Spring Vacation: First Lady Michelle Obama, Girls Enjoy Sweet Treats During Visit To Mt. Rushmore

An ice cream and fudge stop during private tour through Western states; Secret Service in South Dakota days ahead of the trip...
On vacation in the Western US, First Lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday sampled sweet treats from the Black Hills of South Dakota with daughters Malia, 13, and Sasha, 10.  The trio made two stops on Wednesday, including a visit to Mount Rushmore, near Keystone, SD, and a stop in Las Vegas, NV. They traveled by plane and in a ten-plus vehicle motorcade, without President Obama, who has just returned home from Korea.(Above: Mrs. Obama is visible through the window of her Suburban in Keystone, SD)

“Mrs. Obama and her daughters are taking a private family trip to the western United States,” said Mrs. Obama's Communications Director, Kristina Schake.

Mrs. Obama's trip was not announced to reporters as part of her schedule.  Schake confirmed the trip with the Las Vegas Sun after the paper queried about a scheduled special closure at the local airport.  Malia is newly reunited with her mother after a class trip to Mexico that was "interrupted" by a huge earthquake. Mrs. Obama and the girls last traveled out west over the Presidents Day holiday in February for a ski trip to Colorado.

Ice Cream, Fudge, and Mt. Rushmore...
After visiting Mt. Rushmore early on Wednesday, Mrs. Obama and the girls stopped at Turtle Town, a sweet shop in Keystone, located on the town's main drag, Winter Street. The homey place serves "old fashioned" ice cream and "the finest" fudge. Manager Deb Splinter dished all to the Rapid City Journal, which also reported that Secret Service agents had been in the town for days ahead of the visit.

Mrs. Obama and the girls arrived at Turtle Town at 3:45 PM and stayed for about half an hour.

“It was nice, really nice seeing her and the girls,” Splinter said minutes after Mrs. Obama departed. “We had fudge and ice cream, and we all sat and visited. The girls were very sweet.”

“I’d had a strange call earlier asking if we were open and when we closed,” Splinter said. “And they asked if they got here at 3:30 they’d be OK. I said sure.”

But nobody arrived at 3:30. And when 3:45 arrived, Splinter decided to close up shop. She had taken out the trash and was cleaning up when the First Lady's motorcade pulled up, she said.

As the First Lady and the girls dined in "the cozy eating area of the store," two gray Suburbans waited outside the front door, along with other SUVs, as Secret Service agents stood in the street watching people and traffic and scanning the rooftops. Members of the Rapid City-Pennington County special response team stood nearby, and deputies and state troopers managed traffic. A van marked DCI Bomb Squad pulling a trailer drove past the shop heading back toward Rapid City.

The treat stop came after a visit to Mount Rushmore that restricted access to parts of the memorial and required visitors during that period to go through security checkpoints. The Obamas flew into Ellsworth Air Force Base earlier in the day and rode in a gray Suburban that was part of a motorcade of about 10 vehicles. Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom said after the Obamas had departed that Secret Service agents were in town days in advance preparing for the visit.

Mrs. Obama will be in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday to attend the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.

Info: Turtle Town is at 117 Winter Street, Keystone, South Dakota, 57752. Phone: 605-666-4675