Black Hills — Trip to South Dakota is rock solid

Almost any place is magical when seen through the eyes of a child.

That's doubly true of an already-beautiful place like South Dakota's Black Hills, where my husband and I took our daughters recently for a visit.

The Black Hills, and indeed most of western South Dakota, are a mass of contradictions. The Hills, as South Dakotans call them, still bear traces of the "Wild West" of the 1800s and of the mining interests that continue to hold sway in some areas, but they are also the Paha Sapa, center of Lakota spiritualism and one of the culture's most sacred places.

And then there's the contrast between the dignity and natural inspiration of places like Mount Rushmore, the under-construction Crazy Horse memorial and the area's natural wonders, and the many kitschy money-making ventures lining the Hills' scenic highways.

A South Dakota vacation always has been affordable, and it's getting more so, thanks to the new Children's Fun Pass, which offers discounts or free admission to more than 40 hotels, campgrounds and popular attractions in the Black Hills, and more across the state.

Unfortunately for us, we didn't discover the pass, which costs $15 for kids ages 6 to12, until the second of our three days there, but we'll keep it in mind for our next visit. The Black Hills are just a long day's drive from northern Utah and well worth repeat trips.

I enjoyed the Black Hills on previous visits, but having our three girls along made the place come alive. Things I'd laughed off condescendingly became fun, while others gained in poignancy and importance as we shared their stories with our daughters.

'The Shrine'

You can't skip a visit to Mount Rushmore, the granddaddy of all Hills attractions. The 60-foot-high faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln welcome visitors from a mountaintop perch 500 feet above the park's visitors center.

You can see Mount Rushmore from the road, but exploring the memorial is fun and inspiring. There's no charge to enter the park, but there is an $8 "special use fee" for using the parking structure. The fee covers you for a year, making it possible to visit the visitors center and sculptor's studio early one day, then return the next evening for the popular lighting ceremony.

Our daughters enjoyed finding the state flags of Utah and other states in which friends and relatives live as we walked down the memorial's Avenue of Flags.