Mountain Goat and her "kid"

Wed, 6/18/08

Black Hills, SD: At around 4:00 a.m. we had another thunder storm with lots of hail. The guy across from went off on his bicycle this morning when the sun came out for a while. And then BAM! another thunder storm. Hope he’s okay. We’re going into Hill City to do laundry, work on the computer, and buy some groceries, so we don’t care how bad the weather is today. Had wanted to bike the Mickelson trail which goes for 105 miles up to Deadwood. It’s a gravel trail like the Katy Trail in Missouri and goes through some really pretty areas. We could bike into Hill City or Custer. Our own fault though. We didn’t do it when we had the chance. We leave tomorrow for Deadwood—a short drive of about 50 miles is all.

Sun, 6/15/08

Black Hills, SD: Another pretty day today, so we decided to go to Mt. Rushmore. Pretty impressive—especially Borglum, the guy who designed and created it. He started it when he was 60. We walked the trail on the bottom of the carving. Lots of steps, but some great views of the sculpture. After walking around we hit the gift shop and the café for some drinks and then headed back to our campground. Stopped at Horse Thief National Forest campground on Horse Thief Lake. Pretty area, but not too many sites for RVs. The Black Hills are beautiful and rugged. On the way back we saw a mountain goat and her kid. Drove into Hill City and sat in the Laundromat and got on the Super 8 wi-fi. Think we’ll go back to the Mangy Moose for dinner tonight.

Sat, 6/14/08

Black Hills, SD: An absolutely beautiful day. Had a fire in the morning and then sat around reading and soaking up the sun. Beautiful blue sky and no clouds until later in the evening. Had burgers and four-bean salad for dinner. Played rummy. I’m reading a great book my friend, Amy, let me borrow—“Water for Elephants”. It’s about the circus. Read most of it today.

Sioux War Dance Video

Fri, 6/13/08

Black Hills, SD: A very sunny, pretty day today, but still windy. So we decided to go to Jewel Cave National Monument. I’m not crazy about caves, but Mike loves them, so off we go. It’s situated about 15 miles west of Custer. It’s one of the longest cave systems in the world and noted for the crystals. We went on the hour-long scenic tour (with stairs and railings), but you could also go on a two-hour, more energetic tour (with ladders and flashlights). No thank you. The cave was lit only minimally and at one point the ranger turned off all the lights. As black as could be. I guess you could also go on four-day hiking trips in the cave. No thank you. We were both disappointed in the cave. It’s not really very pretty—at least the parts we saw. The caves in Missouri are spectacular. On the way back we stopped at the National Wood Carving Museum which was overpriced but pretty interesting. Then stopped in Custer and I picked up some coasters for the camper. Went to the Mangy Moose for the fish fry. Boy was that good! Back to the campground and started a campfire. Invited the people across from us over. He’s a forester and she’s a school teacher. They live in Gilbert Wyoming. Finished my latest book—Giants in the Earth—about three Norwegian families who emigrate to the US and were one of the first to settle in the great plains of South Dakota. Great story.

Beaver Dam

Beaver Lodge

Thu, 6/12/08

Black Hills, SD: Started out a nice sunny day this morning. But cool and windy. I was relaxing and reading my book and decided to bake some chocolate cookies. Got them all mixed up and put the first tray in the oven and it slipped out and fell upside down on the bottom of the oven. What a mess I feared, but when I finally grabbed the tray and turned it over only three cookies had fallen onto the bottom of the oven. I was able to scoop them up and put them back on the cookie sheet. All is well I thought. Took the first batch out and put the second in, and I’m thinking these don’t look right at all. I had forgotten we’re at 5000 feet here and I didn’t make any adjustments in the recipe or the baking time. They look awful but they’re edible. After finishing that and cleaning up the mess we headed to Hill City for lunch at the Mangy Moose Saloon. Had a great lunch and Mike was thrilled because you could smoke, they had lots of Credence Clearwater Revival on the juke box and the speed channel on the TV. What more could you ask? After lunch we drove up to Deerfield Lake—about 15 miles north of Hill City. Beautiful drive, but the temperature kept dropping—from the 50s down to the 30s—and it started to snow. SNOW!!! Snowed pretty good for a while. Drove up this dirt road for several miles by a pretty little stream. Saw lots of signs of beaver. Checked out the campground at Deerfield Lake. Pretty little National Forest campground on a hill overlooking the lake. Would love to stay there. It’s in the middle of nowhere with a great view of the lake. Lots of deer around. And several interesting hiking trails. Back to Hill City, got some gas for the generator and back to the campground. In for the night.

View from our camp site

Wed, 6/11/08

Black Hills, SD: I didn’t get up until 9:30 this morning. Cold morning. We took the laundry and the grocery list and headed to Hill City. Up here there are Laundromats at some of the hotels and even the gas stations. A lot of the hotels/motels have campgrounds also. We were going to go to the Laundromat at the Super 8 but right next door there was a very nice Laundromat at the Exxon station. So we decided to go there. Turns out it was really nice. There were 4 booths where you could sit and read or eat or whatever. So we went next door to the Exxon quick shop and got some breakfast sandwiches and after filling the washers we sat down to eat. We brought the computer and were able to get on the Super 8 wi-fi. All in all it was a very productive morning. The grocery store in town is also very nice—very organized and very clean. Got the grocery shopping done and we went back and put everything away. Read for a while. Then I made chili for dinner. Only in the 50s today.

Mountain Goat

Little Burro

Tue, 6/10/08

Black Hills, SD: This morning started out cloudy early and then cleared off and turned into a spectacular day. I actually donned shorts and a tube top and sat out in the sun reading. Felt wonderful. After lunch we went to the Crazy Horse Memorial which is only about 3 miles south of our campground. This carving is going to be spectacular when it’s finished. They have a great museum there and took up most of the afternoon. After that we drove back to Keystone to that wonderful German restaurant and had dinner. Back to the campground, topped off the water, and ran the generator for a while. Supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow. 70s today.

Crazy Horse Memorial

What it will eventually look like...

Mon, 6/9/08

Black Hills, SD: Up this morning and headed to Hill City, SD, to find a place that had wi-fi. Finally found a restaurant at the Best Western and got something to eat and worked on the computer. Got our e-mails, did our banking and updated the blog. Back home on county route 323 which wound through the hills. Very pretty. Put a roast in the oven for dinner and then headed to the little town of Custer which is south of the campground. Cute town and not as touristy as Hill City. Browsed some of the shops for a while. Stopped at the Crazy Horse monument on the way back, but didn’t have enough time to see the monument and the museum, so we headed back home. Had roast beef, mashed potatoes, and snap peas for dinner. After dinner we topped off the water tank and then played Trivial Pursuit for a while. We each won a game. 60s today. Supposed to be in the upper 30s again tonight. 60s again tomorrow. Supposed to warm up by the weekend. We can only hope.

Mount Rushmore taken from the "Iron Road" Scenic byway

"Wild" Burros

The Needles

Tunnel on "The Needles" Scenic Drive

Sun, 6/8/08

Black Hills, SD: Pretty cold last night. But this morning dawned sunny, but cold. We had a fire in the morning and then decided to drive some of the scenic routes in the area. The first one was the Iron Road which wound around up the mountain with several really neat tunnels. Couldn’t drive very fast because there were hairpin turns everywhere. Then we drove the wildlife loop through Custer State Park. They have one of the largest bison herds in the country. Also saw lots of prong horned antelope and prairie dogs. But the cutest were the burrows that live in the park. They’ll come up and eat out of your hand. So Cute. Then we continued on and drove the needles road which went through some amazing rock formations. We ate lunch at an amazing German restaurant (Oma’s Café) in Keystone, SD. Wonderful food. Didn’t get home until 6:30. Tired.