Oct 6, 2012 - Hot Springs Mammoth Dig

Day 13 of Dawn and George's bucket list trip Today we went to the MAMMOTH DIG in Hot Springs, SD. It is the largest mammoth site in the world as 59 fossils have been found there already. It is an enclosed site that was a pond and a sinkhole into which many mammoths slipped into and died. Was discovered in1976 while the land was being excavated for a housing project and many bones were discovered. Work stopped and was made into a mammoth dig site. They only conduct digging in the summer which provides enough for them to log and analyze the...

Jun 28, 2012 - Hot Springs, SD - A Little Business to Take Care of

(Ron Writing) This morning we drove about 80 miles northeast to Hot Springs, SD. It’s hard to believe but we’ve already been full time RVing for five years but that’s what our soon-to-expire driver licenses say. The driver license exam/renewal office is open only on Fridays in Hot Springs so we plan to be there bright and early to get that chore behind us. We are spending the night at the Cottonwood Springs Corps of Engineers campground about 5 miles west of town. This COE campground only has a few boondocking sites so we don’t have...

Aug 29, 2011 - The Mammoth Site

The 2011 August 29, Bad Lands & Black Hills, SD The Mammoth Site (Hot Springs) The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota, is the world’s largest mammoth research facility and a National Natural Landmark. You can tour an active paleontological dig site and view Ice Age fossils exhibited as they are found in the ground. More than 26,000 years ago, large Columbian and woolly mammoths were trapped and died in a spring-fed pond near what is now the southwest edge of Hot Springs, South Dakota. For centuries the bones lay buried, until...

Jul 18, 2011 - Three relaxing days in Hot Springs

Well, after several days of camping, we were ready to be a little more comfortable. Liesl had found a little place in Hot Springs called "Smith Fargo Suites," and she hit a home run with this pick. It is a little B&B on the upper floor of one of the old sandstone buildings in Hot Springs' historic main street district, with five suites that have each been uniquely decorated by the owners. The husband is a retired mining equipment engineer, and he decorated the "miner's suite" with old drawings and artifacts from his time in the trade. The...

Jul 3, 2011 - Spearfish Canyon and Caravan

We drove the Spearfish Canyon today. It was very pretty but after the Needles and Iron Mountain a bit tame. We went to Lead and were not impressed. The Mining Museum was not open as their hours stated they would be, and Deadwood is a tourist trap. We had thought about taking a trolley tour but didn't. We just happened to be at Boot hill when a tour was there and we were really glad we didn't take it. The only thing we really wanted to see was boot hill anyway and we did. OMG I can't believe they lugged coffins up such a steep steep steep...

Jul 2, 2011 - Custer state park and Norbeck Scenic roads

Sat July 2 (day 3 in the black hills-I think) We went to Custer State Psrk and did the Loop road again. There are lots of dirt roads that criss cross thru this area and after talking to the woman at the visitor center we tried a bunch of them. The buffalo were hiding today (seriously-the woman in the visitor center told us they were all calling around trying to see if anyone had seen them and no one had). We saw lots of pronghorns, the burrows, and we saw a coyote stalking a prairie dog town. Apparently a coyote sighting is very rare. We...

Jul 1, 2011 - Mammoth Site at Hot Springs

Hi all, I am adding this entry on July 4th. We have been up early and out late and I haven't had a lot of time for this journal. Friday July 1 started out cloudy with a forecast of scattered thunderstorms, so we went to Hot Springs and went to the Mammoth site. It is an archeology dig and they built a building around it. It was amazing. They have a tour of the dig. You learn about the history, how old, how many, how they got there. For 7 weeks in the summer they have volunteers working the dig-so we could watch the work, hear what they were...

Jun 12, 2011 - Wild Horses and Mammoths

When I arrived in the Black Hills I had a list of things to see and I had them in the order of importance to me. I did that because the weather forecast for everyday that I have been here has been for possible TStorms. I have been very lucky in that yesterday the rain and hail came in the evening and today it came in the late afternoon. I was driving through Wind Cave National Park when the storm hit. I've never heard thunder that loud! This morning, however, was sunny and warm. I left Keystone and back tracked to Hot Springs to see the...

Oct 6, 2010 - Hot Springs, ND

Hello from Hot Springs SD. I arrived a the KOA about 2 PM new time after a little 1,207 trip. This is the amount of miles that I should have driven, however since Chole was not giving me voice directions I did take a couple of detours, I just can't follow written directions as well as I can follow a woman telling me what to do. I did enjoy the drive through Neb ranch country, I had always heard of the Sand Hills area but this was my first chance to see the vast ranch country. I know I passed through KS, but nothing rememberable, although...

Aug 25, 2010 - South Dakota

After we settled in last night, it was late when we went off to dinner. In fact maybe it was a little too late for Hot Springs as the restaurant we were sent to was closed, but they recommended the Springs Steakhouse located in a historic hotel. The food was wonderful. In fact we had hand cut filets with baked potatoes and vegetables for $7.95. Rita had a steak in Billings for $25.00 that was not nearly as good as this one. The waitress really took a shine to me, and I hope it was JUST my red hair if you know what I mean…. Our B and B is so...

Aug 24, 2010 - Three States

MONDAY After the dismal weather yesterday, this morning dawns clear. As soon as we get loaded up our first stop is at the drive though car wash to remove some of the grime. The car was looking more like a farm pickup than a girl car. Somehow the back window was not all the way up (Miss Tia has learned how to lower the window) and the girls got a minor wash down as well as the car. We have put ourselves entirely in Gertie’s hands as we make our way to Billings, our next stop. Gertie must be in a good mood as she has chosen a beautiful scenic...

Aug 21, 2010 - Wind Cave National Park

I am going to cheat and use the national park website information to tell you about Wind Cave National Park. I am just too busy having fun to type it all up myself. Here is the national park information: “Wind Cave National Park includes one of the world's longest and most complex caves and 28,295 acres of mixed-grass prairie, ponderosa pine forest, and associated wildlife are the main features of the park. The cave is well known for its outstanding display of boxwork, an unusual cave formation composed of thin calcite fins resembling...