Rapid City 07/16 – 07/17/21

Southern Hills RV Park, Hermosa, South Dakota

Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau.  When Esau left for the open country to hunt . .  Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother . . . . Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you:  Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it . . . so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.” ~ Genesis 27:5-10       I’d like to think that Rebekah was interfering because she knew God had planned for Jacob to receive the covenant blessing.  I’d like to think that God used her to bring about His plan.  In a way, I guess He did.  But something tells me that in this family of deceivers, Rebekah wasn’t acting with godly intentions.  I suspect that, despite what she’d been told about “the older will serve the younger” (Gen 25:23), she favored Jacob and wanted him to receive his father’s ‘firstborn’ blessing.  We’re not told that she went to Isaac and reminded him of what God told her, as she should have done.  We’re not even told that she mentioned her talk with the Lord before nor after the twins were born, though surely she must have repeated God’s Word to him.  We’re not told that she went to Isaac and reminded him that Esau gave away his birthright for a bowl of stew.  And now, she’s concocted this grand scheme to get what she wants.  We’re not told that she “went to inquire of the Lord” (Gen 25:22).  And don’t forget – – she’s already irritated (to say the least) by Esau’s choice of wives.  I’m certain she doesn’t believe Esau deserves to inherit.  How often are we blinded by our own irritations and desires and work to bring about our desired outcome, regardless of possible consequences?  How often are our thoughts in the right place, but our hearts/motives are not? 

Today was all about sightseeing in Rapid City and the closely surrounding area.

Our first stop was the Ellsworth Air Force Base where we viewed their Air Museum.  Most of it was outside – being large planes, and only a gigantic hanger could hold all those things!  But there were things inside as well (where the much needed air conditioning was – although it was still a bit warm in there).  Any pictures I took of signs had something I found interesting on them, so all the sign pictures are mine.  Blaine doesn’t see a need to take those – not even to explain what he’s taking a picture of. But then again, why would he? He knows I always do.  😊

There was a list of things we wanted to see in this area, and we tried to get to all of them, but that didn’t happen, so we’ll most likely be back to finish up one day.

Downtown Rapid City has the most wonderful street corners!  They’ve commissioned life-sized bronze statues of all the US Presidents to adorn them!  And they are all wonderfully made, in some way characterizing each President.  We’re on our 46^th presidency, and since they don’t have Trump nor Biden yet, we scrutinized 44 of them.  Count your blessings that I only took pictures of 17 of them (FDR got two separate shots, which makes 18 total.  You’ll see why when you get to it 😊) Oh! And they’re placed in random order, so they’re all mixed up. It’s actually a pretty smart for the city, because you’ve got tourists walking all over town looking for these guys.

In the middle of our street corner search, we stopped by The Alex Johnson Hotel.  Here’s a brief history taken from their website:

Alex Carlton Johnson, Vice President of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, was a great admirer of the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Lakota Sioux Tribes that called the area home. He dreamed of a “Showplace of the West,” a tribute to the Native Americans and the Black Hills that surrounded him.

And so, on October 3, 1927, just one day before construction began on Mount Rushmore, Johnson began work on the hotel that would bear his name.

What emerged was a structural design that was a successful blend of two spirits: the heritage of the Plains Indians that had so captivated Johnson and the Germanic Tudor architecture, representing the heavy German immigration to the Dakotas.

On July 1, 1928, less than a year after construction began, the hotel opened its doors to the first guests. The first guest was Paddy O’Neill, who’s name now adorns the bar off the lobby. Thus, began a long line of visitors, dignitaries, presidents, and celebrities that would stay at the hotel over the decades. Today, as you walk into the lobby, look down and you’ll notice the bricks you step on are all original. Look even closer and you will notice that some have Native American symbols imbedded in them. Although one of the symbols look suspiciously similar to a Swastika, it’s actually an ancient symbol that means the “four sacred corners of the earth,” that was adopted by the Native Americans generations ago.

That same symbol is found in many places throughout The Hotel Alex Johnson and is reflected in the one-of-a-kind chandelier, made of war spears, that has hung from the decorative rafters for over 80 years.

We also checked out Art Alley.  There wasn’t much too terribly artistic about it from our viewpoint, but they made the dumpsters look better!  Too bad the paint doesn’t cover the smell. . . .  The nicest art had been scribbled over – obviously by vandals rather than artists – which was too bad.

The final stop for the day was the Museum of Geology located on the South Dakota School of Mines campus.  It’s not a large place, but they have some nice dinosaur skeletons.  Of the large completed ones you see when you walk in, one is 90% authentic, one is 80%, and one is 50%.  The rest of the bones on these three are fabricated.

There were also fossils, and rocks and stuff.  We’re not much into what the rocks are, but we enjoyed looking at everything.  😊

That’s our day in the city!