RV-Dreams Journal

Two Days Of Lousy Weather - (Keystone, SD)

Linda picked a couple good days to be gone.

On Thursday, it rained all day and never got out of the 40s.  I had to run the furnace a little bit to get it warm enough for the fireplace and electric heater to keep up.

Friday was almost exactly the same.

At least it stopped raining long enough Thursday afternoon to go into Keystone with Tom & Cheryl and have dinner.

We went to Teddy's Deli, famous for its one-pound reuben and its one-pound pastrami called The Teddy.  We had a nice dinner and they filled me in on all their travels since I saw them last.  They've been quite busy, but now it's time to go back and visit the grandkids.  :)

Back at the campground, we did the hugs and handshakes and I called it a night.

Linda's dealing with 90-degree weather in Indiana, but I'd take it over these last couple of days.  :)

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Airport, Golf, & Errands - (Keystone, SD)

We were up at 4:00 a.m. this morning to get Linda to the Rapid City Regional Airport for her early morning flight to Indianapolis.  Our original plan was that we were going to be in Kentucky this month and it was going to be a convenient stop in Indiana for our friend John's hometown memorial celebration over Memorial Day.

But when we no longer needed to backtrack from Texas to Kentucky, things changed.  Still, Linda wanted us to have a presence so we agreed that she would fly in from here in to support Therese.

The nine days will be the longest time we've been apart, so it will be tough.  Especially if the weather doesn't cooperate and I get stuck inside.  :)

After saying our goodbyes at the airport, I went to meet J.C. at the Meadowbrook Golf Course.  But I was going to be way early, so I made a stop for a nice breakfast first.

J.C.'s wife Bev is also out of town for several days, so we hope to get in a couple rounds of golf and we might get together for some fishing or bike riding.

The course was in really good shape and had some interesting holes.  It's not particularly difficult, but it was a nice challenge.  It was overcast and cool all day, but we got our round in without it raining.  For only playing for the third time in the last year, I was happy with my round of 83.  :)

After our round, I followed J.C. to the Rapid City Elks Lodge for lunch.  They have RV sites and a golf course which we will play in the next few days since J.C. is a member.

After lunch, I had to run errands.  I got the oil changed in the Jeep, picked up some ink at Office Depot, replaced my fly-fishing vest at Cabela's (they're having a great sale on vests right now), picked up some flies at the Dakota Angler & Outfitter, and stocked up on groceries.

After I got back home and got a shower, there was a knock on the door.  RV-Dreams followers Tom & Cheryl pulled in today and are parked a few sites down.  They were at our 2011 Fall Rally in Hershey and have since started full-timing.  They stopped by for a couple of days on their way to Minnesota, and we made plans to get together for dinner tomorrow night.

I called Linda for our nightly chat and then called it a night.  The weather is supposed to be lousy the next couple of days, so it might be pretty boring around here.  :)

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Rest & Dinner With Friends - (Keystone, SD)

After yesterday's long day of hiking and driving, we rested today.  The only thing on the agenda was having dinner with friends Suzanne & Brad (RVing & Travels - Adventures with Suzanne and Brad).

They are "young" full-timers, but last we heard they had returned to their house in Oregon and were off the road.  Well, that lasted a couple of years, but now they have a new fifth wheel and they have been back full-timing since late 2011.

I happened to see they were in the area and working at the bookstore at Mt. Rushmore for the summer.

We met at the Grizzly Creek Restaurant in downtown Keystone with Mt. Rushmore in the background on the far right in the photo below. 

 

I highly recommend getting a burger, their specialty.  Unfortunately for me, I opted for a burrito and learned my lesson.  :)

Anyway, we got caught up on their return to the "real world" and then their return to full-timing.  After chatting for quite awhile, we went to their rig and continued our conversation.

They, like us, continue to figure out how to generate income on the road.  One thing they have going is Brad's Blind Repair.  Brad is re-stringing blinds either on-site wherever they are parked or by mail.  So, if you need some blinds repaired, Brad can take care of you.  :)

Well, we called it a night.  Linda is flying out early in the morning, so it was time to get some sleep.

Looks like the weather is going to turn bad, so I won't be able to get in much trouble while she's gone.  :)

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Harney Peak Hike & Hot Springs Mammoth Site - (Keystone, SD)

Harney Peak here in the Black Hills is 7,242 feet and is the highest peak in the U.S. east of the Rockies.  There are several trails of moderate difficulty up to the top, and we decided we would knock out the climb on this warm day.

We'll have to do some paddling another time.  :)

There are a few trailheads to Harney Peak in Custer State Park.  The most popular hike is a 3.5-mile hike from Sylvan Lake.  Of course, since it was the most popular, I chose a different route.  :)

We drove up the Needles Highway and parked at the Little Devil's Tower trailhead. 

 

 

From there it's a 3-mile hike and about a 1,000-foot elevation gain to the Harney Peak lookout.  It was the elevation change that concerned us more than the 6-mile roundtrip hike.  We haven't been at 6,000 feet much over the past two years, much less 7,000 feet, so we weren't sure how we'd do.

The first half-mile was a gradual climb and we were feeling winded already.

Unfortunately, much of the hike went through forest that has been devastated by pine beetles.  Still, there were plenty of nice views of rocks and formations.

 

 

After the spur trail to Little Devil's Tower (we skipped that one for today), there is another spur trail that leads to the Cathedral Spires, one of the most notable features in the Black Hills.

 

 

We didn't think we were up for adding any distance to our main objective today, but we might do the Spires another time.

Moving on, we went down into a heavily forested area where the beetle damage was limited.  Of course we knew that was going to be uphill on the return trip.

 

 

We were a little concerned that we were going to have to go into the bottom of the canyon before getting to the peak on the opposite ridge.

 

 

Fortunately, the trail wound around and across a connecting ridge that ran behind the Cathedral Spires.

 

 

That was one of the prettiest parts of the trail.

Beyond there, we started back up where the beetle damage was evident again.

 

 

Eventually, we left Custer State Park and entered the Black Elk Wilderness.

 

 

It was a gradual climb up until we intersected with the trail coming from Sylvan Lake.  Until then, we had only seen one other couple.  From there, the climb was a bit steeper and there were more people.  We were finally looking up at the lookout tower.

 

 

We had to rest a couple times on the last part of the climb, but we finally made it to the tower.

 

 

Views from the top.

 

 

 

 

 

We found a spot down in the rocks out of the wind and had lunch overlooking the valley.

 

 

After lunch, we got a picture of the mountaintop reservoir ...

 

 

and then headed back down. 

 

 

After doing the one uphill portion on the return trip, we were pretty tired.  Linda was lagging a bit in the last half mile, .....

 

 

but that gave me a chance to get photos of her on the trail with the nice background.  :)

 

 

The whole hike, including a half hour at the top, took about four and a half hours.  We were worn out, but we're glad we did it.

 

We briefly thought about calling it a day and heading back to the campground.  But, we mustered up enough energy to make a late afternoon trip south to Hot Springs, SD to visit the Mammoth Site, a tourist attraction that we heard was pretty interesting.

To get to Hot Springs, we drove through a portion of Custer State Park and through Wind Cave National Park.  Sure, Wind Cave is the main attraction at the national park, but we didn't realize the park was so large and had its own collection of wildlife.  And it is another national park that doesn't have an admission fee.

We saw marmots, bison, deer, pronghorns, prairie dogs, and elk as we drove through.

We made it to the Mammoth Site and paid our $8.50 entrance fees.  The entrance fee includes a video that explains why there is a collection of mammoth remains here and includes a 30-minute guided tour.

Mammoth replica in the lobby.

 

 

The reasons we made the trip were because we heard that the Mammoth Site was an ongoing dig site, that multiple mammoths have been discovered, and that the bones are on display where they were found.

We quickly learned that this site was once a steep-banked, spring water-filled sinkhole.  Apparently, mammoths came here to drink or eat the grass along the edge of the warm water.  If they fell in, there was no escape.

The site was found in 1974 when earth-moving equipment was preparing the area for a housing development.  Through the years, a massive shelter was built over the former sinkhole with a visitor center, museum, and lab all connected.

 

 

So far, they have discovered 118 tusks indicating 59 mammoths in this relatively small spot.  It's quite fascinating.

 

 

 

There was no one in the "pit", but they will resume digging in July.  It's tedious work and they use tiny dental tools to keep from damaging the bones.  The bones aren't petrified or fossilized, so they are extremely fragile. 

They have one skeleton that they say is about 97% complete and this is the second most complete one.

 

 

In addition to mammoths, they have discovered numerous other species, many of which still roam the area today.

The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs may not interest everyone, but we were glad we went.  :)

We drove back through Wind Cave National Park where I took a couple of shots of bull elk.

 

 

 

We saw all kinds of wildlife as we traveled back through the parks to get home.  We made it back to the rig just about dark.

It was a long day, but another great one in the Black Hills.  :)

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Free Fishing Day - (Keystone, SD)

Today was our last chance to do some fishing without needing a license, so we wanted to try our luck.  Non-resident fishing licenses for 2012 are $14 for a one-day, $32 for a three-day, or $60 for an annual.  Those fees don't include a $2 agent fee for the license seller.

There are only four or five natural lakes in the Black Hills.  Most have been created by damming the numerous creeks and streams.  And they are all stocked with fish.

Two of the small lakes are within four miles of our campground - Center Lake (inside Custer State Park) and Lakota Lake.

We got a late start that was made even later due to a desperate seach for my fly-fishing vest and all the gear in it and on it.  We don't know how things disappear in such a small space, but apparently my vest is in the RV "black hole".  The vest was a gift and I had all my flies in boxes in the pockets - I was really bummed out that we couldn't find it.  We just don't know where it could be.

Now, we've never done much trout fishing in lakes, so we had no idea what we were doing.  In our drive yesterday, I asked folks with fish what they were using and the common response was "worms".  Now we just needed to find some worms.

Fortunately, we found some worms at the "Wolf People Campground" about a half mile up the road.  Finally, around 2:00, we were at Center Lake.

But by the time we arrived, the wind was picking up and it was getting chilly.  The west side of the lake was already in shadows and the east side of the lake had people all along the shore.

We sat down on the west side in one small patch of sunshine where I saw a guy yesterday had caught some fish.  Again, we didn't really know what we were doing, but we started fishing on the bottom with our worms.

It took a little while, but I eventually caught a small rainbow trout.

 

 

The timing was good, 'cause the wind was making it cold and we were just about to pack it in after less than half an hour.  We took a close-up of the pretty little fish thinking it might be the only one of the day.

 

 

At least we knew we could catch a fish and we watched others pull them in as well.  But it was still cold, so we decided to squeeze ourselves in on the east side of the lake where we would be sitting in full sun and could get a little bit of a wind break.

 

 

Linda caught the first rainbow on that side of the lake.  Then I caught a couple more.  Then she caught a really nice one.  Finally, I caught a good one, too.

 

 

You can keep five trout per day per person, but only one over 14 inches.  But we released all of ours - I just don't like the hassle of cleaning them.  :)

While in that spot, Linda caught three and I caught four.  Linda might have caught more, but the fish kept getting her hung up and I had to replace a couple hooks for her.

The crowds started thinning out as the sun sank lower.  But these folks were still reeling them in.

 

 

Eventually, they left and we moved to their spot.  Linda caught another one and I caught five more.  So we brought in a total of fourteen trout for the afternoon - not bad for not knowing what we were doing.  :) 

It was a beautiful time of the day.  Some folks were fishing from float tubes, canoes, skiffs, and kayaks.  Trolling motors are allowed.

 

When the sun finally sank behind the hills and it was dusk, we called it quits.  The fish were surfacing and picking off insects like crazy.  It would have been fun to have been on our Foldcat with a fly rod.

We ended up spending about five and half hours fishing which was about five hours more than I thought when we first started.  But we were sure glad we stuck it out.  Now, I might just have to spring for license while Linda is gone next week.  :)

Back home, Linda made some soup and we had a relaxing evening.  I made my weekly phone call to my folks around 8:00 forgetting we are on Mountain time.  So, it was 10:00 in Louisville and they were already asleep.  Oops.

Tomorrow, I think we'll do some paddling on Sylvan Lake and then see what else we can get into.  See ya.  :)

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Custer State Park & Dinner With Friends - (Keystone, SD)

Today, we drove through Custer State Park.  It really is more like a national park than a state park.  And this weekend is "Open House" weekend in which the admission fee is waived and you can fish without a license.

A mile from our campground, we entered the park on the northeast side.  Soon, we encountered one of the wild burros.

 

 

This one was all by itself.  We found others later.

We saw some bison bulls, but I vowed to not take any more bison pictures unless there were calves in the photos.  We've seen a lot of bison over the last few weeks.  :)

Then we came upon a couple of pronghorns.

 

 

Though they are known as Pronghorn Antelope or the American Antelope, they aren't antelope at all.  They aren't deer or goats either.  They are native to the U.S. and unique on the planet.  They have horns rather than antlers, but they are the only species to shed their horns like antlers.

They are also the second fastest land animal behind the cheetah.  They can reach speeds of 55 - 60 mph.  But unlike the cheetah which is limited to short bursts, the pronghorn can maintain speed for long distances.

Pronghorns are common in the plains, but I'd classify them as an underappreciated American mammal.  :)

We continued on to the famous Custer Wildlife Loop.  It didn't take long to spot more pronghorns.  And then we came upon a huge bison herd with lots of adorable calves.

 

 

We got great looks at the calves and they were so much fun to watch.

 

 

I'm pretty sure these two were twins.

 

 

After watching for a long time, we moved on and the herd did as well.

 

 

Next, we found a small group of wild burros.

 

 

Now these are the mooching burros.  The park doesn't care if you feed them, so everybody does.  :)

 

 

One ranger told me they can be aggressive and it's better to feed them from inside the car.  He said they knocked a lady down and broke her arm last week.  But a bunch of folks were out of their vehicles feeding them.

 

 

 

And these burros seemed to be behaving.  :)

We didn't have any food, but a lady shoved a stack of vanilla wafers in my hand to distract a burro so she could get back in her car.  It worked as I fed it and scratched its face.

   

 

After the burros, we moved on.  Going around a curve with no other vehicles in sight, I caught a glimpes of this beautiful coyote.

 

 

We finished the Wildlife Loop and saw more bison and lots of prairie dogs.  I restricted myself from taking more prairie dog photos as well.  :)

Back on the main park road, we headed toward the visitors center.  Along the way, we saw more bison, a few deer, and more pronghorn.

 

 

Then, about three feet off the road, these young bighorn sheep were just hanging out.

 

 

A little farther there were two more, even younger, sheep.

 

 

Well allrighty then.  We certainly had a great day of wildlife viewing.

Next, with the sun shining, we decided to a reprise of the Needles Highway.  But before we got too far into it, we took a detour to go take a look at Center Lake.

 

 

Center Lake is another lovely, trout-filled lake and I've been reading that the fishing has been great lately.

 

 

We might come back tomorrow.

Back on the Needles Highway, we climbed into the mountains and approached the first tunnel.

 

 

Here is a blue sky view of Cathedral Spires.

 

 

Formations along the road.

 

 

Waiting to go through the 8' 4" tunnel near the top.

 

 

Not only is it narrow, but it takes a wide swing to get straight to go through.  This is a view from the other side.

 

 

On that side of the tunnel (the western side), you will also find the "Eye of the Needle" formation.

 

 

The next stop was Sylvan Lake.

 

 

It's easy to see why this lake is called the "crown jewel" of Custer State Park.

 

 

Shadows were overtaking the rock wall at the end of the lake.  

 

 

One last photo before heading down the hill.

  

 

After Sylvan Lake, we continued on the Needles Highway as it descended through one more tunnel and toward the town of Hill City.

That ended our day of touring Custer State Park.  But then we had plans to meet our friends J.C. & Bev for dinner at the Alpine Inn in Hill City.

 

 

We hadn't seen them since April of last year, so it was great to get together.  Plus Bev is leaving town for a few days while Linda is gone, so J.C. and I will be getting together for a little golf and maybe some fishing and bike riding.

As for dinner, we've had a few recommendations for the Alpine Inn and its simple menu of a 6 oz. filet mignon for $9.95 or a 9 oz. filet for $11.95.  We arrived around 4:45 and there was already a huge line to get in at 5:00.  In my opinion, other than the price, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about - the food was quite average.

After dinner, we walked around town a little bit and then J.C. & Bev followed us home to see where our campground is located.  They didn't stay long and then headed back to their motorhome at the Sweetgrass Inn Bed & Breakfast where they have eight RV sites.

Well, that wraps up another fine day in western South Dakota.  Tomorrow, we hope to do a little fishing in one of the park lakes.  Until then.  :)

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Black Hills Tourist Day - (Keystone, SD)

We got an email from readers Ted & Donna telling us that they took the Mt. Rushmore Tour when they were here.  So we looked into it.

It's not something we would normally do, because it's about $80 a person with tax.  But we ran it through the "value meter" and we determined it was worth it to knock several touristy things out in one day without having to do the 100-plus miles of driving ourselves.

Itinerary

1. Meet at the Fort Hays Chuckwagon/"Dances With Wolves" movie set location at 7:30 a.m.
2. Pick up tickets and wander around the "Dances With Wolves" movie set.
3. Have and all-you-can-eat breakfast at the chuckwagon.
4. Board the tour bus at 9:00 a.m for an all-day narrated tour.
5. Drive through the town of Keystone and go to Mount Rushmore and spend an hour.
6. Take the famous Iron Mountain Road going through tunnels, over "pigtail" bridges, and down switchbacks to Custer State Park.
7. Drive through Custer State Park and stop for lunch at the Game Lodge (price of lunch not included).
8. Drive the famous Needles Highway up into the most scenic area of the Black Hills.  Go through tunnels, view Cathedral Spires, Eye of the Needle formation, and more.
9. Stop at Sylvan Lake, the "crown jewel" of Custer State Park.
10. Drive through the town of Custer.
11. Go to the Crazy Horse Memorial and spend an hour
12. Drive through the town of Hill City.
13. Return to Fort Hays by 5:30.
14. Wander around the "Dances With Wolves" movie set and watch craftsmen in the various workshops.
15. Have a chuckwagon dinner at 6:30.
16. Watch the hour long Fort Hays Wranglers music and comedy show at 7:30.  

They also have tour that is the exact same itinerary without the meals (i.e. the breakfast and the chuckwagon dinner/after-dinner-show are not included).

So, not knowing how long it takes to get around, we gave ourselves 45 minutes to get to Fort Hays.  Fort Hays isn't really a town, it's just what they call the location of the a place south of Rapid City on Hwy 16 where the "Fort Hays" of the "Dances With Wolves" film set is located.  The set was moved here from the original location on a private ranch several years ago.

It only took us a half hour to get there from our campground and we were there way too early.  We arrived about 7:15 and we would have been fine arriving around 8:15 - 8:30.

Fort Hays Chuckwagon/Dances With Wolves Movie Set

 

 

We were able to get our tickets (which we reserved online) at the "Headquarters" .....

 

 

and then had plenty of time to wander around the movie set and gift shop (which is what they hope you will do).

 

 

Our early arrival cost me a cowboy hat for Linda, but it was reasonable and she looks good in it.  :)

There is a working Tin Shop, Blacksmith Shop, Rope Shop, and more.

 

 

The movie set and all the shops are open to the public and there is no admission fee. 

We wandered into the Chuckwagon for our breakfast.

 

 

If you just come in off the street, you can get all-you-can-eat pancakes for 99 cents.  :)  Our breakfast included pancakes, sausage links, biscuits & gravy and drinks.  I was disappointed that there were no eggs, and it wasn't exactly the all-you-can-eat breakfast I was expecting, but it was fine.

After breakfast, we talked with Ken & Janet Ragsdale until it was time to board our bus.  Ken & Janet have been full-timing for fifteen years and for the last four years they have worked here at Fort Hays as doing photography during the summer.  Check out their website "Snapshots By Ken Ragsdale".

They travel in a toyhauler fifth wheel and have a photo studio in the "garage".  They take photos of folks on the tours at Mt. Rushmore and then the photos are available for purchase in the afternoon in their little photo shop when the tour is complete.  They work seven days a week, but they earn enough in the summer to let them play the rest of the year.

If you stop at Fort Hays, look for Ken in his bowler hat and check out their photo shop.  :)

Finally, it was time to board the bus.  I'd say there were about 40 of us.  It was an older bus, but clean and comfortable.  Some of the newer buses are too wide to get through some of the area tunnels.  :)

Mt. Rushmore

We drove through the small town of Keystone, once a gold mining town and now a tourist town.  We caught glimpses of the famous carvings as we went through the small village.  On the other side of town, we entered the Mt. Rushmore National Memorial.

This was our first good look through the tinted bus window as we approached the parking area.

 

 

There is no admission fee to visit the memorial, but they do charge an $11 parking fee.  The parking fee is good for the calendar year.  America The Beautiful Senior and Access passes don't cover the parking fee.

Since I was a kid, I've heard lots of mixed opinions about Mt. Rushmore.  I've heard several people say they were disappointed or that they thought they would be able to get closer.  Therefore, we had our expectations rather low.

From the time we stepped off the bus, I had a much more positive reaction than I thought I would.

 

 

The above photo was pretty much a naked eye view.  The following photo of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt, and Lincoln is zoomed from that same spot.

 

 

This shot is from the Grand View Terrace, the main viewing area.

 

 

That's also where Ken took photos of us.  Of course, this is a picture of a picture and I didn't take time to make sure the lighting was good so don't hold that against Ken.  :)

 

 

Each head is about 60 feet tall, so the carving is designed to be viewed from long distances.  Binoculars are certainly a good idea to see the amazing detail.  However, you can certainly get closer by walking the one mile Presidential Trail loop.

 

 

This is about as close as you can get, ....

 

 

but you can see that the angle isn't all that great. 

 

 

Parts of the trails were closed during today's visit due to some type of tree spraying.  But we only had an hour, so we went back to the museum located under the Grand View Terrace.

Here's a shot of Linda in her cowboy hat on the stairs leading down to the museum.  :)

 

 

We didn't have time to watch the movie, but the exhibits answered a lot of my questions.  I hadn't ever studied Mt. Rushmore, so I was curious about the inspiration, the selection of the mountain, the name of the memorial, the choice of presidents, and more.

The museum exhibits answered almost all my questions in the short time we were there.

Mt. Rushmore was actually the brainchild of Doane Robinson, the State Historian for South Dakota.  But the idea was not as noble as the result.  He simply wanted a large carving in the Black Hills to attract tourists to his state from all over the country.  He contacted the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, who was working on Stone Mountain in Georgia.

Borglum came and accepted the challenge, but he required that the sculpture have a more national significance than Robinson had first envisioned.  Borglum suveyed the area and ultimately chose the mountain largely based on the best lighting during most of year and the composition of the mountain.

He felt the four presidents chosen (the project started in 1927) best represented the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States during its first 150 years. 

The name Mt. Rushmore is simply a carry-over.  The mountain was named in 1885 after a New York City lawyer who had come to the area on business.  So the memorial is simply named for the mountain where the carving is located.

Gutzon Borglum's original plans were to carve the presidents down to their waists.  But after the faces were finished and he died in 1941, the project was considered complete.

It was interesting to hear the stories of some of the 400 workers.  They were terrified when they first started, but after they got into the routine, they considered it "just a job".  They had no idea of the significance of the project at the time.  Fortunately, no one died during the carving.

For more details, visit the Mt. Rushmore website or, better yet, come see it for yourself and go through the museum to see how the project developed, the controversies, and the techniques used.

We enjoyed our time there and we may go back, especially for the night program when they light up the mountain.

Iron Mountain Road

Between Mt. Rushmore and one entrance of Custer State Park is the Iron Mountain Road which is part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic By-way.  

This road was designed as a connector road, but conservationist, senator, and governer, Peter Norbeck wanted to be sure the road didn't destroy any more of the natural environment than necessary.  He also wanted it to be a slow trek.  Therefore, the road has switchbacks, hairpin turns, tunnels, and "pig-tail" bridges (they loop around themselves like a pig's curly tail).  Here's an old photo from above.

 

 

Another really cool feature of the road is that the three tunnels frame Mt. Rushmore as you drive through each one of them heading toward the memorial.  Our bus driver/tour guide, Dan, let us off the bus to get photos after we passed through going in the opposite direction.

 

 

You certainly don't have to go to the Mt. Rushmore Memorial to see the mountain - there are numerous vantage points.

Once beyond all the tunnels and switchbacks and curves, Iron Mountain Road passes by the Spokane Creek Campground where we are parked.  We snapped a quick shot of our rig as we passed by.

 

 

Custer State Park

About a mile farther, we entered a back entrance to Custer State Park.  Custer State Park is the premier park in the South Dakota State Parks system and it is one of the finest state parks anywhere in the country.  It's Wildlife Drive is a major attraction for visitors to the area.

Now, this tour doesn't go on the Wildlife Drive where the main herds can be seen, but we certainly got our share of looks at Bison.

  

 

They were a lot closer than that last photo shows.

 

 

As we passed through the park, we stopped at the State Game Lodge (Calvin Coolidge's summer "White House" in 1927) for lunch.  That was not included in our tour, so you could choose to skip lunch, have the buffet, or order off the menu.  It's a bit pricey and we were still feeling the effects of breakfast, so Linda & I decided to split a $13 buffalo burger.

We sat with a couple from St. Louis, Chuck & Florence, and had a great time chatting with them.  Unfortunately, the service was a bit slow, and we didn't have any time after lunch to look around. 

Needles Highway

Back on the bus, we continued through the massive park.  The Needles Highway is also part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic By-way and the most scenic part is within the park boundaries.  This was a road Peter Norbeck was told was impossible to build, but he got it done.

This road also includes tunnels and hairpin turns as it climbs up to over 6,000 feet through the granite outcroppings and the tall, slender rock formations known as "needles".  Unfortunately, it clouded up and started to rain as we got to the most scenic part.

Still, we were able to get shots of the Cathedral Spires.

 

 

The most exciting part was squeezing through the narrowest of the area tunnels.  It's only 8' 4" wide.  That's 100 inches.  RVs are either 96 inches wide or 102 inches wide.  It's a good idea to know your width and don't forget to measure awnings and anything else that might be sticking out.  :)

Here's an old photo of the bus just like we were on today coming through the last tunnel.

 

 

Of course, height may be the issue.  Most of the tunnel clearances range from 10' 7" to 12' 9" with one large tunnel exception coming into Keystone.  Check out the chart below.

  

 

The first three listed are on Iron Mountain Road.  The last three are on Needles Highway.  The one in the middle is a two-lane tunnel and no problem.

Now you can get to all areas of Custer State Park and all the other attractions with a large RV.  It just takes some planning and longer routes.

With the rain, and fewer places to pull off, we weren't able to get many pictures of the scenery, but we'll certainly be back through the area over the next several days.

At the apex of the Needles Highway, is the beautiful Sylvan Lake.  It's a gorgeous, trout-filled lake with rocks in and around the lake.  Unfortunately, not only was it raining harder, but we got about an inch of hail during our stop there.  A few bad pictures wasn't worth getting pounded.

While we waited on the bus and hoped for the weather to clear out, we talked to our fellow tourist, Sucheta.  Sucheta was born in India but moved to Atlanta when she was 17.  After a stint in the corporate world of investments, she is now following her dream.

She is a chef and freelance travel writer and has a website called "Go .. Eat .. Give".  It's about exploring the world and learning about other cultures through food and community service.  At her young age, she has been to 35 countries.  We exchanged cards and who knows, perhaps we can assist each other some day.

Well, the rain and hail continued, so we gave up on Sylvan Lake.  But we'll definitely be back.

Crazy Horse Memorial

From Sylvan Lake, rather than continuing down Needles Highway to Hill City, we turned off and dropped down into the town of Custer.  We drove through town and eventually came to the Crazy Horse Memorial, which is between Custer and Hill City.

Cheif Standing Bear of the Lakota Tribe contacted sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who had worked under Borglum at Mt. Rushmore, about carving a mountain so that "the White Man would know that the Red Man has great heroes also".  The land is owned by the Crazy Horse Horse Memorial Foundation and its charter includes making the campus an educational and cultural center for all North American Indiana, in addition to continuing the progress on the world's largest sculpture.

The project was dedicated in 1948 and Korczak started work.  He dedicated his life to the Crazy Horse Monument and died in 1982.  He refused any type of government funds and funding, as well as weather, make the project a slow process.

Upon his death, he left it up to his wife and ten children.  He told them they could walk away if they wished, but most of his children took up the challenge and are continuing along with their mother.

At the memorial, we watched the twenty-minute movie and took a look at the distant mountain when the rain stopped.

 

 

For a little perspective, all four heads of the presidents on Rushmore would fit on the head of Crazy Horse. 

The face is carved, but there is so much work to be done.

 

 

It's supposed to look like this when completed.

 

 

Work is now being done on the horse.  Tons and tons of rock have been blasted off the mountain, but it's hard for visitors to see progress.  It certainly won't be completed in our lifetime, and I'm not sure it will be completed in the lifetimes of the sculptor's great grandchildren.  Like Mt. Rushmore, "completion" may be something much different than the original plan.

I hope that they continue to develop the educational and cultural aspects of the overall plan.  Personally, I think that self-funded success and pride in the achievements of those that pass through will ultimately lead to the fulfillment of the dream of Korczak and Chief Standing Bear.

We walked through the cultural center and admired the Indiana art.  With the movie, viewing the mountain, and walking through, our hour went by quickly and it was time to board the bus.

Will we go back to Crazy Horse.  Mmm, I doubt it.  However, they have something called a Volksmarch hike up to the face of the sculpture each year and it just so happens that we will still be here for this year's event (June 2 & 3).  It's the only time the public can hike up the mountain, so we might just have to do that.  :)

Fort Hays Chuckwagon & Show

We arrived back at the Fort Hays location by 5:30.  That gave everyone an hour to walk through the movie set and watch the craftsmen make tin plates, rope, knives, etc.  Folks on the tour could pick out their photos with Ken & Janet.  Lots of opportunity to shop.  :)

We had assigned seats for dinner based on when we bought our tickets.  Of course, it included all the people that had made reservations for dinner, not just those on the tour bus.  So we didn't sit with anyone we had met earlier.

Dinner was beef brisket with BBQ sauce or a chicken breast.  It also included baked beans, applesauce, a baked potato, a biscuit, a piece of spice cake, and drinks (lemonade, coffee, or tea).

We were sent up by table row (just like an RV rally) and servers dished out our food onto our tin plates.  We grabbed tin cups of lemonade and went back to our table.  The food was simple but plentiful.  There wasn't anything amazing about the meal, but it was good.

After we all followed instructions in helping to get the dishes cleared off the rows of tables, the Fort Hays Wranglers (also our food servers) came out on stage.

 

 

They started about 7:30.

They were a great group of musicians and the voices pretty good.  The comedy was typically hokey, but we still laughed and had fun.

The show lasted an hour and had a great variety of cowboy songs, country, classis rock, gospel, and patriotic.  They even squeezed in a polka and a swing.  :)

The show was over around 8:30 and we got to the Jeep just before dark.  By 9:00 we were home.

Well, the weather wasn't the best for our tour, but we still had a great day.  Was the tour worth it?  Linda said it was.  I would have to agree with her, but it was a closer call for me.  No surprise there.  :)

It certainly gave us a great one-day overview and a "lay of the land".  As planned, we knocked out three touristy things - Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Chuckwagon Diner Show - in one day and didn't have to do the 110 miles of driving.  Was it worth it?  Yes.  Would I do it again?  No, but it served its purpose this time.  :)

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Getting Some Chores Done - (Keystone, SD)

For our first full day in the Black Hills, I was awakened by turkeys walking through our campsite.  It started out warm, but the temperature went down as the day progressed.  It turned chilly and rain threatened pretty much all day.  We were going to get out and do something, but we couldn't narrow it down, and the weather wasn't motivating us.

We booked a Black Hills overview tour for tomorrow, and we sort of wanted to wait for that.  So, with iffy weather and needing to get some things done like laundry and preparing some outlines for seminars we'll be doing at upcoming rallies in Gillette, WY, we ended up just sticking around the campground.

Later in the day, I walked up the hill behind our rig to get a couple of pictures.  It's part of the Black Hills National Forest that connects with Custer State Park.  It's also part of about 17,000 acres that burned in 1988, so it's mostly rock outcroppings that used to be hidden by Ponderosa Pines.

 

 

There is a trail that leads up from the campground, so maybe we'll throw on our hiking boots one day and just explore here.

View from above and behind our rig.

 

 

 

I grilled a couple more brats for dinner and we relaxed for the evening.  We were looking forward to our bus tour tomorrow to get a better feel for the area.

Please bear with me on Journal entries.  Our internet here is adequate for surfing, doing emails, etc.  But it is terribly slow for uploading photos.  So, it takes me a long time to get a Journal entry prepared for posting.  Sorry about the delays.  :)

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Morning Hike Then Off To The Black Hills - (Keystone, SD)

We got up early to do the Notch Trail in Badlands National Park. 

 

 

It's a mile and a half roundtrip trail starting from the Door and Window Trails parking area.  We got started around 8:00.

There is a sign saying to wear "Sturdy Boots", so we donned our hiking boots.  As it turned out, they weren't really necessary, but we were glad we wore them.

We walked along the valley floor amongst the gray rock formations.

 

 

There were sign posts with yellow paint at the top to mark the way.

 

 

Not very far in, there is "ladder" leading up a wall.  Interesting.

 

 

Going up wasn't bad, ....

 

 

but coming down might be a little trickier.  :)

We walked along the ledge through a couple formations ....

 

 

and looked down to where we came from.

 

 

We obeyed the danger sign and kept to the right. 

 

 

It was a pretty easy hike through the small canyon from there.

 

 

At one point, you can bear right or left and there is a sign pointing to the right.  It's a very short walk up to the Notch from that intersection.

 

 

After getting a few photos, - it was windy and quite chilly - we walked back down and took the left at the fork. 

 

 

To me, that was a little more interesting and took us up to a different window with what I thought was a better view.

 

 

There was no one on the trail at that point, but you could see how it would be fun to get up in the rocks and explore.  We both wished there were more trails like this one in the park.  Climbing into the guts of the formations is fun, and we might've stayed longer had there been more opportunities like the Notch Trail.

We walked back down, stayed left at the "dangerous cliff", and proceeded back toward the ladder. 

 

 

 

Two others were coming up, so we waited.  They took pictures of us going down (facing the wall), and I took pictures of them walking where we had just come from.

 

 

I also got a shot of Linda coming down the ladder, but I was instructed to wait until she was far enough down to turn around.  :)

 

Apparently a bird or a UFO flew right over her at the time I snapped the picture.  :)

It was a short, easy, fun hike and took about an hour.  Since Linda skipped her morning coffee, we got back in plenty of time for her to get her fix.  :)

Around 10:00, we packed up to leave.  Without doing some backcountry hiking, we pretty much covered everything we wanted to see in a couple of days.  Perhaps the next time through, we will do some backcountry exploring and maybe even stay at the Sage Creek Campground.

But now we are heading to the Black Hills so Linda will have a week before she flies to Indianapolis.

If you're interested in seeing all of our Badlands National Park photos - all 233 of them - here is the link to a slideshow - Badlands National Park Slideshow.  :)

 

We dumped tanks and headed out.  We made a quick stop at the Cowboy Corner in Interior to fuel up.  The diesel pump had pretty easy access for a big rig.  The diesel price was a bit steep, so I just filled our smaller tank while Linda topped off the Jeep.

Then we hopped on Hwy 44 and took it all the way to Rapid City.  Wow, so much better than an interstate, it was a nice, wide two-lane with good shoulders, there was almost no traffic, and I can't remember a stoplight until we got close to town.  That was the easy part.  :)

Once we got to Rapid City, we followed the directions posted on the Spokane Creek Campground website.  We took the U.S. 16 Truck Route west until we picked up U.S. 16 toward Keystone.  Then we exited onto U.S. 16A toward Keystone.  Whew, there were some steep inclines and descents on those roads.  Especially noteworthy is the long descent into Keystone - I was in second gear most of the way down.  Good thing we have some experience with this, or I would have been freaking out.  :)

Once in Keystone, we took a left onto Hwy 40 - a bit curvy through town, but not too bad.  Then we turned onto Playhouse Road.  Now that was one windy, hilly, two-lane road.  Good thing Linda was in front of me letting me know if the coast was clear coming around the hairpin turns.  Even with our experience, that was quite a challenge.

Finally, we reached Iron Mountain Road and we only had a half-mile to go.  After a couple more blind turns we made it to Spokane Creek.  I exited the truck and simply exclaimed "Holy Cow!"  Inside, they reiterated that our route was the best way to come.  Sheesh.

For the record, although I have reputation for choosing remote campgrounds, Linda picked out this one.  But it's a nice choice once we finally arrived.  It's a Passport America campground that gives the 50% discount all year except for holiday weekends.  We are staying three weeks and even having to pay full rate for Memorial Day weekend, we will average $20.90 per day for full hook-ups (30 amps) - not bad for the Black Hills area.

Plus, we are only a mile from the entrance to Custer State Park and eleven miles to Mt. Rushmore.  We may not be close to anything else, but that's okay by me.  :)

They have a line of back-in sites that back up to the National Forest.  They are tiered up a hillside and the lower half of them have only water and electric.  The upper half have full hook-ups.  They put us at the very top site, Site 53, so we have a nice view.

 

 

 

Now, what we don't have is clear view to the southern sky, so we don't have satellite internet.  We also have very poor cell service (no bars one minute, four bars the next with the predominent signal being zero to one most of the time).

So we had to put up our external trucker antenna and use our amplifier.  That is a trucker antenna connected to an amplifier which is plugged into an outlet.  The amplifier is then connected via another cable to a product-specific adapter which connects to a port on a cell phone or modem (assuming the phone or modem has such a port - many no longer do).  

The trucker antenna/direct connect amplifier tethered to my phone or to our cellular modem brings in just enough 3g signal.  However, we are testing the Maximum Signal Large RV Wireless Package (highly recommended by Jack Mayer as far as wireless systems go) to see how it compares.

The main benefit of the wireless set-up over the direct connect is that it brings in a signal that can be used by multiple devices - my phone, Linda's phone, and our cellular modem.  Now, it's not completely wireless.  By "wireless" they mean you (your phone or modem) are not tethered to the amplifying device by a cable.  However, it's still an external trucker antenna connected to the amp which is plugged into an outlet for power.  Then the amp is connected via another cable to an internal antenna placed on the ceiling of the RV.  There are still lots of wires involved.  :)

The wireless set-up, which can in the right circumstances, allow multiple devices to get a good signal, it simply doesn't deliver as good a signal as the direct connect, especially for data.  That's the general consensus, and we proved that with today's testing.  The wireless system brought in an adequate signal for our phones, but did nothing for our modem.  The direct connect brought in a better signal for my phone or the modem (still not good for data), but of course it does nothing for Linda's phone since she has no antenna port.

I think Jack has the right idea - a direct connect amp for data modems and a Maximum Signal wireless amp for phones.

Fortunately, the campground here has pretty decent Wi-Fi, and we'll be using their internet mostly.  The speed goes up and down during the day, but it will suffice for now.  As a back-up, I'll use the direct connect amplifier with our cellular modem.

Once we got the whole internet/phone thing squared away, I put up our portable satellite TV dish and ran about 100 foot of cable up the hill behind our rig.  I thought the hill might block the signal, but we're connected and good to go on that.

Finally, we sat down and relaxed.  This campground has a good "feel" to it and it should be perfect for exploring the area.  My opinion may change when Memorial Day rolls around.  :)

I got out the grill and cooked a couple of brats for dinner.  We ate outside and enjoyed the quiet.

As the sun went down, it got cool quick, so we scrambled inside for the evening.  We are already making plans to hook up with various folks in the area, and we'll certainly get in our share of nature exploring.

Of course, we have absolutely no idea what we're doing tomorrow.  :)

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Badlands National Park Road Tour - (Interior, SD)

We went to the visitors center this morning to watch the movie on Badlands National Park.  However, their equipment broke over the past weekend.  So, we decided to drive through the park on the Badlands Loop Road and then on the more remote gravel Sage Creek Rim Road.

The Badlands Loop is part of the 40 miles of Hwy 240 from I-90 at Exit 131 through the park and returning to I-90 at the town of Wall.  But part of the road is closed for construction, so they are routing folks back through the town of Interior and across a few miles of gravel road ....

 

 

before returning to the pavement.  Fortunately, we only missed a very short section.

For the next several miles there were turn-outs and marked overlooks with parking lots.  View from the first turn-out.

 

 

Soon we came to the Fossil Exhibit Trail.  It's a short little boardwalk trail ...

 

 

that has small display cases every few yards showing examples of fossils found in the park.

 

 

 

Moving on, we stopped at most of the viewpoints.  This is the White River Valley Overlook.

 

 

After awhile you would think that all the rocks and formations would look the same, but there were just enough differences in terrain or colors to keep it interesting.  Bigfoot Pass Overlook.

 

 

What's amazing is that all this continues on under the grassy plains surface.

 

 

As the surface erodes, more "Badlands" will be exposed.

Panorama Point Overlook.

 

 

Burns Basin Overlook.

 

 

This view from the Conata Basin Overlook included mauve-tinged yellow mounds.

 

 

The road descended and there was a parking area at the Yellow Mounds Overlook.  We climbed up on top of one of the mounds for a different perspective.

 

 

Just past there, we took a left on Conata Road for a short detour to the Conata Picnic Area for a restroom break.  That's also an access point for some backcountry hiking, thus another rattlesnake warning.

 

 

One of the things I love about the Badlands is the grassy areas among the rocks.  The greens make a wonderful contrast and there is habitat within habitat.

 

 

That last photo was from a turn-out and the next one was from the other side of the road.

 

 

Ancient Hunters Overlook.

 

 

The next stop was the Pinnacles Overlook.

 

 

All of the overlooks with parking areas had room for RV parking and easy in-and-outs.  There are lots of uphill and downhill grades and sharp turns on the Badlands Loop, but there were three or four large RVs making the trip - it's not something I would want to do in our rig.  As it gets busier it will likely get a bit more difficult to find space in the parking areas for RVs, but today it was no problem at all.

More views from the Pinnacles Overlook.

 

 

This next shot shows a lush green prairie in the distance.

 

 

You can see a sliver of road running through the dark green - that's the Sage Creek Rim Road.  That gravel road runs 13 - 14 miles through another section of the park.  It goes past Robert's Prairie Dog Town and it is also where you are most likely to see the park's Bison.  In addition, the Sage Creek Campground is 12 miles down that road from the intersection of the paved Badlands Loop.

I gave Linda one last shot to continue on the Loop and drive the 8.5 miles to Wall if she really wanted to.  I was less than enthusiastic about that idea, but I was willing.  :)

But instead, we turned left on the Rim Road.  We immediately saw Pronghorn Antelope far in the distance.  And before we reached the next overlook, we spotted a pair of Bighorn Sheep.

 

 

They weren't very close, but at least we saw 'em.  :)

 

 

View from the Hay Butte Overlook.

 

 

As we drove on, I spotted a dark dot on the valley floor and it was the first of many Bison we would see.

 

 

Five miles in on the Rim Road is the prairie dog town.

 

 

But you don't have to make that drive to see prairie dogs - they are in several places right along the Loop Road.  There are miles of prairie dogs.  :)

That's also where a huge herd of Bison was hanging out, but I could only get a few of them in the shot.

 

 

They weren't close to the road, but through our binoculars we watched the huge animals roll in the dust and create clouds that could be seen for miles.

As we moved on, the landscape changed and after 12 miles, we came to the Sage Creek Campground turn.  We turned left and saw more random Bison.

 

 

The Sage Creek Campground is very remote and has only pit toilets.  There are no hook-ups and no dump station and there is no water, so you would have to haul water in with you.  Unfortunately, it's just a single loop road with no sites to back in or pull through.  You just park on the side of the road and there isn't room to do that around the entire loop.

 

 

There was one rental Class C and a few tents - it clearly wasn't designed with RVs in mind.  There are little shelters with picnic tables ....

 

 

and it has its own prairie dog town.  There was a lot of evidence that the Bison walk through the campground on occasion.  And I bet the night sky doesn't get any better.

Now, the website says this campground isn't recommended for RVs because of the road and the lack of a place to turnaround on the road.  But, at least on this day, the road was fine.  I wouldn't have any problem taking our rig on that gravel road - at least when it is dry.

If you are looking for free camping in a beautiful, remote area, this could be for you.  It's a long way from the main attractions of the park and it's a drive of at least 12 - 13 miles on a gravel road no matter which way you come in.  It would be more appealing if there was dispersed camping or even just real RV sites where you weren't just parked on the side of the road.  But for a free get-away-from-it-all boondocking experience, I'll keep it on our list of future possibilities.  :)

We left the campground and continued on the Rim Road.  This is the view looking back into the Sage Creek Valley with the campground somewhat visible in the left center of the shot.

 

 

From the campground road, it was about another mile or so to the western back entrance to the park (no guard shack or fee booth).  We saw several more Bison in that short stretch.

 

 

After exiting the park, it's another 11 - 12 miles on a good gravel road to Hwy 44.  Coming in from that way is probably the easiest access to the Sage Creek Campground.

When we reached Hwy 44, it was about 30 miles back to Interior if we had taken a left.  However, we took a right and drove a mile to the town of Scenic where we took a left on 589.  From there we drove 4 miles to the Sheep Mountain Table Road.

To that point we had spent all our time in the North Unit of Badlands National Park, but there is another huge, remote section called the Stronghold District (aka South Unit).  It is comprised of lands on the Pine Ridge Reservation which is owned by the Oglala Sioux Tribe.  It is managed by the Park Service under an agreement with the tribe.  There are few areas for public access and because of the private ownership of the land, individual property owners must be contacted for permission to explore most places.       

One of the accessible areas is Sheep Mountain via a five-mile gravel road.  We extended our day by driving through more formations and up the road. 

 

 

The road isn't as well maintained as the Rim Road in the North Unit, but it's fine for pretty much any vehicle if you watch for sudden ruts and potholes.

Once on top of the table, there wasn't much to see until we got to the one overlook.  More great views from there ....

 

 

 

but considering the extra driving, it was a bit anti-climactic.

However, where the road seemed to end there was a sign that said "High Clearance Vehicles Only Past This Point".   Hmmm.  I asked Linda "Are you up for some adventure?"  Her response was "Not really".  But it was pretty much a rhetorical question - we were going.  To make it official, she acquiesced (def:  accepted something reluctantly but without protest).  :)  

I think the Jeep was excited to do some terrain for which it was designed.  It had been a long time.

The more spectacular views were definitely along this extra three miles of more primitive road.

 

 

 

We had a lot of fun driving back on the less accessible part of the "table".

 

 

 

Four-wheel-drive wasn't required, but high clearance certainly was.  Still, I would want 4WD if it were wet.

Some of the best views of the day were from the top of Sheep Mountain.

    

 

This was one of my favorite spots.

 

 

These weren't designated overlooks.  We just followed tracks and walked up to the edges.  So we had to be really careful for snakes in the tall grass.  Linda spotted one, but it wasn't a rattler - just a harmless green snake of some kind.  It was gone before I could get a picture to identify it. 

There were also lots of gorgeous Mountain Bluebirds.

 

 

But it was mostly about the many different wonderful views.

 

 

We finally reached the end of the road where there was another lovely canyon view.

 

 

I took a couple final shots ....

 

 

and we enjoyed the serenity. 

 

 

We took time to appreciate what we were seeing and how lucky we were to be there in that moment.  It was that type of experience in Alaska back in 2004 that ultimately led us to this current life we enjoy so much.

We eased our way back out the deep-rutted road to the point where it was a bit flatter.  We had a brief "Thelma & Louise" moment here.  :)

 

 

We got back on the friendlier gravel road and headed back down.

 

 

 

Back on the valley floor, we had to stop for a few more pictures of the roadside wildflowers.

 

 

The photo ops were endless.

 

 

We made it back to the paved road and we began our 35-mile drive back to Interior.  Even that drive along Hwy 44 was quite scenic.

Whew.  It was a long but enjoyable day.  We've packed a lot in during the last day and a half and we've seen most of the highlights of Badlands National Park. 

Back at our rig, our solar panels had completely re-charged our batteries.  Nice - no need to run the generator.  :)

We relaxed for the evening and decided to move on to the Black Hills tomorrow .... after we do an early morning hike.  So far, the Badlands have been very good to us.  :)

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