 Situated on South Dakota's historic 13,000-acre Hart Ranch, this 5 Star affiliate offers all of the good things you've heard about the West with none of the discomforts experienced by the pioneers and ranchers who settled the area.
You'll feel like you've turned the calendar back a hundred years when you enter this destination resort, but unlike early visitors to the area you can swim in an Olympic-size pool instead of a swimming hole and have delicious food prepared for you in the resort snack bar and restaurant rather than cooking over an open campfire. No pitching a tent for shelter; you can stay in the comfort of your own RV or in an onsite cabin.
Feeling up to a trail ride into the Black Hills? Hart Ranch has a stable full of well-trained horses. After riding the range, ease your sore muscles into your choice of three hot tubs and reflect on today's hardships as compared with those of the pioneers. Also on the premises here are facilities for miniature golf, tennis and volleyball.
During summer months there's always something going on at the ranch to keep every member of the family entertained. For starters, you'll find craft sessions for adults and children, games for kids like candy bingo, and adult bingo and evening entertainment in the pool pavilion. Some evenings are set aside for dancing or a campfire with singalongs and wiener roasts. On family night movies are shown on the big-screen TV in the clubhouse. If you want more action, amble on over to the rodeo grounds near the resort. During the winter, guests head to the hills for some great snowmobiling.
Ready for a little sightseeing? You won't have to go far. Hart Ranch is just 30 minutes away from Mount Rushmore where you can feast your eyes on one man's dream come true. From 1927 through 1941, Gutzon Borglum sculpted the busts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt high on a granite cliff. Recent additions to the national memorial are a new visitors center and museum and a walking trail that provides a spectacular close-up view of the sculptures. In nearby Hill City, you can relive history by riding a vintage steam train through the Black Hills.
If you're hankering for a taste of the Old West, pull on your boots and mosey on up to Hart Ranch in the heart of South Dakota.
-- By BEVERLY EDWARDS
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