Monday June 4, 2012-Custers Gulch RV park

Today we went to the most famous sites that are near Custer SD Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Mountain memorial

The entrance to Mount Rushmore is impressive as well as the memorial as well. The entrance to the Crazy Horse memorial is not nearly as impressive, I think because there is no governmental money involved. The family-owned Crazy Horse has devoted their monies toward the memorial itself and the guest buildings where Indian craftspersons can be seen working on their wares that are for sale.

 The four Presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln are memorialized in 60 foot likenesses of them and are amazingly detailed which cannot be seen from the normal view.

Notice President Roosevelt's glasses? I never knew they were there either until I heard the Park Ranger's talk about the Presidents, the memorial and the area. If or when you go to the memorial, try to go on one of the escorted walks through the site. We were escorted by Ranger McMahon, who was very knowledgeable.

HERE is some more reading about the memorial, the sculptor and his family and the Presidents. It is very interesting reading.



Here is a scale model of what the original sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, imagined the end result would look upon completion. The mountain and the work-in-progress can be seen behind the model.

Here is the plan, super imposed on the mountain. It has a long way to go before completion. It will not be completed in my lifetime but I hope to come back some day before I am gone to see the progress that has been made.

Here is a better shot of the mountain. I'm not certain how far away we are from the mountain, but Ziolkowski's home and studio was located where the main building is now. HERE is more reading about the Ogala Lakota Chief Crazy Horse and HERE is more reading about the memorial.

This area is well worth the trip and I recommend it. I'll probably return to check on the progress on Crazy Horse Mountain but it will be in 20-30 years.

So long.

Sunday June 3, 2012-Custers Gulch RV Park

Today we rode up to Deadwood and Sturgis, coming back through Rapid City and then through the Custer State Park. This is a beautiful drive in some really pretty scenery.

 This is an explanation of Lake Sheridan, which was built on top of the original town of Sheridan. This is a beautiful little lake.

 This young man has just caught this 6" fish. "Help me take it off the hook Daddy"

Some of the many buffalo (bison) seen at the Custer State Park/

A couple of the wild burro's seen at the park. I didn't take a picture of the other end of these burro's because it looked too much like a politician that we all know.

Another view of one of the lakes. Actually, this one was formed by the location of the dam and is highly used by boaters and fishermen.

Like all the mountainous areas, it is impossible to photograph the grandeur of the mountains. We drove down some treacherous, narrow roads, tiny-one vehicle bridges and tunnels that I had to blow my horn to keep from running head-on into an oncoming car. I was simply too busy driving and Stella was busy directing me, to take any photos of these sights. If we go back, I'll try to get some shots for you.

So long.

Saturday June 2, 2012-Custers Gulch RV Park

We decided to ride through some of the countryside around here. Today we went through the Wind Cave National Park to get to the small town of Hot Springs South Dakota. We saw a lot of wildlife along the way and lots and lots of beautiful scenery. A camera just doesn't do justice!

 A nice little waterfall in the town of Hot Springs. This is a beautiful little town with some very old buildings. The City Hall dates back to 1892. I also noticed that this is the county seat and the Sheriff's Office has an outdoor window to the dispatcher which is different from anything I have seen. I wonder what they do in the winter when there's snow on the ground?

 These things are HUGE!! And they have many signs about how dangerous buffalo are.

This antelope is apparently the leader of the pack with his radio around his neck. I've always wondered what kind of music an antelope herd listens to?

This was a very nice day. The mountains here are different from the Rockies and while the area is rocky, it is not nearly as rugged as Colorado. We are looking forward to the rest of this trip.

So long.

Catching up on some Photos from the trip

I have been a bit lax in adding photos, so here is an assortment of pictures from the trip.

 Here is a group getting ready to play a game. In the foreground, there is Stella, Terry H., Jerry M., Susan M., and Vickie T.

 Stacy shows off one of the new chapter rally shirts.

Welcome to Oklahoma

Parked out in the prairie of Kansas. Not a bad place to spend a night.

Friday June 1, 2012-Custers Gulch RV Park

Today was a very slow day, so I'll start off with some catching up from previous days. Remember a few days ago when I was ranting about having to pay for a toll road in Kansas? I was very flattered to see that I got a comment from Rachel Bell, a Kansas Turnpike Authority employee who told me that the Kansas Toll Road (KTR) was in place prior to the existence of the Interstate Highway system. She said that the toll road was designated as an Interstate highway when federal planners decided to save some money and not build a parallel road. KTR exists only on the income from the road and takes no federal road. What a concept! A federal planner opting to save some money! My Money! Taxpayer Money! I may just go back and drive up and down the toll road in support. Thanks for enlightening me Rachel.

Also, I got a comment from my friend and fellow blogger 2psnapod asking about coleche. Coleche is a very hard clay soil that is commonly used for paving or parking lots.

Back to the present; we stayed in most of today and rested up from the drive up here. We went into town (Custer) a small town of only 1800 or so folks and drove around to check things out and stopped by Custer Country Market to pick up some groceries. No Wal Mart or Kroger here...

We came back to the park and I sat outside for awhile. The sun is bright and sunglasses are required and thank goodness mine are the lenses that change with sunlight. The weather up here in South Dakota has cooperated. It has been cool, no downright cold, at night and in the mornings I have had to turn the fireplace on to take the chill out. During the day, it warms up and is very nice to be outdoors. This is what RV living is all about!

So long.

Thursday May 31, 2012-Moving day-J & C RV Park to Custers Gulch RV Park

It was a nice morning in Alliance NE today. It rained last night, a nice quiet little shower, and made everything feel so nice this morning. It was cool, about 55 degrees but not really cold. We packed up and pulled out around 9:30 and got on the road to Custer.

It wasn't very long before we ran into a traffic problem. The state is redoing the pavement on two sections of the highway, so we had two backups this morning. It wasn't a long stop, probably 10-15 minutes but it was enough to aggravate me. I am ready to be somewhere for awhile!

I was surprised to see that there is no sign or welcome to South Dakota on the road. I saw some signs about laws and regulations in S. Dakota but nothing to welcome people here. Oh well, I'm not the governor of this state, so I'll keep my thoughts to myself.

There are so many places in S. Dakota that I've heard about for a long time and I hope to get to see many of them. Wounded Knee, Deadwood, Sturgis, and many others. We'll have a week here to explore plus we might want to come back sometime.

We got to the park around 12:30 and by 2 we were completely set up, porch, outdoor rug and all. What a relief! We just stayed in and relaxed after the long trip up here. I took a walk around the park later in the afternoon and noticed that many of the vehicles are from California. This seems to be a popular place. All the sites are well spaced apart with the back-ins to the trees. I think that anyone coming here would be happy with either the back in or pull through sites. Stay tuned please.

So long.

Wednesday May 30, 2012-Moving day-Kearney RV Park to J & C RV Park, Alliance Nebraska

We woke to much cooler temperatures, about 52 degrees, here in Grand Island Nebraska. I went out about 8 to begin getting ready to pull out and in the distance, I can see some ominous clouds and then, as if on cue, thunder. That seemed to set the stage for the morning. Again, as if on cue, the very moment that I sat down in the truck to drive out, the rain began. We managed to avoid the heaviest rainstorm and after traveling for about an hour, we ran out of the rain but for the third time, right on time, as we drove out of the rain, a few hailstones hit the windshield, so we just missed the hail storm. So far, this has been a lucky trip for us. The night after we left Oklahoma, there was a bad storm with heavy rain and hail. Lucky us!!

The trip today was very nice. We made two long stops, one for fuel and the second for coffee. The fuel stop was made because we have been getting lower fuel mileage because of all the hills and of course, the elevation changes. We still had plenty of fuel in the tanks to make Custer tomorrow, but felt that it would be better to be safe and fill up now, so we did. We found some decent prices too, so that made it even better.

We pulled out a little before 9 and arrived here before 2, but remember we're in Mountain Time and gained an hour. This is our last stop before Custer South Dakota we will remain in MST for the rest of the summer!

So long.