Hill City, SD Nearby Attractions

We’ve been seeing the sites near Hill City, SD for the past few days.  It sure is pretty country here and the roads make it a pleasure to drive along and see the sites; precisely why this has been the spot for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally forever I am sure.  More on that topic later. 

Mount Rushmore is no doubt the one place every visitor to South Dakota puts on their list of things to see and do and we were no exception.   Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers created the sculpture of the four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln) using dynamite and jackhammers to carve the granite on the hillside.  The project took 14 years between 1927-1941 and cost approximately 1 million dollars.  Each presidential face is 60 feet tall. 

Democracy is the meaning of Mount Rushmore .  How apropos.  Did you know that the sculptor’s vision included a hall of records to be carved into the vertical wall behind the presidential faces which was intended to house The Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights?  Worked started on the Hall of Records in 1938, but ultimately the U.S. government did not approve funding for the addition and work stopped after carving only a doorway and small hallway. 

Although the hall was never built, in 1998, Borglum’s daughter was part of a team that buried a teakwood box in a titanium vault at the entrance of the Hall.  The box contains 16 porcelain panels bearing the words of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.  The panels also contain presidential biographies and information about how and why Mount Rushmore was carved. 

Also at Mount Rushmore is the Avenue of the Flags with a flag for each of the 56 states, districts, territories and commonwealths of the U.S.  So that’s your history lesson for the day.

Then, it was off to Custer, SD which is the site of the Flintstone’s Bedrock City.  Of course, we stopped at the Bedrock Drive-In Diner for lunch.  I had a Chickasauras sandwich and Mark had Brontosauras Ribs.  Unfortunately, Fred and Barney were hard at work at the quarry when we stopped.   Oh, and for Denise…Bamm Bamm’s pet’s name was Hopper.

Our last tourist attraction around Hill City area was Cosmos Mystery Area.  Okay, I really am at a loss as to how to describe what this is.  A guide escorts you up a hill where you encounter “the force” where the laws of gravity seem to go berserk.  Water flows uphill.  People shrink or grow depending on where they stand.  A ball which appears to be sitting on a slanted board remains in place rather than rolling off.  It’s just plain strange. 

Next stop, Sturgis, SD.

 Avenue of Flags

 

Mount Rushmore 

Those noses are 20-21 feet long!

 

 Did you know Bedrock was in South Dakota?

 

Mark places our lunch order

 

Winston and Dino bond

Winston waiting for our tour 

 Mark's a little lopsided....or is he?

 

 

 

Hill City, South Dakota

We are back on the road!  After parking YOLO in Rapid City, South Dakota for a few weeks and flying to Arizona to spend some quality time basking (more like melting) in the Valley of the Sun, we returned to South Dakota and breathed a sigh of relief – it’s so cool here!  Winston was thrilled to be able to walk during the day without scorching his paws and wilting in the unrelenting sun – and so we did and have been walking to make up for lost time.   In AZ we restricted most of our short walks to early morning and evening in the spirit of self-preservation.  But I still love AZ!

Upon returning to South Dakota, we discovered that Rapid City had a serious hail storm (golf ball size hail) last week which caused all kinds of damage, especially to vehicles.  That explains the shattered windshields on the rental cars parked at the airport.  Fortunately, Mark was insistent that we park YOLO in an inside storage facility and I am so glad we spent the extra money to do just that.  In the long run we saved a lot of money and time not having to deal with damage to the RV.  Yup, when we picked YOLO up, she was in pristine shape just lounging indoors all cool, clean and happy. Whew, dodged a bullet there.

We are staying at the Rafter J Bar Ranch this week which is just outside of Hill City, SD.  Rafter J is a beautiful campground with lots of trees and wide open spaces, a sparkling clean pool, heated spa, arcade, playground and store.  Very kid and doggie friendly.  This place has everything you could need.  Last night Winston and I were outside and it was pitch dark with a clear sky and we were treated to an amazing view of the twinkling stars overhead.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Rafter J has BBQ night at the outdoor dining hall!  We will definitely be chowing down on that tonight for dinner while Cowboy Roy performs live country western music.  Yeah, this is roughing it.  Seriously, this is a very nice place to stay and I would recommend it if you’re ever in the area – it’s also centrally located to all the major attractions.  Check out the campground photos. 

Stay tuned for the scoop on what’s to see and do in this area in blogs to follow.

View of our camping spot

 

View out of our window

 

View out of our window

 

Winston catching an afternoon nap

 

Playground at camp

Devil's Tower National Monument, Wyoming

We arrived at Devil’s Tower National Monument on June 22^nd.  What a beautiful drive!  Green grasslands backstopped by red rolling hills and ponderosa pines.  On the way here, I saw several groups of motorcycle riders, black leather, cool bikes, etc.  Many had pulled over to snap some photos of each other with the tower in the background and I was reminded of the 2007 movie Wild Hogs (you know, the one where John Travolta and his pals are feeling a little manopausal [yes, that’s how I meant to spell it] and decide to buy motorcycles and ride across country).  Seriously, I didn’t see one biker who was under 55.

In 1906, Devils Tower was designed as our nation's first national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt.  Indian legends hold that the Tower’s rough vertical grooves were caused by a giant bear clawing the sides as he attempted to climb the Tower to get the little indian girls at the top.  And, that is exactly what it looks like.  Because of the grooves, it is a popular mountain climbing site among the "crack climbers".  Another claim to fame, the Tower was featured in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Spielberg science fiction adventure movie about a group of people who attempt to contact alien intelligence.   

We no sooner got situated at our campsite when the skies opened up and it poured.  And what’s a ton of rain without a lightening show and really wicked winds that blow the branches off the trees and on to the roof of your motorhome?  By the way, when rain, branches, or anything hits the top of a motorhome, the sound is amplified quite a bit.  During this particular storm, the rain was so loud Mark and I had to yell at each other just to be heard.  But never fear, Winston takes these storms in stride.  He is unflappable.  At this very moment, he is lounging on the driver’s seat fast asleep while the rain pounds us.  

We stayed at the KOA right outside the gate to the Devil’s Tower National Monument.  It is a lovely park, lots of nice trees, level parking spots, full hookups, a million dollar view, and a nightly movie.  Tonight’s movie (and the movie probably every night)?  Close Encounters of the Third Kind, of course!

 

The Devil's Tower National Monument is spectacular.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves.  This is a definite must see if you are ever in north eastern Wyoming. 

 

Scenic drive

 

"Wild Hogs"

 

What a storm!

 

View from campground

 

Entering the park

 

 

 

 

 Check out the grooves

 

A favorite of crack climbers

 

Looking down on the valley

 As the sun rises over the tower

 

Gillette Wyoming

We attended our first motorhome rally, the 88^th Family Motor Coach Association Rally in Gillette, Wyoming this week.  What an experience.  I’ve never seen so many motorhomes in all my life.  Literally, there were thousands of motorhomes – conservatively I would estimate there were over 3,000 there based on the number of attendees.  Everything from little Class B (van type motorhomes) to million dollar rigs with marble floors and granite countertops.  It was hard to keep our mouths from hanging open when we toured some of the new models on display.  Plush!

The rally lasted five days.  Each day seminars were held on every topic imaginable.  Mark and I had to split up to get the maximum amount of information.  Armed with your new information, you then could trudge on over to the vendor hall where stuff was on sale – everything from things you thought you needed to things you didn’t know existed but now that you do about them, you need those too.  We had a ball shopping and YOLO is now tricked out to the max!

The Buckinghams (Kinda of a Drag) provided entertainment one night and there was another headline entertainer, but we left a day early because we were approaching maximum overload.  Winston was a big hit at the conference.  He now has 500 new fans and thinks he’s all that and more.  While at the conference we experienced more of the famous Wyoming weather – no consistency whatsoever from day to day.  The first day we were there it was blue sky and sunshine.  The second day, the wind blew like crazy all day and night.  The third day it stormed – complete with motorhome shaking thunder, tremendous lightening, hail and torrential rain.  The last day it was cloudy with intermittent showers. 

We went into town for a look see – but not too much in Gillette to see.  Apparently, Gillette’s claim to fame is being the energy capital of the U.S.  We did spy some huge coal mining operation along I-90 as we headed eastbound toward Devil’s Tower National Monument.  Kind of disturbing actually.  The train cars are lined up as far as the eye can see waiting to be filled with coal and then they are off to deliver their load to the 37 states Wyoming supplies.

 

 Yolo and the Silver Fox at the Rally

 

Motorhomes as far as the eye could see

 

 All different makes, models, sizes and types

 

 Vintage motorhome bus

 

 Seminars where we learned all kinds of interesting stuff

The Buckinghams entertain the crowd

 

Coal mining operation near Gillette

Wyoming supplies 35% of our nation's coal

 

 

 

 

Across Wyoming We Go, Stops at Cody and Greybull

Farewell to Yellowstone…hello to civilization once again.  We left Yellowstone, exiting the East Gate and travelled along a super scenic highway to Cody, Wyoming where we stopped for a few hours to take care of some business.  Cody is a cute little town – founded by Buffalo Bill Cody back in the 1890s.  People are friendly and tourism is big.  There is a Buffalo Bill Historical Center in town which supposedly houses all things western.  We didn’t have time to tour the center as we were on a schedule, but we did stop long enough to take some photos of the surrounding area.  The Buffalo Bill State Park just west of town is huge and has one of the largest lakes I’ve ever seen – good camping for those you might be interested in the area. 

Then it was off to Greybull which is a very small town where you catch the I-90 going east.  We stayed at the KOA .  The owners were super friendly, the sites were well manicured and the pool was 85 degrees!   At 9 p.m. each night the town sounds a town siren signaling curfew for kids 16 and younger which I thought was unique.  But even more unique is that Greybull has an all-volunteer fire department. Not so unique you say?  Well, the average age of the firefighters in town is 78 year old and the rule is that if you can hear the siren, then you can serve as a firefighter.  Hmmmm.

 

Along Highway 14

 

Buffalo Bill State Park

 

 

KOA Guard - We can't figure out how he got on the roof

 

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Yellowstone is the granddaddy of all national parks.  Established in 1872, it is America's first national park and it is huge!  It spans almost 3,500 miles; mostly in Wyoming, but extending into parts of Montana and Idaho also, making it not only the first national park, but it is also the largest. 

Yellowstone is perched on top of a dormant volcano and is home to more geysers and hot springs than any other place on earth. Approximately 50 percent of the world’s hydrothermal features are at Yellowstone National Park. The most famous of all the geysers is Old Faithful which we checked out.

Yellowstone is really quite remote.  Cell and internet service is very limited.  We camped at the Fishing Bridge Campground which is the only full hookup RV campground in the park.  We had zero Verizon service.  No phone, no text, no internet.  Yikes!  For a day or two, you don’t really miss it but after that you start to feel incredibly isolated.  It was so bad, that we actually drove 3-10 miles down the road searching for cell coverage and ended up sitting in a turnout on the side of the road to use the phone/internet.  The view from the car of the lake across the road while talking on the phone was gorgeous!

No trip to Yellowstone would be complete without a little wildlife.  Yellowstone boasts the oldest and largest bison herd in the U.S.  The bison (which are the same as buffalo in case you’re wondering) seem to subscribe to the philosophy that if we can look at and study them, that turnabout is fair play.  So one day driving back to camp, a herd of these huge animals decided to cross the road and some decided to stand in the middle of the road and look at all the people in their cars.  Apparently, they can be dangerous if provoked, so no horn honking, etc. you just have to sit and wait until they get bored and move on.  That was the cause of the longest traffic jam we experienced (20 minutes or so) while in the park. 

There are signs everywhere warning of bears, although we were not lucky enough to see any.  I suspect that Yogi and Boo Boo snagged enough picnic baskets that they weren’t out foraging when we were there.  The waterfalls at Yellowstone are amazing.  The steamers (that’s the technical name I assigned them) are interesting – just openings in the ground all over the place around the park where steam escapes.  Some of them contain which a bit of sulfur and stink like crazy.   

We enjoyed our visit and think that everyone should visit at least once.  This park truly reflects the beauty of God’s creation.

 Cruising down the road

 

 Old Faithful Inn

 

 Old Faithful Inn - Interior

 

Old Faithful Geyser

 

Geothermal Pool

Yellowstone Lake

 

 Kepler Cascades

 

 

 Upper Falls

Yellowstone Grand Canyon

 

Lazy river near campground

 

 Elk kicking back

 

Bison along the road