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, & National Forest. With expert tips on the best dining, shopping, accommodations, and camping, Moon Mount Rushmore & the Black Hills gives travelers the tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.
About Laural A. Bidwell
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, then moving on to Denver and later continuing her migration 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 one afternoon. Glancing at the map, she realized she was within an hour of South Dakota, a state she’d never before visited. With that, Laural decided to head for the border town of Ardmore (population 4) to get gas and spend the night—but found there was no gas station, and no place to stay. Low on gas, she headed to the next town on the map: Hot Springs, South Dakota—where she got gas, found a place to stay, and discovered the Black Hills. It was love at first sight, and she vowed to return. Now, owner of The Wild Burro Bookstore in Hot Springs, her passions include writing, road trips, and her two golden retrievers, Lucky Charm and Willow.
