Visiting Flintstones Village in Custer South Dakota

It's time to break out the bed rolls, dust of the tents, and stock up on goodies. Summer is sneaking up and soon it will be off to Vacation Land. Oh the places to go and sites to see.

One of my most memorable trips as a child was visiting Flintstones Village in Custer, South Dakota. I grew up watching cartoons of Fred and Wilma. I would proudly race around the house screaming "Yaba Daba Dooo!!"

Each time a member of the family would visit, we would beg our dad to take us back to Bedrock. It was like the coolest place on earth for a six year old. The idea of holding hands with Fred and pictures taken with Wilma...priceless!

My husband and I decided that once our children were old enough, we wanted to take them to experience the same trip down memory lane. It was in the summer of 1997, when we broke the news to them. They were ecstatic, just as I was at that age, showing their delight by racing through the house screaming "Yaba Daba Dooo!"

Since we lived only a few hours away, it wasn't a major trip for us to take. Two hours over, spend the day, and two hours back. On our next weekend off, we piled the kids in the car and sped away, looking for loads of fun and priceless time spent with our children.

The look of glee shined in their eyes as the big sign "Flintstones" came into view. No words could accurately describe our children's excitement as they bounced in their seats anxiously awaiting for the car to stop so they could pile out and explore the sites. Each talked over the other, yelling and pleading where they wanted to visit first. It was like corralling a herd of wild horses.

The first thing we did was purchase the tickets to get in. Then we headed off to the train station to get a look at the village before touring the village itself.

After our fun filled train ride, we wandered down the path in search of Fred and Wilma Flintstone's home. The children scampered off from one building to the next, shouting and cheering at the treasures they found. I had a hard time getting them to slow down long enough to take pictures.

We wandered behind, smiles as wide as the Grand Canyon, proud of our kids. A tear formed in my eye as I remembered back to my day's of exploring Bedrock.

If you have never toured the town of Bedrock I would recommend setting aside a day to browse. There is so many things to do like riding the Bedrock mobile, watching the Flintstone's Trio Show, and riding the Iron Horse Train. There is a drive-in where you can munch on a Brontoburger, Dingo Dogs, Chickasaurus, or Rockbusters. They even have a camping resort with all the extras for those that are traveling from far off places. There is even free Wi-Fi!

Come pack your bags and hit the road. I think this is a site worth seeing!