Looking west from Rapid City, dense stands of pine and fir on the hills appear black against the big sky -- hence the "Black Hills." The South Dakota "Badlands" and their bizarre sand-and-clay formations are just 50 miles east. Who'd have guessed that a region boasting such darkly monikered attractions (not to mention all those caves) would make good in the tourist trade? But sure enough, tourism is big business in this land of arid climate marked by blistering summer days and blustery winter storms. Rapid City's proximity to such natural wonders and wondrous monuments (Mount Rushmore, Chief Crazy Horse) makes it a shoo-in for road warriors seeking the glory of the Old West. Legalized South Dakota gambling adds a little glitz -- and a new kind of gold rush -- to the experience. It may have been a gold rush that founded Rapid City in 1876, but cement is the community bedrock nowadays. That in addition to mobile-home manufacturing, livestock and tourism lead the way economically for many of the city's 55,000 residents. Ellsworth Air Force Base (home the B-1b Lancer) is 12 miles east of town.