ktgrok Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 (edited) My husband's job is with a company based in Deadwood, SD and they have a conference every October. The company offers a stipend to cover family coming out and will cover our hotel during the conference (in Deadwood). Then we are going to need to get a hotel for ourselves, or other lodging, for a few more days as we are staying after the conference. We will fly into Rapid City on 10/18, and DH who will already be there will pick us up at the airport and take us to the hotel in Deadwood. We fly out of Rapid City around noon on the 25th. We want to go see Custer State Park and Badlands State Park, Jewel Cave, maybe Wind Cave, likely the Mammoth Site, I'd really like to get to the heritage center at the Pine Ridge Reservation but not sure that we will have the time, etc etc. So I'm thinking once we are on our own to cover lodging we should move further south, like Keystone area. BUT I have NO idea where we can find food that DS can eat, since he has celiac. I mean, I'm using "Find Me Gluten Free" to identify restaurants but they are few and far between. I'm sure we will be having to rely on food from grocery stores, using microwaves, etc a lot, so having lodging near somewhere with a decent grocery store would make sense. But I don't know that there ARE big grocery stores in that area. Maybe we need to stop in Rapid City on the way from Deadwood to wherever to stock up with a cooler? We could stay in Rapid City but that puts us pretty far from some of the stuff we want to see/do. I'm linking a custom google map (hope it works) showing the places we are interested in (plus some restaurants I've started to mark) https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1vPWypSJFLP5fFtix84906_Dl4TLihHI&usp=sharing Anyone have thoughts? Edited September 23, 2023 by ktgrok 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 (edited) Don't have any advice on the Celiac, but it was way cheaper and easier to get food in Rapid City Walmart. We stayed here and LOVED it. Home - High Country Guest Ranch (highcountryranch.com) And this place is really cheap when it is not summer. Beautiful. And you can rent a whole house. Edited September 23, 2023 by mommyoffive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 I can’t speak to that area (sounds great, though!), but we just did a month on the road in NV, AZ, NM and CO with lots of very remote stretches and stays in tiny towns with limited resources. I have Celiac, kids have LTFAs, so we had the same questions and dilemmas. Celiac was a tad bit easier to manage, but overall we did a lot of grocery stores and stayed in places with kitchens so we could cook safe foods. We bought a big cooler soon after we landed and picked up our rental vehicle, and every time we found a large grocery store that had a good selection of our safe foods — we grabbed enough goodies to last until the next stock up at a major store. We kept a kitchen bag stocked with items we needed to cook (spices, oils, that sort of thing). Lots of fresh fruits and veggies for snacking. Whenever we found a safe restaurant, we became short-term regulars for as long as we stayed in the area (waving at you, Grassburger!). Sounds like a really fun trip! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted September 23, 2023 Author Share Posted September 23, 2023 14 minutes ago, mommyoffive said: Don't have any advice on the Celiac, but it was way cheaper and easier to get food in Rapid City Walmart. We stayed here and LOVED it. Home - High Country Guest Ranch (highcountryranch.com) HOLY COW! I saw the website and thought...oh, that's probably pricier than we want to pay given we plan to spend most of our time out and about. But WOW they have reasonable rates!!! It's a LITTLE further out than say, staying at the Comfort Inn in Custer, but not much and way nicer! Thank you! Diving into the reservation system now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted September 23, 2023 Author Share Posted September 23, 2023 34 minutes ago, mommyoffive said: Don't have any advice on the Celiac, but it was way cheaper and easier to get food in Rapid City Walmart. We stayed here and LOVED it. Home - High Country Guest Ranch (highcountryranch.com) And this place is really cheap when it is not summer. Beautiful. And you can rent a whole house. Which cabin did you stay in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 9 minutes ago, ktgrok said: HOLY COW! I saw the website and thought...oh, that's probably pricier than we want to pay given we plan to spend most of our time out and about. But WOW they have reasonable rates!!! It's a LITTLE further out than say, staying at the Comfort Inn in Custer, but not much and way nicer! Thank you! Diving into the reservation system now. Yeah, the prices drop when it is not summer. I don't know if they do any horseback riding at those times though, if that is something you are looking for. We stayed there during the summerish times. When we were out there we saw tons of places like this that rent cabins and the like. But finding out what they are called to be able to look into them was something I didn't find before we went. I know that a lot of the state parks and stuff have small cabins you can rent. Like Custer has some. But the ones we saw were small and booked up. With the amount of kids we have and their ages we wanted space. This wasn't far from Custer. I know we went there 2 or 3 times while we were there. I can't tell you how beautiful and peaceful that area is. I have a video of it on my phone that I watch a lot. We rented a house and out back is a stream that you hear trickling away and they would let the horses out 2 times a day to move from one place to another and they just gallop behind your house. We have been trying to go back every year because it is just the perfect spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted September 23, 2023 Author Share Posted September 23, 2023 14 minutes ago, mommyoffive said: Yeah, the prices drop when it is not summer. I don't know if they do any horseback riding at those times though, if that is something you are looking for. We stayed there during the summerish times. When we were out there we saw tons of places like this that rent cabins and the like. But finding out what they are called to be able to look into them was something I didn't find before we went. I know that a lot of the state parks and stuff have small cabins you can rent. Like Custer has some. But the ones we saw were small and booked up. With the amount of kids we have and their ages we wanted space. This wasn't far from Custer. I know we went there 2 or 3 times while we were there. I can't tell you how beautiful and peaceful that area is. I have a video of it on my phone that I watch a lot. We rented a house and out back is a stream that you hear trickling away and they would let the horses out 2 times a day to move from one place to another and they just gallop behind your house. We have been trying to go back every year because it is just the perfect spot. 1. Did they have wifi or internet or decent cell phone service there? 2. Do you know what cabin you stayed in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted September 23, 2023 Author Share Posted September 23, 2023 @mommyoffive THANK YOU!!!!!! I just booked this one for us, and we are SO excited! They don't have all the dates we need, so we will just stay one extra night at our hotel in deadwood and pay out of pocket for that, which is fine. That gives us time to further explore up north, Devils Tower, etc before moving south. But we will have 3 nights at this beautiful place! https://highcountryranch.com/1-mcginnis-vacation-cabin/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, ktgrok said: Which cabin did you stay in? 58 minutes ago, ktgrok said: 1. Did they have wifi or internet or decent cell phone service there? 2. Do you know what cabin you stayed in? Cell phone I can't remember. From my recollection there wasn't wifi in the cabins but there was up by the office. Not sure if that has changed. Possibly the houses up by the office have it? We were pretty unplugged from work on our trip. Not sure what they are doing with the houses right now, but we stayed in one that is not available to rent out on the map right now. I think it was in-between cabin 3 and 5. The other place we stayed on the way home was even more remote. We were on 3800 acres and rented out the whole lodge. Hillbilly Relaxation Ranch - Your Fish & Hunt & Family Reunion Destination - Sully County (vrbo.com) Edited September 23, 2023 by mommyoffive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 3 minutes ago, ktgrok said: @mommyoffive THANK YOU!!!!!! I just booked this one for us, and we are SO excited! They don't have all the dates we need, so we will just stay one extra night at our hotel in deadwood and pay out of pocket for that, which is fine. That gives us time to further explore up north, Devils Tower, etc before moving south. But we will have 3 nights at this beautiful place! https://highcountryranch.com/1-mcginnis-vacation-cabin/ You're welcome! I hope you have a great time. That cabin is beautiful and so cheap in the off season!!! I love the area! I would move in heartbeat and buy one of those houses. We stocked up on carrots and such to feed the horses. When we were there, they had a zebra that was living with the horses too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 You mentioned the Badlands. I know that the park has cabins to rent out, but I also looked into this place, but we didn't end up staying there. I think they were booked or something. Welcome to the Circle View Guest Ranch! - Circle View Ranch Can you tell this was our ranch vacation? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 We did that trip this summer. Definitely hit Walmart when you get to them because they’re more spread out there than in the east. We brought a huge cooler and topped it with ice daily. (You can do this easily if you stay at Hampton inns) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted September 23, 2023 Author Share Posted September 23, 2023 Ok, so, we are booked for sure in Deadwood for wednesday, thursday, and friday nights. Will check in at that cabin on the ranch in the black hills national forest on Sunday and check out on Wednesday and fly out that day. Just need to book the Saturday night now, probably staying at the same hotel in Deadwood if we can, if not maybe stay in Rapid City that night (there is a trick or treat at the Museum of Geology at the Mine School in Rapid City on that Saturday afternoon, so we could make that work. That way we could restock on food at the same time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 We've never been out there, but in general, when we travel with my Celiac kid we plan all stops on the road ahead of time, and we bring a lot of dry groceries and purchase the other stuff when we get there. We only stay in hotels during the driving part of the trip--the rest is in a house, cabin, etc. with a kitchen. Our experience driving west from Ohio is there are very few places to eat once you hit Kansas. It sounds like you are flying though! It sounds like you already have a cabin or something like it lined up. So I recommend that your next task is making up your grocery list for when you get there, including things like a new colander (or buy one of those collapsable ones and pack it--we have one that we use for travel). You want to think about things like parchment paper or foil to line baking pans, something to wash dishes with, etc. Since you are likely not driving, a lot will fall on that first grocery trip. It's a lot to remember. So a detailed list is going to be key to surviving. I hope it is a great trip!! 😃 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 (edited) We have stayed in Rapid City and visited Badlands, Custer, etc. We did it on a budget with five adults (our three adult sons along), and so we relied entirely on providing our own food. Rapid City had more than one major supermarket plus Wal-Mart so you will be able to find what you need. Since you fly in, try ROAMN AROUND for camping rentals to see if you can rent a good cooler. We took a little table top grill with us, and you might find you can also rent that as well. I would be tempted to buy the bamboo biodegrable plates and utensils from Amazon and take them with you or ask the hotel in Dead wood if you can have them delivered, and then run by the goodwill in Rapid City to grab a large metal pancake turner and tongs for grilling. The Museum of Geology at the School of Mines was really nice. Bad lands and Custer have picnic tables, and at Badlands at the visitor center, these are surrounded by a shade cover so you are right at the center for bathrooms and potable water. One of my quick gf travel meals include mixing canned chicken with cream cheese and spreading it on gf crackers and celery sticks. Edited September 23, 2023 by Faith-manor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 1 hour ago, Faith-manor said: We have stayed in Rapid City and visited Badlands, Custer, etc. We did it on a budget with five adults (our three adult sons along), and so we relied entirely on providing our own food. Rapid City had more than one major supermarket plus Wal-Mart so you will be able to find what you need. Since you fly in, try ROAMN AROUND for champ mg rentals to see if you can rent a good cooler. We took a little table top grill with us, and you might find you can also rent that as well. I would be tempted to buy the bamboo biodegrable plates and utensils from Amazon and take them with you or ask the hotel in Dead wood if you can have them delivered, and then run by the goodwill in Rapid City to grab a large metal pancake turner and tongs for grilling. The Museum of Geology at the School of Mines was really nice. Bad lands and Custer have picnic tables, and at Badlands at the visitor center, these are surrounded by a shade cover so you are right at the center for bathrooms and potable water. One of my quick gf travel meals include mixing canned chicken with cream cheese and spreading it on gf crackers and celery sticks. Yes, I agree, We really liked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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