On Our Way Home To South Dakota

Tuesday, July 11^th, 2017

After arriving yesterday to the Southern Hills RV Park in Hermosa, SD we are having a down day today. Time to catch up on a few small maintenance issues and relax.

Sunset over the Black Hills of South Dakota

Left to right Sara, Michael & Kathy in front of Kennedy, Reagan & Bush

Wednesday, July 12^th, 2017

Spent the day in Hot Springs, SD at the Mammoth Site archeological dig where they found over 60 fossilized Wooly Mammoth remains. The story is a bull-dozer was being utilized to help prepare an area for a new housing project to be built when they happened across some bones. After realizing what they had found the whole project was sidelined in favor of preserving the bones and history of the area. It’s quite an impressive dig where you can go see and volunteer a few days or weeks helping dig. Everything is housed inside a building where they uncover so many bones that they spend just the month of July digging and the rest of the year removing and cataloging their treasures. After the tour of the site we headed next door to the Wooly’s Restaurant for lunch. Then off to the town of Hot Springs to talk to a realtor about property in the area for sale where we might make a summer travel location and home.

Panoramic of the Wooly Mammoth site

Wooly Mammoth teeth. They only have 4. 2 top and 2 bottom.

Complete Mammoth skeleton

Carl in front of Wooly Mammoth skeleton

Thursday, July 13^th, 2017

We didn’t have a lot of plans so we headed into Rapid City, SD (about a 20 minute drive) to go see the Wonder Woman movie. Not a top 10 flick but knowing the leading lady (Gal Gadot) was crowned Miss Israel at age 18 and was a combat trainer as a soldier in the Israel army made it more interesting and easy on the eyes! Later on we went shopping for groceries in Hermosa at Pop’s Grocery. (I know, huh? Pretty exciting stuff!)

Friday, July 14^th, 2017

Today I unloaded the bike off the lift and spent some time wiping it down to get it all shiny and ready to ride. Our friend, Shannon, who we was so hospitable when we stopped to visit her for a few days back in Pine Ridge, SD came to spend the weekend with all of us. She knew her way around downtown Rapid City so we went over in the evening for dinner and to browse the shops. Historic downtown Rapid City has many shops and something for everyone. Michael and I both found the gun shop and Army Surplus stores quite interesting. We all spent a lot of time in the art and antique shop browsing before returning home.

Beads inside the store in Rapid City arranged by color 

Took these just for our friend Bonnie who loves beading

Saturday, July 15^th, 2017

Today we headed out to Sturgis and Deadwood. Kathy & I on the bike with Michael, Sara and Shannon in the car. We rode into Sturgis and spent some time walking downtown and browsing shops. The actual Sturgis Biker Rally was a few weeks off which made it great in town. No crowds but some of the shops were opening for business. We went out to see what was left of the Full Throttle Saloon after the fire they had. Really nothing left but a little shack they were serving beer out of and the bridge remained. They sent us on down the road to the “new” Full Throttle. More spread out than the old one but a lot bigger and more camping cabins. Also a real stage! It didn’t look very close to being ready to open for the rally but they already have performers booked and seem to think they will make it in time. Kathy relinquished her seat behind me to allow Shannon to ride to Deadwood. Just as we were leaving Sturgis I lost my front shifter pedal. I walked back and found the pedal but the bolt holding it on was nowhere in site. On to plan B. Move the rear pedal up to the front and remember how to shift old style! We made it to Deadwood and back to Sturgis where we bought new parts and put everything back together the way it was supposed to be for the ride home. That night dinner was had at the Lazy R Bar & Grill just outside the RV park.

Full Throttle before

Iconic art from old Full Throttle moved to new Full Throttle

Kathy next to new Full Throttle mailbox

New Full Throttle

New Full Throttle. Stage is behind this building

Sunday, July 16^th, 2017

We spent the day tending to light duties. Kathy doing laundry and I working on tow lights and the car. Looking to add LED bulbs to tow system so they can be seen better. The lights that came with the tow system are original 1157 bulbs and not very bright at all.

Monday, July 17^th, 2017

Today was spent traveling from Hermosa, SD to a nice campground in Fort Thompson, SD. We stopped for a doughnut and to browse the shops in Wall, SD on our way. After leaving Wall we drove thru the Badlands National Park. Since we get in free we figured it was worth the short side trip to go see it. We couldn’t stop and park anywhere inside the park because we are so long but the view from sitting up high in a Class A motorhome is way better than having to be in a car down low. It was kinda nice not having to miss anything. Fort Thompson is situated on the Missouri River where the fishing for Walleye and boating are the way to go. We didn’t get to do either but we did get a heck of a thunderstorm. We were only spending one night so most of it was spent inside out of the weather.

Tuesday, July 18^th, 2017

Today was spent on the road headed towards the Grand Falls Casino & Resort in Larchwood, IA. They have about a dozen RV full hookup sites adjacent to the driving range and golf course. Across the street is a corn field in South Dakota and just down the road a few miles is Minnesota. Not a bad place and their dinner buffet was very nice. We are here for 5 nights.

Wednesday, July 19^th, 2017

We headed into Sioux Falls, SD today to go to the Costco for groceries and supplies. On the way we stopped at Michael and I’s favorite gun shop where I had to purchase something new. While there I get a text from our friend Tim from Rocky Ford, CO who we had just left a week before and his son Chris that states they are in our home town. When I tell him we are also in Sioux Falls he asks where and I tell him. By the time I am done making my purchase Tim & Chris are outside talking to Kathy & Sara and waiting on Michael & I. They follow us to Costco and sit with us while we have our customary Costco lunch. Chris’s truck was in the shop and they were killing time. What a great pleasure to run into Tim again. I really miss hanging out with him and Sylvia! I’m trying really hard to convince them they need to start traveling!

Thursday, July 20^th, 2017

Kathy leaves me this morning to go to town and get her manicure done. It’s a monthly ritual and she can only get it done if we’re in a large enough city to find a place. I have already worked on replacing the light fixture that houses the stop, turn and backup lights on the RV and am now finishing up my blog for the week. Nothing exciting planned for the near future but next week we will be headed to Fargo, Bismarck and beyond!

Tour La' Friends!

Sorry this is so long… We get busy or don’t have great Internet access so there are times I don’t get to update as often as I’d like!

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Camp Happy!

We have been removing huge cow patties, pulling weeds and tossing rocks all in preparation for our "Camp Happy" camping event just outside Williams, AZ this summer. We have found many camper friends like ourselves who travel and live in their RV's full-time and a few times a year we hold these events to gather all our friends who can make it. We get together for a weekend and share stories of where we've traveled, where we've stayed and it helps others to decide where they would like to travel next or decide on places to stay. Some travel fast, others slow but we all enjoy the nomadic lifestyle we have.

Cows along the road in Williams, AZ

Michael pulling weeds getting ready for Camp Happy

Wednesday, June 21st - Sunday, June 25th

Friends start arriving early for our event. We jokingly refer to the early birds as starting the pre-party for the event and we have some who stay later to enjoy the post-party so our 3 day weekend event usually ends up being more like a 5 or 6 day event but we all have fun and enjoy running into old friends again. The old friends sometimes bring new friends so it really does turn out to be one big party.

Monday, June 26th, 2017

Since we are spending a few more days in the Williams area we head out to Meteor Crater, AZ to explore and learn. Meteor Crater is privately owned with a very nice museum and display building. It's a meteorite impact crater approximately 37 miles (60 km) east of Flagstaff and 18 miles (29 km) west of Winslow in the northern Arizona desert. The resulting impact of the meteor blew earth and rocks out of the hole and spread the debris over an 8 mile radius. The largest piece of meteor is on display in the museum.

An old man and his hot lady at Meteor Crater

Tuesday, June 27th, 2017

We spent the day exploring the south rim of the Grand Canyon and Bedrock, AZ. Kathy had never been to either place and it was fun seeing the expression on her face as she viewed the beauty of the canyon. We walked the canyon rim and traveled to the canyon village where we had lunch in the El Tovar hotel before spending the rest of the afternoon in gift shops and standing on lookouts. 

A hottie and her old man at the Grand Canyon

Wednesday, June 28th, 2017

Today was spent at Bearizona in Williams, AZ. Bearizona is a drive thru different habitats filled with bears, mountain goats, deer and bison, to name a few. You stay in your car and as Kathy put it, it was like driving into Jurrasic Park. The animals are very used to the cars and can get quite close but they say to not stop and keep your windows rolled up. The wolves looked menacing as did some of the bears but we made it thru without losing any car parts.

Thursday, June 29th – Friday, June 30^th, 2017

Today was a travel day headed towards Durango, CO with a layover of 2 nights spent at the Ute Mountain Casino RV Park in Towaoc, CO. We ate in the casino, took Kathy out to see 4 corners and did some shopping at their local Wal-Mart. I even got to have lunch at my fave drive thru, Sonic!

Saturday, July 1^st, 2017

Today we arrived in Durango, CO at our friends place off Hwy 550. Totally beautiful with green grass and lots of trees. They even supplied us with a dump, water and electricity. Totally awesome!

Camping in Durango

Sunday, July 2^nd, 2017

Today was a catch-up day. Pay monthly bills, downloading pics to the computer, get the budget in order. We spent the evening in downtown Durango eating at a local micro-brewery and walking the streets taking in the sights.

Monday, July 3^rd, 2017

Spent the day performing some needed maintenance on the rigs and the rest of the evening sitting out back of the house in the shade of a big tree visiting with our friends and watching the horses graze. Very relaxing!

My favorite place to sit and relax

Tuesday, July 4^th, 2017

Our friends took us up behind their house into the mountains for a picnic lunch and to show us the backcountry. We were somewhere around 10-11,000 feet and the weather was phenomenal. We spent the day touring the local lake, streams and water falls. We even managed to spot a lone deer alongside the road. That night we were guests at a home BBQ of shish-ca-bobs of different meats and veggies.

 

Picnic in the mountains

Wednesday, July 5^th, 2017

Today is moving day. We are headed to Rocky Ford, CO for a night to visit some old friends of mine I haven’t seen in about a dozen years. As we prepare to leave Kathy starts to bring the last slide-out in. We hear a thump and then the slide stops moving. I found that the electric motor attached to the wall in the storage area under the coach was ripped away. It appears there was a repair made in the past and the repairman only replaced the 2 front bolts he could easily reach which worked for a while or at  story and I’m sticking to it. It couldn’t have been my lack of noticing it was missing 2 bolts. So Michael comes up with an ingenious plan to get us back on the road. We head to True Value for parts and in a few hours we are all repaired and it is still holding as I write this.

 

Reuniting with old friends Sylvia & Tim

Thursday, July 6^th, 2017

We arrive in Rocky Ford at my friend’s house. We pull up out front and work out the details of parking the rigs. Michael and Sara had asked us to stop at a fuel station as we approached town but I didn’t realize they needed fuel NOW….LOL! As we were sitting there on a camber he ran out of fuel. He still had about 10 gallons but the fuel pump must have been on the uphill side. We spent the next hour running to get fuel, dump it in the tank and hook up my air bottle to pressurize the tank to force fuel into the injectors all to get him started and then hurry down the road to fill up. We learned the pressurizing of the fuel tank when in Texas last year where I changed my fuel filter and neglected to get it full enough when screwing it back on. That evening we had a really great Mexican meal at Carmen’s Restaurant in the next town over.

Friday, July 7^th, 2017

We ride to birds chirping and get ready to move again. We plan on staying in a Wal-Mart in Sterling, CO tonight on our way to Pine Ridge, SD. The drive north was very boring, straight and uneventful. WE did our shopping at Wal-Mart and that evening experienced a huge and very heavy rain storm that turned into a hail storm. We managed to survive and even got on the roof the next morning expecting disaster but the solar panels were all intact.

Saturday, July 8^th – Sunday, July 9^th, 2017

We arrive at another friend’s house on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where she has set us up to stay in the hospital parking lot where she works adjacent to her home. The weather was scorching so we spent most of our time in her house. She fixed us dinner and then breakfast the next morning before taking us on a tour of the town and surrounding area. We even saw where Red Cloud is buried. That evening we went about 30 miles down the road to a little bar and pizza place for dinner.

 

Red Cloud burial site in Pine Rdge, SD

Monday, July 10^th, 2017

Today was a travel day to a small campground outside Rapid City, SD. We are spending 7 days here to check out a few sites we missed last year and in 2013 when we came for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. It’s beautifully green all over the rolling hills here. We have a few favorite places we’ve seen and this area around Sturgis and Rapid City has been one we keep coming back to. Stay tuned for more pictures and places!

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