safari type park where you travel with your own car (with the windows closed) between a variety of uncaged animals such as :buffaloes, timber wolves, black bears, mountain lions, arctic wolves, reindeer and a variety of wild sheep.The animals are placed in separate enclosures with electric gates between them.Under each gate is a wide electrified grate to prevent them from escaping to another enclosure when the gate is open to let the cars pass.

Babyland is a walk-through area where you can see many small animals and a lot of baby bears.

PICTURES AND PRESENTATION BYDAN CALISTRAT dcalistrat@aol.comAugust 2009