Top attractions for a Rapid City, S.D., getaway

Ronald Reagan stands among the 40 life-sized presidential statues on Rapid City street corners.

A presidential getaway: More than Mount Rushmore

Photos & feature by Lisa Meyers McClintick

In honor of President's Day, here's a look at Rapid City, S.D., the longtime gateway to Mount Rushmore and newly dubbed City of Presidents.

You can admire four of the nation's most influential presidents looming large at Mount Rushmore or pose with life-size versions of every American president in Rapid City's downtown. The city's bronze collection of presidential statues was completed last year and features every one but current President Obama.

You can see John F. Kennedy walking his son, John Jr., Thomas Jefferson working on the Declaration of Independence, and Jimmy Carter waving a cheery hello kitty-corner from Ronald Reagan in full ranch attire. Fans of Ronald Reagan celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birth earlier this month.

Prairie Edge and its bead collection

Top things to do  
in Rapid City, SD

1. Admire the Smithsonian-worthy talent at Prairie Edge Gallery, which blends amazing Native American artwork with an Indian trading post, upscale gift boutique, gallery and bookstore with one of the country's best collections of Native American music and literature. Best little secret here: A lofted museum showcases a stunning collection of Venetian glass beads.

Firehouse Brewery

2. Grab a drink or meal at Firehouse Brewery's outdoor courtyard, where they fire up live music, warm torches and take full advantage of a great location in the midst of downtown Rapid City's shops and restaurants.

Alex Johnson lobby

3. Check out The Journey, a great introduction to all things South Dakotan, from the Native American tale of creation and a simulated dinosaur dig camp to Old West towns and tipis.

4. Savor dinner at one of the new upscale eateries, such as Tally's Silver Spoon. Look for Dakota fare, such as pheasant or bison.

Dinner at Tally's

5. If you like something quirky, check out the Art Alley between St. Joseph and Main Streets. It's graffiti gone wild and the one place I did see President Obama. He was in the company of Garfield (the cat, not the president) and Homer Simpson. You never know who will show up here.

6. Soak up history and atmosphere in the Alex Johnson Hotel lobby. The rooms have gone through a complete renovation, but in the lobby and ballroom, it still feels like past presidents will walk through the door and make themselves at home in the big leather chairs.

Shop Minnesota museums for the most unique holiday gifts

If you crave gifts that are unexpected and go up a notch on the cool factor, skip the big retailers. Head to your local museums instead.

Museum gift shops celebrate regional artists, authors and local flavor in a ways you won't get at most stores. By shopping at museums, you're supporting Minnesota's cultural scene as well as taking a breather if you're able to enjoy the exhibits, too.

Mill City Museum, Minneapolis
The Mill City Museum (left) in particular melts into the holiday mood thanks to its focus on Minneapolis' history as the flour capital of the world for half a century. General Mills with its Betty Crocker icon and Pillsbury with its Dough Boy continue the homey kitchen legacy. I always leave with an urge to go bake cookies.

What you can find here: Lip balm scented like Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, stuffed Dough Boys, hot dish cookbooks, Minnesota-invented Bundt cake pans, wonderful junior chef bakeware for kids, and aprons with attitude: "I'm not Betty Crocker. Deal with it!"

Minnesota History Center,  St. Paul
Visitors to the Minnesota History Center will find top-of-the-line local treats that tie into its new show, "Chocolate: The Exhibition." On loan from the Field Museum in Chicago through Jan. 2, it follows the history of how a humble cocoa bean became one of the world's most sought-after flavors.

It's also an ideal place to pick up something for book-lovers such as Peg Meier's "Wishing for a Snow Day: Growing Up in Minnesota," beautifully photographed "Paddle North: Canoeing the Boundary Waters-Quetico Wilderness" from Greg Breining and Layne Kennedy, and novels such as Dean Urdahl's "Uprising," the first in a trilogy about the U.S. Dakota War of 1862.

Need stocking stuffers? Look for light-hearted loon flutes, ladyslipper socks and Ole and Lena fortune cookies.

Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul
This is the greatest shop for nature and biology kits, guidebooks, rocks and minerals, dinosaur puzzles and other wonderful hands-on gifts for curious kids (or adults).

A sampling of goodies for under $20: hand-held, take-apart brain-teasers similar to Rubik's Cube; origami kits for folding bunnies that hop and birds that can flap their wings; a build-your-own kaleidoscope kit; and DVDs of favorite IMAX movies.

To shake things up a little, you can pose with Anubis (left), a 26-foot-tall replica of the Egyptian god erected this week at Landmark Plaza. It makes for an enchanting Christmas outing with a stop at the free Wells Fargo ice rink. Anubis precedes the upcoming King Tut exhibit, "Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs," that opens Feb. 18. Tickets went on sale this week and can make great stocking stuffers, along with tickets to the general museum or Omnitheater.

Tip for parents: If you have kids ages 10 and under, stop by the Mississippi Visitor Center in the museum's lobby. Like other national park sites, you can get a free workbook to learn about the river and earn a Junior Ranger badge.

Art museums
Art museum gift shops have always been spot on for unique jewelry, art cards, journals, whimsical umbrellas, puzzles, prints and posters, funky desk toys and, of course, art supplies. The Walker Art Center's Totem building cards and crayon rocks for kids look especially intriguing. The
Minneapolis Institute of Arts also is worth a look. Plus admission is free with the exception of special exhibits. Check out its family center and look for monthly family days.


Regional museums
Don't forget smaller regional museums either. They're especially good for older relatives who enjoy memoirs, nostalgic gifts and the funny ones. Our favorite find one year was from St. Cloud's Stearns History Museum: Nunzilla, a stern, wind-up nun who walked and shot sparks from her mouth. It was perfect for an aunt who attended a strict Catholic school and spent many Halloweens dressed in a habit.

For more information on museums statewide and art centers, go to Explore Minnesota.

For additional gift ideas, check out some of the best Minnesota-made apparel and accessories.

Christmas chocolate cravings

Canelake's delightfully old-fashioned Iron Range candy shop.

Upper Midwest's best candy shops

It's a pregnant woman's fantasy: chocolate-covered dill pickles and even chocolate-covered green olives. How can you not give in to curiosity and give them a try?

My mom and I found these savory, strange sweets at Carole Widman's Candy Company in Fargo, North Dakota, last winter. It takes a bit for your tastebuds and brain to process an utterly unpredictable taste combination--mostly with the olives. It requires you to chew slowly, let it linger, say "Hmmm..." and then try it again. It's a strangely addicting combination of sweet and salty, and I'd have to say I preferred the olives. The dill of the pickles seemed too overwhelming.

Since we're probably all recovering from the sugar and calorie comas of Halloween's predictable treats--Reese's, M&Ms and Kit Kats--it's a good time to seek and celebrate what's different and what creative candy makers at small chocolatiers are serving.

Think of it as a sensory gift, too, a sweet hit of aromatherapy. Remember that magical French mint whiff you'd get walking past Fanny Farmer stores?

If you're not drooling yet, give it a minute. Here are a few tasty picks from Minnesota and the Dakotas. Most offer mail order for Christmas if you can't get there in person.
Watertown Confectionery, Watertown, SD

This store nestled into a wonderful old-fashioned  downtown serves my favorite chocolate-covered potato chips. The kettle-style Dakota chips are thick and crunched up for maximum density and texture. Even better: try the clusters jalapeno-flavored potato chips drenched in chocolate. It's a surprisingly brilliant combination: a kick tempered with sweetness and a dash of salt.

Owners Mike and Vickie Marotz also are known for their South Dakota cow pies and chocolate mints you can smell throughout this tidy, spacious shop--unless it's coffee roasting day. Breathe deeply and enjoy.

Carole Widman's, Fargo, ND
If the novelty of chocolate-covered pickles and olives seems too out-there (or you can't eat them right away before they expire), go for a fresh take on traditional hand-dipped chocolates. We loved the sunflower-seed-studded bars of chocolate (a perfect nod to local crops) and the crisp-crunch of chocolate with flax seed. That, too, gives a nod to local farming and bites like a more delicate Nestle Crunch Bar with a nutty, fun kick of roasted flax.

Their most famous chocolates? Chippers, chocolate-covered potato chips, heavy on the chocolate.

The pink-themed store seems like a candy newcomer buried in a strip-mall by big-box stores, but Widman's business has been around for about 100 years. Other family members run stores in Grand Forks and Morris, Minn.

Canelake's, Virginia, MN

If you love that stick-in-your-teeth butterscotchy goodness of Butterfingers, you'll love Canelake's "Hot Air," an old-fashioned foam candy dipped in chocolate. Of course it's much airier and more puffed up than a Butterfinger with its unusual texture. 

This downtown Virginia institution with its vintage red-and-white-striped storefront screams nostalgia in the best way possible. The Canelake's candymakers have been stirring buttery caramel, adding real cream, roasting nuts, and cooling hand-dipped chocolates on marble tables since 1905.

You can buy assortments by the box or put together your own mix with minty Swiss chocolates, chocolate-caramel-pecan frogs, glazed and chocolate-dipped apricots and just about any nutty, fruity or creamy candy-store combination.

Great! Lakes Candy Kitchen, Knife River, MN
 You'd never know this adorable red-and-white shop used to be Mel's Fish store. This long-time Knife River icon seems like such a natural fit for a sweet little candy shop. Pamela and Patricia Canelake and Pamela's husband, Dennis--grandchildren of the Canelake's founder--bought the building and replanted the family's chocolate roots in 2007.

Like Canelake's, one of Great! Lakes Candy Kitchen's best-known sweets is the chocolate-covered sponge candy dubbed "Air Crunch." Among their other standouts are spicy ginger caramels with a hint of cinnamon, a maple cream bar covered in chocolate-covered peanuts, chocolate-covered sea salt caramels, and the wittily named U Betcha Bars--a generous caramel square dipped in chocolate and rolled in walnuts. It's on a stick, which is a fun nod to Minnesota's legendary on-a-stick state fair food.

Indecisive? A Knife River Nibbler box can take care of that. And if you're missing Mel's Fish, you'll have to go to Russ Kendall's for your smoked fillets, but grab the candy shop's tribute to Mel first: a chocolate fish.

Very merry Mall of America

Add a little more magic to your gifts
with a trip to Bloomington

What makes a travel souvenir more than just a regular purchase? The memories attached to it. That's why most of us feel compelled to bring back something whenver we travel. A bottle of local wine. A funny T-shirt. Fine-crafted chocolates.
Christmas ornaments. It's tangible evidence we were there--a visual trigger for days well-spent.

That need for memory--and value--to be attached to our possessions makes the holidays a struggle sometimes. I don't want to just go buy a pile of stuff from mega-stores to tumble under the tree. And who needs more over-the-top packaging that takes a utility knife, multi-tool and 30 minutes to undo toys that break 24 hours later?

Last year, with $50 each from grandparents, our kids were able to purchase one of their best gift : a teddy bear. Yep. A good old bear. No batteries needed. What made it special was the memories attached to it as we made a trip to Mall of America and Build-A-Bear-Workshop. I admit I wasn't that crazy about the idea as I typically dodge crowds and anything that feels overhyped. Boy, was I wrong.


Look for hands-on gifts

The girls, who were 4 at the time, and Jonathan, still 9, absolutely loved the hands-on approach and bringing their own bear to life. It was the highlight in a magical Mall of America outing that included rides at Nickelodeon Universe and lunch among the fishtanks and animatronics of Rainforest Cafe.

The Build-A-Bear staff was helpful and attentive, guiding the kids in choosing their favorite bear (or dog), then a little heart to go inside before they stuffed it. They watched the process with big eyes and a few giggles. The hardest part was choosing the outfits from the mind-boggling choices. We left with a Batman dog, a Snow White puppy, a Sleeping Beauty bear and a whole lotta happiness.

Other kids (big or small) are finding similar experiences with the adjacent store for building dolls, the newly opened Barbie shop(a temporary store through March) and last year's newcomer, the much-anticipated American Girl store complete with restaurant, beauty shop and doll hospital.

Lessons learned:

1. Make time for special outings no matter what time of year.

2. Look for any hands-on opportunities near you, whether it's paint-your-own-pottery, a learn-to-knit session or building a bear.

3. Savor vacation souvenirs whether that vacation was a week in Mexico or a day-trip from your own backyard.

4. Do set a budget. With Underwater World, movie theaters galore, and toy temptations around every corner, it's easy to go nuts. Decide what you can afford and stick to it. Make it clear to kids, too, what you are able to do. If they want more, have them ask Santa for ride tickets or offer ideas for ways they can earn their own money for a return trip.

5. If you do get to the Mall of America this season, be sure to linger after dark when the amusement park with its sparkle of lights feels the most festive.

One more tip: If you are a big fan of Rainforest Cafe, the T-Rex Cafe at Kansas City and in Orlando takes that interactive, full-sensory concept even further with new technology and funky designs. Think meteor storms, digging for bones, sitting beneath a giant jelly fish or chilling out in an ice cave.

Above: The girls on the carousel at Nickelodeon Universe, our second favorite one after the carousel at LARK Toys in Wabasha.

Don't forget about Legoland: It's full of cool contraptions and creations just outside Nickelodeon Universe. Best thing about this attraction: It's free! And for little children, it's ideal. Most of them don't need any fancy rides. Let their creativity loose and have a few car races.