Sep 20, 2020 - Badlands and Bighorns

Kadoka, SD This was, again, a travel day as we continue to move west. We are definitely no longer among the trees and lakes of Minnesota. Although we have seen fields of sunflowers, wheat, corn, soy beans and milo, the majority of the land is used for raising cattle. There are miles and miles of gently rolling hills covered with grass - a little brownish looking, but still grass - with cattle munching contentedly. We have experienced the Badlands in the spring when it is really quite attractive and in the summer when it is simply beastly,...

Sep 19, 2020 - Redlin Art Center

Watertown, SD After a week of fishing, it was time to say goodbye to Minnesota. All three couples packed up and headed out – they toward home and us to further adventures. We enjoyed the countryside as we drove, moving from lots of trees and lots of lakes to prairie and farm country. We eventually made it to Watertown, SD. Terry Redlin was an American artist popular for painting outdoor themes and wildlife, often pictured in twilight. During the 1990s he was frequently named "America's most popular artist" in annual gallery surveys...

Sep 8, 2020 - Another Trip to South Dakota

We took another quick trip to South Dakota, we left Crescent, Oregon (with just the truck) & headed for Rapid City. We hit the road on Aug. 29th & arrived in Spearfish, SD on the 31st, where we stayed at the Hampton Inn. We had appointments on Sept. 1st to renew our licenses in Rapid City. While in So. Dakota we got a chance to visit with friends Joe & Julie, who we originally met at Picacho RV Resort in AZ. We had a wonderful visit & did some catching up. Thank you Joe & Julie for your awesome hospitality. We send our love & hugs to you...

Aug 30, 2020 - Badlands National Park

2020-08-29. Badlands NP We drove from the Missouri River across South Dakota and into Wall, home of Wall Drug, whose signs punctuate every mile of US 14, the "local route" we decided to take in lieu of the interstate. Established during the "old west days" the drug store became famous when the proprietress advertised and offered "free ice water" which you can still get at Wall Drug today. In the 1890's, though, given the scarcity of water, that was a big deal! The excitement of the trip to Wall was the duck strike. As we drove along the two...

Aug 29, 2020 - West Whitlock State Rec. Area

2020-08-29.West Whitlock State Recreation Area These Corps campgrounds along the Missouri River/Lake Oahe are just terrific places to camp and fish and boat/kayak. Other than electric, there are no services (there is dump station with water) but the sites at West Whitlock are long, level and very spacious. Unfortunately, while we were camped here, we didn't get to kayak because the winds were fierce. We did take Roadie to the boat launch where he chased the ball into the cool water and eventually, even jumped off the floating dock to...

Aug 26, 2020 - Oahe Downstream Recreation Area and Oahu Dam

2020-08-26. Oahe Downstream Recreation Area. As broad and tranquil as the Missouri River was at the West Bend Recreation Area, here, at the Oahe Downstream Recreation Area, the river is swirling and fast moving because it has just been forced through the power plant intake pipes of the Oahe Dam, fourth largest rolled earth dam in the US. Near the intake towers, fishermen seek the chinook salmon in the 200 foot depths of Lake Oahe. Lake Oahe itself is more than 250 miles long through the north central section of South Dakota. We were camped...

Aug 26, 2020 - Air & Space Museum

Today was a lazy day. We puttered around the rv and started to pack up some. Later that day we went to the Air & Space museum. Only the outside displays were open so it was a quick visit. Back to camp and finished getting ready for tomorrow’s travel day.

Aug 25, 2020 - The Black Hills

We enjoyed a wonderful drive into the Black Hills. This is one our favorite places in the country and we have been looking forward to getting here. We are set up in a little RV Park called Fish + Fry. They have a trout stream and pond that the kids can fish from. It's fun to watch them. Very rustic park but great people who own it. The Black Hills weather is great. You get a little bit of everything. It got up to 88 today but last night the temperatures were in the 40's. When the sun goes down the temperature drops quick. Fun to sit around...

Aug 25, 2020 - Deadwood

Howdy. Today we went to Deadwood. First stop was the Adam’s museum which is full of deadwood history. We then went to Saloon #10 were Wild Bill Hickok was murdered. They even had a re-inactment. It was fun. Afterwards we wen through a few of the shops. Rob and Lori got naked, I mean went to the Naked Winery. After our Deadwood visit, Scott and I went back to Rapid City and found a Honda dealership. I found my new toy, a Can-am. It’s a three wheel motorcycle. Rob and Lori went to another Naked Winery to pick up some items they didn’t have at...

Aug 24, 2020 - Mount Rushmore

Today we got up early and headed for Mount Rushmore. They were doing construction at Rushmore but we worked around it. It did take away from the grand-ness a little. It is such an impressive sight to see however. Everyone should see it at least once in their lives. After Mount Rushmore, we headed out the 244 to Needles Highway. The road's name comes from the needle-like granite formations, which seem to pierce the horizon along the highway. They also have very narrow, low tunnels that are one lane at a time. We watched a school bus barely...

Aug 23, 2020 - Wall drug Store and Badlands NP

Today we headed to Wall to visit their famous drug store. They even welcome pups there so Dakota got to go shopping with us. Wall Drug store takes up an entire block. They have a bunch of different stores and eateries. We had fun looking at everything and Dakota had fun getting a bunch of pets from people. One little girl was petting her and looked up at her dad and said - I want one. It was very cute. At one point, we stopped and sat on a bench outside of a store and realized there were bats taking a nap in the doorway. They are cute when...

Aug 23, 2020 - West Bend State Recreation Area, South Dakota

2020-08-23. West Bend State Recreation Area It was not a long drive from Lake Shetek to the South Dakota border but it was a long day driving to West Bend State Recreation Area, along the Missouri River at Lake Sharpe. Most of the small towns had not been established until around 1880 which sounds pretty "young" to us. The population of these towns averaged 250. The town closest to West Bend is Ft. Thompson, on the Crowe Indian Reservation. The town was shut down with flashing signs on the road saying: "COVID-19 Community in Lockdown, Do...