Aug 28, 2012 - The Badlands of South Dakota

The South Dakota Badlands, August 20-21 After getting over Frank’s Birthday, we had to get back on the road and we made it to the Western part of South Dakota, the part most people outside of the state know, the Badlands and the Black Hills, home of Mount Rushmore. Again, South Dakota has made what seems to be a great effort to attract people to live in the state by marketing the beauty of this part of the world and supporting the creation of Mt. Rushmore. But there was so much here, we decided to divide this visit into two sections. This...

Aug 19, 2012 - quiet day

Went to church at The First Baptist Church of Rapid City. Met a nice couple across from us from Georgia. Jim and Linda Mumpower. They were at church. Went home and had pulled barbecue children sandwiches for lunch. Spent a lazy day. Got the laundry done. Will have to get out early in the morning to get the trailer over to be worked on.

Aug 17, 2012 - Another Great Drive

Back to the black Hills to drive some of the road we didn't make yesterday. We started out going up what they call Needles Hwy. I think it is called that because there so so many pine trees. The elevation is above 7000 ft. You could see forever at some of the places. There are 6 one lane tunnels on the route. One of them we went thought was only 8ft 4 inches wide. We barely fit thought. Wish we could have gotten a picture of that. There were people parked outside the tunnel watching, I don't think they thought we were going to make it....

Aug 16, 2012 - Interesting

Today was a interesting day. We started out by going to Mount Rushmore. You just would not believe how big those heads are until you see them. Donald had talked to a man the other night at one of the campgrounds that said here enjoyed Crazy Horse best of all. We stopped and it was $10 a piece. I feel like if there had been a place to turn around Donald would not have gone in but we were there so enter we did. We were so glad we did. They showed a film about the Man who had started this in 1947 and he died in 1987 so now 7 of his 10 kids are...

Aug 15, 2012 - More trouble

Well it hasn't been a real good day but it could always be worse. A couple days ago a man came up to Donald and said he passed us and we had a bubble in our rubber roof. So he has been watching it when we stop of course it isn't bubbled up when we were stopped. When we left the campground this morning it was kinda windy. As we went into South Dakota the wind was really picking up. We drove about 180 miles and when we stopped at the campground the wind was really whipping and we walked away from the trailer and you could see about half of...

Jul 7, 2012 - Heartland RV Park—Hermosa, SD next to Mount Rushmore

Saturday—7-7 Heartland RV Park—Hermosa, SD next to Mount Rushmore We arrived at Heartland RV Park and it was only 70 degrees and overcast. Monday we drove through Custer State Park. We saw several hundred buffalo, wild donkeys, pronghorns, white tail deer and two marmots. The drive took several hours in the beautiful Black Hills, mountains and forest. We drove up 6023 ft. to the top of Mt. Coolidge Lookout Point. From here we saw the face of George Washington at Mount Rushmore and the face of Crazy Horse at that memorial. That afternoon we...

Oct 22, 2011 - Hermosa

Bad Lands National Park to Hermosa, South Dakota (111 miles) We arrived at Heartland RV Resort at 2:00 in the afternoon. We set up Serenity and relaxed with a glass of wine. Actually, I had 3 or 4 glasses, since I knew we were not going to drive anywhere for the rest of the day! We did some research/planning on the things we wanted to see/do for the next 7 days or so. You may ask what there is to do in (or around) Hermosa, South Dakota? Here is our list of interesting things in the area: Custer State Park Jewel Cave National Monument Mt....

Aug 13, 2010 - Hermosa, South Dakota

#9 August 13th 2010 I’ve included some pictures from the performance we saw last night at sunset with about 2000 people in the audience. The Medora musical and on fantastic lightening show! This morning we left Red Trail campground in Medora, North Dakota and ended or day in Hermosa, South Dakota at Heartland RV Park. We passed through Regent, North Dakota on what is called the Enchanted Highway. This is because along the 32 mile 2 lane farm road you’ll pass through thousands of acres of rolling hills planted in alfalfa, grass, and...

Jul 30, 2010 - Mt Rushmore, SD

Went to see Mt Rushmore today. It was just as I imagined - just like the pictures all of us have seen. What a treat to see it for real. There was a tornado in Custer County where we're staying last night. We didn't see a funnel, but the wind blew REALLY hard. We have our levelers down which stabilizes the bus, but it still shook us pretty good. It blew off one of the light covers on the front of the bus which we haven't found yet. Another camper close to us was gone when the storm hit. We watched as it ripped their awning off and tore it to...

Jul 30, 2010 - Black Hills, SD

Went to the Black Hills late this afternoon. The rock formations are massive. Couldn't get pictures of it all, but did get some key photos. Sorry for the picture of the Needle Eye. I just took my zoom lense hoping to get wildlife pictures. Did get a couple of wildlife pictures, but still no elk or longhorn sheep. Stevie Joe and Matt will appreciate these wildlife pictures....

Jul 28, 2010 - Custer's State Park, SD

Went to Custer's State Park today to take pictures. South Dakota is at least back in green mountains and makes me feel more like home. Got lots of pictures of buffalo and other animals. The buffalo walked across the road right in front of our car. The burros also come up to your car. Also saw some deer and pronghorns. Didn't get to see any elk or bighorn sheep which are supposed to be in the area, but will keep looking....

Jul 27, 2010 - We Made It

We reached Sheridan, Wyoming around 1:00 and got all checked in. It astonishes me how Parks differ in their rules, regulations and method of payments. I couldn’t pay with my credit card or would have to pay an extra 10%. Why don’t they just charge extra and give the people the convenience of using their cards. Also the rules vary from Park to Park. This one insists you pull all the way to the end of the pull-through, even though we had to stretch to get to the sewage hook-up. They also require that your sewage line be up on a lift. Oh,...