June 2022 – TooBusyForWork

Chuck wagon dinner plus more scenic drives in South Dakota

Still in Spearfish, SD, and still at the same campsite. The resort originally said we would have to move on Friday morning, but someone else cancelled and we got to stay in this nice site. It is always nice to not have to pack everything up!

There is a nice quilt store in town, Heartfelt Quilting, where I bought the backing for the quilt I am working on. The lovely owner volunteered her shop for me to sandwich the quilt, so we went there on Friday. I got it all put together with Kevin’s help, and it is ready for quilting.

Kevin made reservations at a chick wagon dinner for Thursday evening. The name of the place is The Stables at Palmer Gulch which is actually at the KOA near Mt. Rushmore. They give you a choice of riding a horse to the site (a lovely meadow) or riding in a wagon. We chose the wagons!

There were 5 wagons each holding 20 people.

The entertainment was enjoyable, but not very long. The food was standard chuckwagon far with steak cooked to order over a wood fire, Dutch oven potatoes, and fabulous beans. The Dutch oven fruit cobbler was a bust though! Soggy with no real crust. Still an fun evening.

The entertainment was a funny musician, a duo, and a cowboy poet

While we were getting our initial entertainment, the saddle horses that had brought some of the attendees down were released from their corral. They were quite excited to get back to their horse nuggets! They trotted and cantered away after rolling in the dust just outside the corral.

The riding horses after they were let out

As we packed up to leave, we met the riding horses and back up draft horses coming back to the meadow. This was their main pasture after their nuggets, and they seemed pretty happy about the entire thing. All of the wagon folks went back in the same wagons we came in, and the horse back riders went in their own wagon. However theirs was pulled by a John Deere tractor with a front loader attachment! It was late when we got back, and the bed felt awfully good. I still haven’t completely adjusted to the time change!

Today we took the Rimrock Scenic Byway. Another enjoyable ride! The problem was we had one tire leaking a bunch of air, so Kevin aired it up while I made an appointment at Discount Tire in Rapid City, the nearest location. We just arranged the trip so we were in Rapid City right after lunch. The worrisome thing is they didn’t find anything wrong with the tire! They did put a new valve stem in, but the old one wasn’t obviously leaking. Hope it works because I really don’t want to buy new Jeep tires! Just one picture from today, but I think it illustrates the reason for the drive’s name.

Spearfish Canyon and Custer State Park

This is us at Elkhorn RV Resort. It is expensive, but the sites are lovely, as you can see. Note the wonderful steps next to the motorhome. Kevin is determined I don’t fall down the motorhome steps again! I should have taken the picture at a different angle so you could see the hills around us. Oops!

You can’t stay in Spearfish and not drive the gorgeous scenic byway down Spearfish Canyon! We spent most of Wednesday in the car, but it was worth it.

The scenery doesn’t disappoint after the byway either.

Lake Sheridan on the way to Custer State Park

You go through the old mining town of Lead, SD the way we drove. The locals pronounce is “Leed,” and it has historic sites all over the place. The Homestake Mine was the deepest and biggest gold mine in North America. It was discovered during the Black Hills gold rush of 1876, and was in production until 2002. It now serves as an underground scientific laboratory, and it was where neutrinos were discovered.

Ruins of the famous Homestake Mine mill in Lead, SD

We eventually arrived at Custer State Park. Lots of rocks, hills, and trees, and absolutely lovely.

Rocky crags similar to those of Mount Rushmore before carving

The most famous drive in Custer is the Neeldes Highway. It has six one lane, low narrow tunnels carved into the rock, restricting it to passenger vehicles only. You can get an idea in these two pictures.

There is a reason for the name “Needles Highway.”

We ate lunch at the historic State Game Lodge where Presidents Coolidge and Eisenhower spent time in the summers. They had a very nice buffet, but I had planned on one of their traditional bison burgers! The buffet was a quite acceptable alternative though. We came back through the craziness that is Keystone (just outside Mount Rushmore) and Deadwood. I try to stay away from both. I just can’t get excited about Rushmore. We have seen it, and the carvings are interesting, but I much prefer more natural sights. And Deadwood is just the definition of a tourist trap! Come to think of it, so is Keystone.

Oh, and I found a great little quilt store in Spearfish. I bought backing for my great niece’s baby quilt, and the lovely women said I could use their tables to sandwich it! Fabulous news, and I will do that on Friday.

We have to move sites tomorrow from this huge pull through site to a large back in due to their reservation mixup. I have discovered a car wash that has an oversized outside bay we are hoping to wash the motorhome in. The poor baby is absolutely filthy. So tomorrow we will move the Jeep to the new site, then take the MH for a wash. When we get back and set up, I will go sandwich my quilt.

Finally out of the heat dome

It was just so bad in Chamberlain we decided to leave a day early. Not only was it hot, hot, hot, but an even worse wind was forecast for Tuesday. I was tired of driving a big box in heavy winds! We made reservations in Wall, SD at Sleepy Hollow RV Park. It fit the bill for a straightforward full hookup site, but no extras. However it was lovely and cool! The temperature never got above 85, a fabulous change. We actually had to turn the heat on this morning with the temps in the low 60s. Well, at least Kevin had to turn on the heat; I was doing just fine LOL!

Wall is just outside Badlands National Park, so of course we had to go for a drive. It is a lovely place, but I have never seen it so crowded! We decided we would just enjoy a drive through without stopping for much. We just wanted the basic experience, and we have been at the park probably a dozen times. It was quite relaxing. Of course I did have to get a couple of pictures of the badlands plus a flower picture.

Classic badlands photo with scary clouds

The Yellow Mounds area is one of my favorite. No color correction – they really look like this

The scary clouds ended up a serious thunderstorm not long after we got back to the motorhome. Lightening was very visible, but we missed the worst of it. And the prickly pear was a surprise. There were hardly any flowers visible in the expansive, tall grasslands. These guys were tucked at the end of cut banks where the grass wouldn’t out compete them. The petals are like crepe paper – thin and textured.

While in Wall, one must go to Wall Drug – an absolute requirement. We bypass the tourist part and head to the restaurant for the best cake donuts I have ever had! It is a tradition with us. We also both got cups of their very weak 10 cent coffee.

Mine are the plain ones and Kevin’s are the caramel frosted ones.

We went for breakfast this morning a few minutes after 8:00, the normal time they opened. There was a sign that said they would be open today at 10:00, and this is why.

Two stream of water to tap down hot spots

This is across the street from Wall Drug, the Cactus Cafe and Lounge. A fire started around 9:00 pm, and this is what it looked like at 10:30 am. The one building is obviously a complete loss, but they saved the other buildings on the block, though the ones next door to this obviously will have significant damage. The fireman just adjusts the sprays occasionally, making sure no hot spots remain to flair up later.

We drove to Spearfish, SD, arriving at Elkhorn RV Resort just after 1:00. It took some delaying tactics to make it that late, mostly be Kevin stopping by the Cabela’s in Rapid City and just relaxing a while in their parking lot. This place is much fancier than we normally stay at, but the sites are relatively spacious and well kept. However they got our reservation confused, and we may have to move sites on Thursday. Somehow they wrote the dates down in July instead of June! We think we have things settled though, and we plan on enjoying the Black Hills, a lovely place.

Wind and heat, heat and wind

We moved to Lake Sharpe, Left Tailrace campground, not far from Chamberlain, SD. It is a snake like “lake” on the Missouri River, the last of the dams built on the river. The weather, however, continues to be awful. Temps have been hitting 100 for a few days, and the lows are 80 or more. The winds have been a continuous 20 mph with gusts much higher. I am really quite impressed with the tenters that have stuck it out. A few of them had their tents pretty much flattened by the wind, and it has to be miserable to try to sleep with temps in the 90s at 10:00 pm.

The area is absolutely gorgeous though! Huge swaths of tall grasses that sway with the wind plus the river/lake and lots of old Sandhills from the river movements in the past. It was hard to get even so-so pictures due to the wind and dust in the air.

Lots of dust in the air from the high winds

Old sandhills have large numbers of yuccas

We also went to the Alta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center at St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain. It was a small but very well done museum with lots of local lore. They were even having a quilt display – large Medicine Star quilt patterns like the one on the famous statue “Dignity”.

One of a dozen or so quilts. I love the Baptist Fan quilting design.

There were lots and lots of wonderful things, both beaded and the more traditional porcupine quill decorated. I just wandered around and spent time at each display with awe. The displays placed the items in their cultural context too.

And no visit to Chamberlain from I-90 would be complete without a picture of the “Dignity” statue at the rest area on the east side of the river before you get to Chamberlain.

We are just burned out here. We had planned to stay until Tuesday, but we have decided to head farther west and up in elevation, searching for some milder weather. We made reservations at a campground in Wall for tomorrow night then head to our spot in the Black Hills on Wednesday.

Council Bluffs and Omaha

We are at Lake Manawa State Park in Council Bluffs, IA. Fabulous brand new campground with full hookups, concrete parking and patios, big picnic tables, and fire pits. We have a nice view of the small lake, especially since they seem to have decided no campsite needs a tree! This is the true definition of “satellite friendly.” It has been really hot, so we didn’t go to as many places as we wanted.

We did get to the Doorly Zoo, an absolute must-see if anyone is in the area. I have my new mobility scooter, so I can finally be able to get through places that need a lot of walking. It was getting hot even though we were at the zoo by 9:00, so we did the primate area, the desert area, the rain forest, and the aquarium. We didn’t do the large animal exhibit because of the heat and Kevin’s knee. I won’t bore you with all the pictures, but I have to put some of my favorites up.

This mama did a great job of ignoring the humans

Since we came in the morning, many animals were still eating

This is the mai. Big guy in the gorilla group

The penguins swim so quickly that this was the best of many attempts

Not a great picture, but the best I could do

Almost no birds in the rain forest except these two, maybe bird flu?

It was 90 degrees by the time we left the zoo after a lunch around noon.

The next day we drove the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway. Loess (pronounced “Lus” like bus) is glacial debris. On the edge of the Missouri River bottomland is an unusual landform on the Iowa side where the loess formed hills. The erosion is intense, and it was the first part of Iowa that got terraces cut into the farm fields. The hills are really lovely though. You can see the ridge line in the center of the picture along with both the heavy forest on the slopes and the rich farmland at the bottom.

Contrast the Loess Hills with the river bottom of the Missouri River. Flat!

We also just wandered around town. There are some incredible historic areas in Omaha I had never heard of, and they are lovely. We also visited a couple of quilt shops to get fabric for a baby quilt for a soon to arrive great niece. I got it cut out and over half the blocks sewn! I hope to finish the blocks before we leave tomorrow.

Today we went to the Strategic Air Museum. Lots of glorious airplanes! It was even hotter than the previous days so I was glad it was indoors. A small set of the pictures.

Missiles were mostly outside. Compare the size of the missile with the people

I think the ceiling ones are interesting

Not a lot of rotary wings, but they did have some

Today’s high was 102 as read off our weather station on a pole at the motorhome. It was dreadful! We keep the MH cool with both air conditioners going and all the blinds pulled down. Makes for a boring view, but there is so much glass that you have to keep the sun from heating up the inside. It is humid too, with a 66% humidity right now at 87 degrees.

If the weather is so bad, why are we here? We have been waiting on some packages. One is a new Mifi from FMCA. They are phasing out their T-Mobile plan in favor or a plan from AT&T. However it seems like my package got lost at the Post Office! If wasn’t the fault of the USPS though. Whoever shipped the package didn’t put the “General Delivery” on the address! We got it today, and everything seems to work pretty well so far. The other reason we are waiting is for yet another scooter to arrive. It has a more powerful motor so it will go over rougher ground, something that will be handy in Canada and Alaska. It got delayed in shipping, but it should arrive in Cedar Falls tomorrow or Wednesday! Kevin will drive back to pick it up while I work on the baby quilt.

Tomorrow we go to Sioux City, IA. It is actually closer to home, and it has some nice museums. There is a weather front anticipated to cross right over us tomorrow, so we will leave this campground by 3:00. The campground is only 2 hours or less from here, so leaving late will be fine.

And we are off!

It has yet again been a month since I posted. I guess I just don’t feel I do as much stuff worth of posting when I am home. I did get a few things done though.

First off, we did get the MH yearly maintenance done. It was relatively painless. We use a small town Freightliner/Cummins place in Decorah, IA. Small enough they remember me, but full qualified and certified by Freightliner and Cummins for motorhomes. Good hourly rates too!

I did attend a quilt retreat at the Newton, IA KOA and the associated Alta House event center. It was run through the RV Quilter Facebook group, and I really enjoyed it. The facilities were top notch, the price moderate for everything we got, and we even had MaryAnn Fons or Fons and Porter fame give us a trunk show! I finished all the piecing on a sweet little quilt. The blocks were appliqués by my grandmother in the 1930s using mostly flour sack fabrics. When I got them they were yellowed and filthy. I soaked them in Biz, a non-chlorine laundry additive. After the first 6-7 hours, the water was just brown! I kept dumping it out and refilling, gently submerging the blocks. After 4 days, they were in pretty well clean, and happily nothing faded! They are fragile though, so I backed them with a lightweight interfacing designed for tshirt quilts. I had to do some creative trimming since they weren’t the same size or positioned the same. I finished the quilting at home on the quilting machine. Much easier than using my domestic Bernina machine.

Hand appliquéd, machine pieces and quilted.

Mostly we have just been getting ready for this upcoming western Canada and Alaska trip. Kevin was thoughtful enough to look for a small mobility cart for me. I have a mild case of scoliosis, but as I have gotten older, the arthritis has gotten bad, particularly in my left hip. It hurts to walk more than 100 yards or so, and I knew we would be doing more than that. He also bought some collapsible freestanding steps for the motorhome. I love them! They give a great platform to stand on in front of the door, and they have a railing! I had a bad fall a couple of years ago, and it was the proximal cause of my rotator cuff repair.

The steps actually attach to the platform, and you can adjust the height on each leg individually. He added some rubber bumpers because the raw metal edges would be bad on the paint.

We are now staying at a local campground, Big Woods Park. It is sooooo,inch easier to load the motorhome here than in the storage u it or at the house. Here we can open up all the slides, get things sorted correctly, etc. We will head out tomorrow morning to Omaha, NE. We plan to go to the incredible Henry Dorly Zoo plus some museums. We are staying at the brand new Lake Manawa State Park campground. When I say “new,” they just opened 1 June!

Expect lots of pictures folks.

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