Each year, I enjoy spending the Memorial Day holiday weekend in a U.S. state that I have never before visited. This May, I chose to visit South Dakota. The Summer of 2016 marks the 100 anniversary of the U.S. National Park System, and so it was appropriate that I chose to visit the Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, and Mount Rushmore for this Summer’s first long weekend.

My departing flight gave me just enough time to grab rice and veggie dinner at UFood Grill(UFood ) in Boston’s Logan Airport. Steamed broccoli over rice was a customized quick meal that the staff kindly prepared for me.

The late night arrival in Rapid City, South Dakota gave me time to get some sleep before the next day’s tour began. A quick bagel with vegan butter was my option at the hotel’s breakfast buffet, along with the Dr. McDougall’s apple oatmeal that I had brought on my trip.

The Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is dedicated to all Native Americans. “Crazy Horse” was one of the most powerful leaders of the Lakota tribe. A mountain carving of his likeness has been in progress since 1948. This respected leader was a strong advocate of preserving Native American culture.

On the grounds of the memorial site, the visitor’s center houses many Native American memorabilia, including clothing, shoes, paintings, and tools.

One of the buildings showcases crafts and Native American jewelry for purchase.

Our tour group then headed to Custer State Park. This park is the first and largest State Park in South Dakota. Named after Lt Colonel George Custer, the park is home to herds of wildlife. Deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, and many other animals are found within the park’s vast landscape. The park is known for its scenic roads, as well as being the summer home of President Calvin Coolidge.

We encountered some massive bisons grazing in close proximity to our tour bus.

After our exciting wildlife encounter, we proceeded to our next destination: Mount Rushmore. The famous sculpture depicts the faces of four American presidents, carved into the granite mountaintop. Gutzon Borglum and his son Lincoln, were the sculptors who carved their likenesses. The four American presidents immortalized on Mount Rushmore include: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

A state historian wanted to have the likenesses of famous people carved into the Black Hills to promote local tourism. Mr. Borglum suggested that the carvings contain national symbols, hence the faces of the four presidents. Construction began in 1927 and was completed by 1939. As visitors enter the monument grounds, a stone gateway greets guests and then proceeds to an avenue of flags: one representing each U.S. state.

We were given some time to grab lunch at the restaurant on the premises. I dined on some steamed veggies, salad, and hummus with crackers.

Since we were given ample time by our guide to spend at the monument, I decided to take two different paths to edge even closer to the carvings. I first climbed the 100 step path to the monument, and on my way back, I took the 300 step path. Each path got me closer to the monument and allowed me to observe each feature in detail: the eyes, the noses, and the facial expressions.

Upon our return to Rapid City, I headed to the downtown area, for some city exploration on my own. Art Alley is a colorful graffiti-lined alley in the downtown area, between 6th and 7th Streets. The city allowed the artists to create their graffiti masterpieces on the alley walls, garbage bins, poles, and sidewalks.

Life-size bronze sculptures of forty past USA Presidents line the downtown streets.

My stroll brought me to Main Street Square. This public space downtown includes a concert stage for outdoor performances, a water fountain, and a grassy field. Surrounding the space are boutiques, galleries, and restaurants.

For dinner, I dined at Saigon Family Restaurant (Saigon Family Restaurant) in Rapid City. This spacious and nice restaurant offers many vegan options. My entree was a tofu & veggie dish in garlic sauce, containing broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers, baby corn, snow peas, mushrooms, cabbage, and water chestnuts, with a side of rice. Everything was incredibly delicious and flavorful!

A quick breakfast of oatmeal and a bagel started off the next morning.

The tour bus arrived bright and early for a fun-filled day of activities! Our first stop of the day was the “ghost town” of Scenic, South Dakota. It was sold in 2011 with its old post office, jail, saloon, dance hall, a gas station, and two stores, and now has 58 residents.

Onward we drove to the Badlands National Park. The Park’s striking landscape spreads out across deep canyons with massive rock formations. Bison, prairie dogs, and bighorn sheep roam across its land. My guide brought me to a location within the oldest section of the park, where a wooden platform allows tourists to walk up close onto the gigantic rocks.

Before continuing our drive through the Badlands route, we took a detour to visit the Prairie Homestead. The 1909 sod house was the original home of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Brown. It is a typical home for pioneers settling in the Great Plains.

We made our way back to the Badlands Visitor Center restaurant for a quick lunch. My vegan option was a large salad.

Our drive along the Badlands Scenic Byway provided many opportunities to view spectacular formations of the layered rock from oldest to newer in age. As we progressed along the roadway, the rock layers appeared striped, alternating between a sand color and orange tones.

Grasslands throughout our Badland’s journey peeked our interest for its wildlife. Prairie dogs are small mammals that live on the prairie and burrow themselves into holes in the ground. We were fortunate enough to encounter many of them. They are adorable little creatures,

The final destination on our day’s itinerary was the famous Wall Drug Store. A landmark in its own right, this huge building houses a drug store, dining establishments, and many shops. The original drug store was opened in 1931 and tourists started visiting due to genius advertising by the owner. The owner’s son grew the business exponentially during the 1970s by offering a wide range of products and shops. It is one of the top tourist attractions in the state these days.

Back in Rapid City, I paid a visit to the Breadroot Natural Foods Cooperative (Breadroot Natural Foods Cooperative). This vegan-friendly market offers vegan ice cream, faux meats, skincare products, and produce. I purchased a vegan almond milk strawberry yogurt and an almond milk vanilla ice cream bar.

For my dinner meal, I decided to dine at Blaze Pizza (Blaze Pizza). They offer several vegan options. I selected a veggie pizza with zucchini, mushrooms, olives, red onions, with tomato sauce and a vegan mozzarella cheese. My meal was really tasty.

It was time to get some sleep, before an early flight back home on the following day. Though I didn’t have time to eat breakfast before leaving Rapid City, I found a restaurant at the Denver airport before my connecting flight home. Root Down (Root Down restaurant ) offers a vegan tofu scramble on their breakfast menu. It was superb.

I truly enjoyed my long holiday weekend in South Dakota. From the magnificent Mount Rushmore to the breath-taking Badlands National Park to the surprisingly wonderful vegan dining options, my vacation itinerary was a splendid way to commemorate the 100th anniversary of our national parks system.