The 220-mile trip into South Dakota was uneventful. This is the first time either of us has been to this state. What we have seen so far is gorgeous. The Black Hills, so named by the Indians, we are told, because the trunks of the Ponderosa Pines are black, are magnificent.
We are staying at the Hart Ranch Resort, which is a huge RV park, golf course, and real estate development. It is very nice. The first order of business was to head for Mount Rushmore before anything bad could happen with the weather. We were both blown away by the place.
The “faces” are more impressive than I had anticipated, and the accompanying buildings and viewing areas are quite well done. Congratulations, Park Service.
On Saturday, we headed for the KOA Kampground in nearby Hill City, where we will stay next week, to pick up our mail, and, as an afterthought, to visit Wind Cave National Park. (We didn’t even know it existed until we saw it on the map on the way to South Dakota on Friday.) It turns out to have been the 7th national park, established in 1903---even before the Grand Canyon park.
We understand from the film at the Visitor Center (we didn't go caving because I'm quite claustrophobic) that it has quite a remarkable series of caves with formations in the underground “rooms” that are quite different from, say, those at the Carlsbad Caverns.
Some of the visitors hanging around were big and ugly:
Sunday was a bad-weather day, as well as Father's Day, so we spent most of the day quietly. Quite a relief.
On Monday, with it drizzling all day, we attacked a recent problem with the trailer---the 12-volt system was acting up. It turned out that a neighbor is a mobile RV repairman. Dennis quickly diagnosed that our battery was low because the gizmo that converts 110-volt AC "shore" power into 12-volt DC to recharge the battery was simply not working. He bypassed the converter and attached his charger to the battery, and sent me off to Walmart to buy my own charger, which I will need to use until the converter is replaced. I contacted the manufacturer of the trailer and was amazed that the service rep was quite willing to schedule a replacement in Billings, Montana, the next big city we will come to---in a week or so. We had to set the appointment ahead since the new converter had to be sent from the factory. Dennis had warned me that no local servicemen carry these converters in stock.
Dennis and his wife, Collette, recently lost a Dalmatian, and were quite interested in spending some "spot time" with Daisy and Ramsey. They played with the dogs for about a half hour. They (all four of them) seemed to enjoy it immensely.
Tuesday, the weather threatened all morning, but no rain came, so we headed for Badlands National Park---about 80 miles away.
Interesting place, a lot like the parks in Utah with massive erosion carving the landscape. Because there was no sun, the various layers of sedimentary rock did not show off their respective colors very well. But the formations were beautiful, nevertheless.
The park is surrounded by the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. In fact, much of this part of South Dakota is grassland. (Most of what is not Grassland is in the Black Hills National Forest.) It's interesting to see great amounts of wild grass on top of the rock formations throughout the park.
On the way back, the rain started. It came down in buckets off and on for the rest of the day---interspersed with sunshine for a few minutes occasionally. It was strange. And the downpours interfered with our satellite reception periodically.
Wednesday was the day we set aside to visit nearby Custer State Park. It is absolutely lovely; and huge---71,000 acres. The trees, the rolling hills, the grasslands, and the local animals are terrific.
One local burro came a little close:
On Thursday, we made the 30-mile transfer to the Mt. Rushmore KOA. It's a huge, nice, and very busy park. We came here because we originally could not get a reservation at the Hart Ranch Resort for the entire time in the area, so we made a reservation at KOA for the missing days. Slowly, we were able to extend the stay at Hart and shrink the stay at KOA. Ultimately, we had to move to the KOA park for one day, because there is a rigid rule at KOA that you can't cancel an entire reservation---no matter what the reason---without paying a stupid fee. Once at KOA, we returned to Custer State Park for a second look. We visited Sylvan Lake (site of one of the four lodges in the park) and the Eye Of The Needle (one of a series of fascinating granite formations), among other sites. It is a magnificent park. This is our last day in the area. It's been a very worthwhile stay. Tomorrow we head for Wyoming and North Dakota.
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