The Alamo
San Antonio
The Alamo is considered hallowed ground in San Antonio and throughout Texas, and most groups visiting the city take time for a photo stop in front of the mission and perhaps a quick tour inside. But the visitors complex at the Alamo is bigger than you may realize, and it offers a number of more in-depth experiences for visitors.
“The Alamo itself is part of a 4.2-acre complex,” said Dave Krupinski, assistant executive director of the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It has a museum with exhibits about the Texas Revolution and Texas history. You can also enjoy beautiful gardens at the Alamo that are part of the tour experience.”
Groups that take the time for a full private tour of the Alamo see not only the mission exterior, but also the interior rooms, the gardens and the adjacent museum, which displays numerous artifacts from the Battle of the Alamo and some of the heroes that fought there, including Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett.
For a refresher lesson on the battle itself, Krupinski recommends that groups see the film “Alamo: The Price of Freedom” at the Alamo Imax Theater at the nearby River City Mall.
“This really gives groups a way to connect with the full history that took place at the Alamo,” he said. “It also explains from a Texas perspective why the battle took place and why the Alamo is sacred. It connects visitors emotionally to the whole experience, versus just doing a walk-through on their own.”
In addition to its role in the war for Texas independence, the Alamo is notable for its role in the Spanish outreach into what was then Mexico in the 1600s. It is one of five Spanish colonial missions in San Antonio. Groups interested in this history and architecture can include the Alamo with visits to some of the other missions in the city.
Mount Rushmore
Rapid City, South Dakota
Everyone has seen pictures of Mount Rushmore, and most people who have traveled through the Black Hills of South Dakota have seen the mountain carving in person. Fewer, though, have taken part in the numerous other activities that enrich the experience at Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
The first thing you’ll want to do at the memorial is spend some time taking pictures of the carving from the Avenue of Flags. From there, the site offers a variety of ways to learn about the mountain, the presidents and the man who carved their likeness into the granite.
“There’s an audio tour done by the Mount Rushmore Society,” said Julie Jones-Witcher, tourism sales manager at the Rapid City Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Those are handheld wands with narration, interviews and different things. It has multiple hours of information on it.”
The audio tours give details on the mountain, as well as commentary to accompany a hike on the Mount Rushmore Presidential Trail, a half-mile walking trail that takes guests down to the base of the mountain, affording an interesting bottom-up view of the presidential figures.
The trail also leads to the Sculptor’s Studio, a small workshop used by sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his crew to carve the mountain between 1921 and 1941.
Jones-Witcher also recommended that groups make a return visit to the memorial for the evening lighting ceremonies, which take place mid-May through mid-September.
“They’re a great group activity,” she said. “It’s about a 30-minute program, and it’s very patriotic. It talks about the memorial and why they chose those presidents.”
