Friday, May 30, 2008
May 29, 2008 Update
Hi all. Mike and I are now in Duluth, MN. We traveled from Rapid City, SD up into ND and across to Minneapolis, MN this past few days. Mike has a cousin who lives in Minneapolis and we stopped by to visit him and his son for a few days.
I did not realize that the Mississippi River runs through Minneapolis, but it does. I should have known this from the news last year about the I35 bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi. It was right in Minneapolis. In fact, we were on I35 but not when we crossed the river. I remember the news on TV last year and it seemed to me that the river was very wide in the newscasts. But, it is not a very wide river in Minneapolis. I have crossed the Mississippi in Memphis and it is a whole lot wider in Memphis than it is in Minneapolis. I'd just call it a regular size river in Minneapolis.
I guess the big thing I got to do in Minneapolis is visit the Mall of America. I have heard about this mall for years and have always wanted to see it. It has an amusement park inside the mall. Not only that, but it has an aquarium in there too.
Mike took me to the mall on Wednesday. Marge (our trusted GPS system) got us there without any problem. Mike's cousin lives on the north side of Minneapolis and the mall is a bit south of downtown, very near the airport. We went into the mall via a mall entrance rather than going through one of the stores. The first thing we saw when we walked in was the amusement park. The mall is basically a square with four major department stores anchoring each corner. It is five stories (counting the basement where the aquarium is located). The center area is an atrium that is four floors high. This is where the amusement park is located. Then there is a wing going off in each direction leading shoppers to each of the four major department stores.
The amusement park was really nice. It is not huge, but they have made use of every inch of space. I think I counted four different types of roller coasters, one of which is a log flume with real splashing water. There is one that has a car that goes straight up to the ceiling and then straight down. I am not exaggerating when I say straight up and straight down. This same ride had a complete circle so that the riders come out of going straight down to doing a 360. It is some more of a ride. There were also a lot of kiddie rides for the younger kids. There were quite a few people on the rides while we were there.
Of course, we had to get a map of the mall to find our way around. It would be real easy to get lost if you don't know the layout of the mall. My first stop was to the QVC store. All of you who know me, know that I like to shop on QVC and have for years. I knew they had a store in the mall. As it turns out, the QVC store was just around the corner from where we came into the mall. Mike got a couple of pictures of me going into the store. I was surprise that the store is very small. They have a lot of makeup products and jewelry, but not a lot of clothes or other products. I was expecting it to be a lot bigger. I know you are wondering if I bought anything and the answer is, yes. I got some of the Amazing Grace shower gel that I love.
Mike and I walked around the mall for a while and went in several stores. I guess we where there for a couple of hours. I can't really shop with Mike with me because he does not enjoy shopping. We did spend a while in Barnes and Noble and checked out Macy's and Sears. Then we left and went back to Mike's cousin's place.
The drive from Minneapolis to Duluth was a short one. We got into Duluth and to the RV park around noon. Since we got here so early, we decided to go and do some sightseeing. Duluth sits on Lake Superior. The city is built on a hillside that slopes down to the shores of Lake Superior. There are homes all along the hillside overlooking the downtown and the lake. Because the hillside is rather steep, the homes on one road are high enough to have a view of town and the lake over the tops of the homes on the road below. Most of the homes near the downtown are very modest. I'd say that most of these homes have been here for many years, but they are well maintained. The downtown is typical of any downtown. There were several hospitals just a block or two from the lakefront. The downtown seems to be very much alive. I did not see many unoccupied storefronts.
There is a small strip of land that juts out from downtown into Lake Superior. This peninsula separates Lake Superior from the Duluth harbor. There is a road onto the peninsula that has a bridge called an aerial life bridge. The bridge has a support structure on each end that looks like steel beams with X shaped supports going up high into the air. Then these two sides are connected by the same type of X steel supports across the top. The center roadway of the bridge is also steel. If a big ship or barge needs to go through to get to the port, they have a pulley system that raises the entire bridge floor way up in the air between the two side supports. I know this not a great description, but in essence what happens is that the whole bridge is raised way up into the air to allow ships to pass. We actually got to go across the bridge and later we got to see it raised.
This strip of land out into Lake Superior is populated with lots of homes. Most of the homes are older and small homes. There are also some newer and larger homes there as well. I suspect that as people have sold off the older homes, developers or people who want to live on the lake front have purchased the older homes and torn them down and replaced them with new homes. We stopped at a beach access and got out and walked on the beach a bit. The sand here is sort of a medium brown color. There was a lot of wood chips and small stick all along the beach. I guess these are the remains of trees that have broken up into small pieces and made there way to shore.
After visiting the beach, we drove on out onto the peninsula and found a nice park area and a small airport. From this point on the peninsula, you can look across the harbor and see more land. This is land in Wisconsin. Duluth is right on the MN and WI line.
Mike and I continued our sightseeing by driving north out of Duluth. We drove right along the shore of Lake Superior. Out on this side of town, there are some beautiful old homes sitting on the banks of the lake. However, across the street from these elegant homes are some very average homes. It is like the road divides the wealthy from the working people. The farther we drove, the fewer homes there were and we got to enjoy some of the countryside and the lake. We saw a sign that said we were 135 miles from the entrance into Ontario, Canada. We continued on to the small town of Two Harbors. It appears that the main business in this small town is the loading of iron ore onto barges. There is a pretty lighthouse out on a point here and they have converted the old lighthouse home into a bed and breakfast inn.
I have some pictures that I will post of our trip to Minneapolis and Duluth. Tomorrow we are off to WI. We probably won't be in an RV park with Wifi for several days, so I won't be posting for a few days.
I did not realize that the Mississippi River runs through Minneapolis, but it does. I should have known this from the news last year about the I35 bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi. It was right in Minneapolis. In fact, we were on I35 but not when we crossed the river. I remember the news on TV last year and it seemed to me that the river was very wide in the newscasts. But, it is not a very wide river in Minneapolis. I have crossed the Mississippi in Memphis and it is a whole lot wider in Memphis than it is in Minneapolis. I'd just call it a regular size river in Minneapolis.
I guess the big thing I got to do in Minneapolis is visit the Mall of America. I have heard about this mall for years and have always wanted to see it. It has an amusement park inside the mall. Not only that, but it has an aquarium in there too.
Mike took me to the mall on Wednesday. Marge (our trusted GPS system) got us there without any problem. Mike's cousin lives on the north side of Minneapolis and the mall is a bit south of downtown, very near the airport. We went into the mall via a mall entrance rather than going through one of the stores. The first thing we saw when we walked in was the amusement park. The mall is basically a square with four major department stores anchoring each corner. It is five stories (counting the basement where the aquarium is located). The center area is an atrium that is four floors high. This is where the amusement park is located. Then there is a wing going off in each direction leading shoppers to each of the four major department stores.
The amusement park was really nice. It is not huge, but they have made use of every inch of space. I think I counted four different types of roller coasters, one of which is a log flume with real splashing water. There is one that has a car that goes straight up to the ceiling and then straight down. I am not exaggerating when I say straight up and straight down. This same ride had a complete circle so that the riders come out of going straight down to doing a 360. It is some more of a ride. There were also a lot of kiddie rides for the younger kids. There were quite a few people on the rides while we were there.
Of course, we had to get a map of the mall to find our way around. It would be real easy to get lost if you don't know the layout of the mall. My first stop was to the QVC store. All of you who know me, know that I like to shop on QVC and have for years. I knew they had a store in the mall. As it turns out, the QVC store was just around the corner from where we came into the mall. Mike got a couple of pictures of me going into the store. I was surprise that the store is very small. They have a lot of makeup products and jewelry, but not a lot of clothes or other products. I was expecting it to be a lot bigger. I know you are wondering if I bought anything and the answer is, yes. I got some of the Amazing Grace shower gel that I love.
Mike and I walked around the mall for a while and went in several stores. I guess we where there for a couple of hours. I can't really shop with Mike with me because he does not enjoy shopping. We did spend a while in Barnes and Noble and checked out Macy's and Sears. Then we left and went back to Mike's cousin's place.
The drive from Minneapolis to Duluth was a short one. We got into Duluth and to the RV park around noon. Since we got here so early, we decided to go and do some sightseeing. Duluth sits on Lake Superior. The city is built on a hillside that slopes down to the shores of Lake Superior. There are homes all along the hillside overlooking the downtown and the lake. Because the hillside is rather steep, the homes on one road are high enough to have a view of town and the lake over the tops of the homes on the road below. Most of the homes near the downtown are very modest. I'd say that most of these homes have been here for many years, but they are well maintained. The downtown is typical of any downtown. There were several hospitals just a block or two from the lakefront. The downtown seems to be very much alive. I did not see many unoccupied storefronts.
There is a small strip of land that juts out from downtown into Lake Superior. This peninsula separates Lake Superior from the Duluth harbor. There is a road onto the peninsula that has a bridge called an aerial life bridge. The bridge has a support structure on each end that looks like steel beams with X shaped supports going up high into the air. Then these two sides are connected by the same type of X steel supports across the top. The center roadway of the bridge is also steel. If a big ship or barge needs to go through to get to the port, they have a pulley system that raises the entire bridge floor way up in the air between the two side supports. I know this not a great description, but in essence what happens is that the whole bridge is raised way up into the air to allow ships to pass. We actually got to go across the bridge and later we got to see it raised.
This strip of land out into Lake Superior is populated with lots of homes. Most of the homes are older and small homes. There are also some newer and larger homes there as well. I suspect that as people have sold off the older homes, developers or people who want to live on the lake front have purchased the older homes and torn them down and replaced them with new homes. We stopped at a beach access and got out and walked on the beach a bit. The sand here is sort of a medium brown color. There was a lot of wood chips and small stick all along the beach. I guess these are the remains of trees that have broken up into small pieces and made there way to shore.
After visiting the beach, we drove on out onto the peninsula and found a nice park area and a small airport. From this point on the peninsula, you can look across the harbor and see more land. This is land in Wisconsin. Duluth is right on the MN and WI line.
Mike and I continued our sightseeing by driving north out of Duluth. We drove right along the shore of Lake Superior. Out on this side of town, there are some beautiful old homes sitting on the banks of the lake. However, across the street from these elegant homes are some very average homes. It is like the road divides the wealthy from the working people. The farther we drove, the fewer homes there were and we got to enjoy some of the countryside and the lake. We saw a sign that said we were 135 miles from the entrance into Ontario, Canada. We continued on to the small town of Two Harbors. It appears that the main business in this small town is the loading of iron ore onto barges. There is a pretty lighthouse out on a point here and they have converted the old lighthouse home into a bed and breakfast inn.
I have some pictures that I will post of our trip to Minneapolis and Duluth. Tomorrow we are off to WI. We probably won't be in an RV park with Wifi for several days, so I won't be posting for a few days.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
May 26/27, 2008 - Update from Rapid City, SD
Hello everyone. Today is Memorial Day and for us, it holds special significance this year. We have just finished up all of the major parks and sights we planned for our BIG trip. And has it ever been a memorable trip. We have seen God’s handiwork in America. He blessed us tremendously. I just wish every American could see what we have seen of this country and then they would know just how blessed we are. We should give thanks every day for what we have here in the USA.
For the past two days, we have been in Rapid City, SD. We came here for me to see Mt. Rushmore. Mike has been here before and seen the sculptures. We got here on Saturday afternoon and our drive in took us past the new carving of Crazy Horse. It is a long way from being finished. Mike said the man who started the work has died and his wife and son have taken over the work. From what we could see, the head is done and they have started on the horse.
The RV park where we decided to stay was just on the outskirts of Rapid City on the road to Mt. Rushmore. It sits high up on a bluff and overlooks the city. It is not the nicest RV park we have been in, but the view was great. During the day, you can look out over the city and then to the wide open prairie beyond. At night, the lights of the city are like diamonds sparkling off in the distance. It was so pretty that I raised up the blinds in our bedroom and just sat there and gazed out the window for a long time.
Sunday was our sightseeing day. We got up and headed for Mt. Rushmore. It was only about 20 miles up the road. We got some great snapshots of the mountain. You can’t get very close, but we did get close enough to get good pictures. When we left the main entrance, our drive took us around to the side of the mountain and we were able to get good pictures of the side of Washington’s face.
Our next destination was going to be Crazy Horse, but we decided instead to take the Needles Highway through Custer State Park. Mike’s uncle Bud had driven the Needles Highway and highly recommended that we make the drive. This is a 14 mile long drive through the park that showcases some of the most fabulous rock formations anywhere. The trademark is a rock formation that actually has a slit at the top that looks exactly like the elongated eye of a needle. The highway is narrow and winding and has three tunnels cut out of the rocks. We came up to the first tunnel shortly after entering the highway. We had traveled a few miles up the winding highway and were up pretty high on the mountain. There was one of smaller campers that you drive sitting off the road and the woman was out of the vehicle. It appeared that she was trying to measure the width of the camper to see if they could get through. We went by them and through the tunnel. We did not see them again, so they either backed up (which would have been a harrowing experience on that highway at that spot) - or - they got through and then took another road out of the park. I bet they were pretty glad to get out of there whatever route they took.
After this first tunnel, we only drove a mile or so and came to the “Needle” section of the highway. This area was an opening in the rocks. The entrance was narrowed by the tall rock formations on either side of the road. I need to stop here and explain that the rocks here are not like boulders where they are big and round. Rather, these rocks are like tall spires. They look like a grove of trees - only they are rocks. I would guess that some of them are well over 100 feet tall. With the analogy of a grove of trees in mind, the road entered an opening in the grove of rocks. It was a circular opening that was wide enough for the highway in the middle and space to park about five vehicles on either side with their front ends pointed away from the highway. The exit for the highway was another tunnel through the rocks. We stopped here and Mike climbed up a pathway around the rocks. I did not try the climbing, but I did get out and viewed the “Needle” and a maze of sorts in the rocks on the opposite side of the road from where Mike was climbing. I hope my pictures can show this to you better than I am able to explain it. This section of the Needles Highway was the most interesting. However, we did see some more rock formations and even a man sitting up on top of one of the tall rocks. The remainder of the drive on the Needles Highway led us back down to a lower elevation where we saw some beautiful meadows.
Next, we headed for the Badlands National Park. This is another surprise in the landscape of the west. The whole area around Rapid City was miles and miles of green pasture and hillsides covered with deep green trees which form the “Black Hills” of South Dakota. So we are just driving along and all of the sudden up ahead it appears that the land just drops off and changes immediately to this area of gulches and mounds of dirt. Some spots below are green and they reminded me of the putting greens on a golf course. There are places that appear to be white sand. In the distance, there are tall, pointed ridges that have horizontal bands of different colors. It is one of those places that you could say is so ugly that it is pretty.
The land on one side of the road was green prairie and badlands on the other side. We were almost to the intersection where we planned to turn off for Wall, SD when we came upon a prairie dogs town. This section of green prairie was probably 10 or more acres, dotted with white mounds of dirt every 10 or 20 feet apart. I’ve never seen such a place, nor had I ever heard of one. Mike says that the travelers in the old west days avoided these areas because their horses could step in one of the holes and break a leg. There must have been a thousand prairie dogs in this village. They were popping in and out of the holes and scampering around their town. It was fun to watch them.
The road through the Badland’s National Park is a 26 mile loop. We planned to do this drive, but we were low on fuel and decided instead to go into Wall, SD to get some fuel and to visit Wall Drugs. Now you may wonder what would make us want to visit Wall Drug. Mike told me about Wall Drugs from his previous trips out west to go hunting. There are billboards for over a 100 miles east of Wall, SD that advertise this store and probably as many coming in from the west. Some of the signs are humorous and others are informational. Wall Drugs was opened in 1931 in the tiny town of Wall, SD. I doubt that anyone other than the people living in Wall would have every heard of the place had it not been for the highway advertisements. As it is, these highway billboards bring in people from all over the country. Like Mike, after seeing these billboards for 100 miles, you want to stop and see what this place is all about.
So we pulled into Wall, SD around 2pm and got our fuel and then made our way the few blocks to the downtown. I’d say that at least half of the main street in Wall, SD is Wall Drug. The original store is there, but it has been added onto multiple times. Now it is sort of like a small shopping mall with mini stores under one roof. There is a shoe store, jewelry store, bookstore, art shop, and even a section selling Brighton items. There is a restaurant and candy store and a place to get ice cream. AND, they even have a drugstore. I don’t know if the original owner was responsible for the advertisements or not. If so, he sure was a smart man. He spent money on billboard ads and they have been paying off ever since. So, what did we buy - only a package of clips to hold our tablecloth onto a picnic table. We spent all of about $2. But, that is $2 that Wall Drugs would not have had if Mike had not seen those billboards on his first trip out here.
After our adventure at Wall, Mike asked if I wanted to go back and do the 26 mile loop in the Badlands. I told him, “no”. I was tired and really just wanted to go back and rest. We had not eaten and I did not feel like cooking, so we took the dogs home and we went out for some Mexican. It was not nearly as good as the Mexican we got in Santa Fe, but it was ok and I did not have to cook.
Today, we are traveling to ND or MN. We have not decided which yet. We left Rapid City around 9:30am. We had to go the direction of Wall, SD and the Badlands on our way to the east. Mike asked if I wanted to do the 26 mile loop into the Badlands and I said that I would. I am so glad we did. It was really an experience. Our trip yesterday was only the tip of the iceberg as far as seeing this area. I’ve tried to come up with an analogy that will help you understand what this place is like. I decided that it is like being on the beach where you are the size of bug. Someone has gone along the beach with a large sand bucket and made thousands of sand castles. They are not all in a straight row. In some places they are clusters of sand castles and some are higher than others. Some have been shaped so that they are more of a pyramid shape and others are more rounded. Then it rains on the sandcastles causing them to have gulches and valleys and some to melt like snow. Now, you are the bug walking along (or in our case - riding along) through all of these sand castles. If this analogy didn’t do it for you, maybe the pictures I am going to post, will. Like I said, I am so glad we made the trip into Badlands National Park. It is unlike any place I have ever seen.
We made a decision to go to Aberdeen, SD and stay the night and then head to Fargo, ND. Our trip took us through the SD state capital of Pierre. Actually, the sign coming into town says “Fort Pierre”. The city is small by the standards of state capitals in other states. Of course, the population of then entire state of SD is small. Most of this state is open land used to farm and raise cattle. The Missouri River runs through the city of Pierre. There is a park along the river that we could see from the bridge we crossed. It appeared to be a very nice park with walking paths and picnic shelters.
The trip to Aberdeen was a beautiful drive. The countryside out here is just something to see. You can see forever and what you see are miles after miles of open grasslands. The fields are either very green or brown because they are last year’s cuttings of wheat or corn. I did get to see some new wildlife - pheasants. The male is brightly colored and easy to spot. The females are a brownish color and blend in with the cut fields. I bet we saw over 50 cocks and maybe 20 hens.
We are staying the night in Aberdeen at the Wylie Park Campground. This is a wonderful place. It not only has a top notch campground but there is also a lake with beach, bumper cars, go-karts, water slide, zoo, storybook land with its own castle, Land of Oz with rides, volleyball courts and softball field. It is a super place for families. I wish we had something like this in NC. I’d love to take my grandchildren to a place like this. I wish we could stay longer, but we have places to go and people to see. Anyway, it is suppose to get down to freezing tonight. This part of the country is still pretty chilly.
Tomorrow, we head to Fargo, ND. I’m not sure if we will be spending the night there or moving on into MN. We will cross that bridge tomorrow. Now, it is time for me to get to bed.
For the past two days, we have been in Rapid City, SD. We came here for me to see Mt. Rushmore. Mike has been here before and seen the sculptures. We got here on Saturday afternoon and our drive in took us past the new carving of Crazy Horse. It is a long way from being finished. Mike said the man who started the work has died and his wife and son have taken over the work. From what we could see, the head is done and they have started on the horse.
The RV park where we decided to stay was just on the outskirts of Rapid City on the road to Mt. Rushmore. It sits high up on a bluff and overlooks the city. It is not the nicest RV park we have been in, but the view was great. During the day, you can look out over the city and then to the wide open prairie beyond. At night, the lights of the city are like diamonds sparkling off in the distance. It was so pretty that I raised up the blinds in our bedroom and just sat there and gazed out the window for a long time.
Sunday was our sightseeing day. We got up and headed for Mt. Rushmore. It was only about 20 miles up the road. We got some great snapshots of the mountain. You can’t get very close, but we did get close enough to get good pictures. When we left the main entrance, our drive took us around to the side of the mountain and we were able to get good pictures of the side of Washington’s face.
Our next destination was going to be Crazy Horse, but we decided instead to take the Needles Highway through Custer State Park. Mike’s uncle Bud had driven the Needles Highway and highly recommended that we make the drive. This is a 14 mile long drive through the park that showcases some of the most fabulous rock formations anywhere. The trademark is a rock formation that actually has a slit at the top that looks exactly like the elongated eye of a needle. The highway is narrow and winding and has three tunnels cut out of the rocks. We came up to the first tunnel shortly after entering the highway. We had traveled a few miles up the winding highway and were up pretty high on the mountain. There was one of smaller campers that you drive sitting off the road and the woman was out of the vehicle. It appeared that she was trying to measure the width of the camper to see if they could get through. We went by them and through the tunnel. We did not see them again, so they either backed up (which would have been a harrowing experience on that highway at that spot) - or - they got through and then took another road out of the park. I bet they were pretty glad to get out of there whatever route they took.
After this first tunnel, we only drove a mile or so and came to the “Needle” section of the highway. This area was an opening in the rocks. The entrance was narrowed by the tall rock formations on either side of the road. I need to stop here and explain that the rocks here are not like boulders where they are big and round. Rather, these rocks are like tall spires. They look like a grove of trees - only they are rocks. I would guess that some of them are well over 100 feet tall. With the analogy of a grove of trees in mind, the road entered an opening in the grove of rocks. It was a circular opening that was wide enough for the highway in the middle and space to park about five vehicles on either side with their front ends pointed away from the highway. The exit for the highway was another tunnel through the rocks. We stopped here and Mike climbed up a pathway around the rocks. I did not try the climbing, but I did get out and viewed the “Needle” and a maze of sorts in the rocks on the opposite side of the road from where Mike was climbing. I hope my pictures can show this to you better than I am able to explain it. This section of the Needles Highway was the most interesting. However, we did see some more rock formations and even a man sitting up on top of one of the tall rocks. The remainder of the drive on the Needles Highway led us back down to a lower elevation where we saw some beautiful meadows.
Next, we headed for the Badlands National Park. This is another surprise in the landscape of the west. The whole area around Rapid City was miles and miles of green pasture and hillsides covered with deep green trees which form the “Black Hills” of South Dakota. So we are just driving along and all of the sudden up ahead it appears that the land just drops off and changes immediately to this area of gulches and mounds of dirt. Some spots below are green and they reminded me of the putting greens on a golf course. There are places that appear to be white sand. In the distance, there are tall, pointed ridges that have horizontal bands of different colors. It is one of those places that you could say is so ugly that it is pretty.
The land on one side of the road was green prairie and badlands on the other side. We were almost to the intersection where we planned to turn off for Wall, SD when we came upon a prairie dogs town. This section of green prairie was probably 10 or more acres, dotted with white mounds of dirt every 10 or 20 feet apart. I’ve never seen such a place, nor had I ever heard of one. Mike says that the travelers in the old west days avoided these areas because their horses could step in one of the holes and break a leg. There must have been a thousand prairie dogs in this village. They were popping in and out of the holes and scampering around their town. It was fun to watch them.
The road through the Badland’s National Park is a 26 mile loop. We planned to do this drive, but we were low on fuel and decided instead to go into Wall, SD to get some fuel and to visit Wall Drugs. Now you may wonder what would make us want to visit Wall Drug. Mike told me about Wall Drugs from his previous trips out west to go hunting. There are billboards for over a 100 miles east of Wall, SD that advertise this store and probably as many coming in from the west. Some of the signs are humorous and others are informational. Wall Drugs was opened in 1931 in the tiny town of Wall, SD. I doubt that anyone other than the people living in Wall would have every heard of the place had it not been for the highway advertisements. As it is, these highway billboards bring in people from all over the country. Like Mike, after seeing these billboards for 100 miles, you want to stop and see what this place is all about.
So we pulled into Wall, SD around 2pm and got our fuel and then made our way the few blocks to the downtown. I’d say that at least half of the main street in Wall, SD is Wall Drug. The original store is there, but it has been added onto multiple times. Now it is sort of like a small shopping mall with mini stores under one roof. There is a shoe store, jewelry store, bookstore, art shop, and even a section selling Brighton items. There is a restaurant and candy store and a place to get ice cream. AND, they even have a drugstore. I don’t know if the original owner was responsible for the advertisements or not. If so, he sure was a smart man. He spent money on billboard ads and they have been paying off ever since. So, what did we buy - only a package of clips to hold our tablecloth onto a picnic table. We spent all of about $2. But, that is $2 that Wall Drugs would not have had if Mike had not seen those billboards on his first trip out here.
After our adventure at Wall, Mike asked if I wanted to go back and do the 26 mile loop in the Badlands. I told him, “no”. I was tired and really just wanted to go back and rest. We had not eaten and I did not feel like cooking, so we took the dogs home and we went out for some Mexican. It was not nearly as good as the Mexican we got in Santa Fe, but it was ok and I did not have to cook.
Today, we are traveling to ND or MN. We have not decided which yet. We left Rapid City around 9:30am. We had to go the direction of Wall, SD and the Badlands on our way to the east. Mike asked if I wanted to do the 26 mile loop into the Badlands and I said that I would. I am so glad we did. It was really an experience. Our trip yesterday was only the tip of the iceberg as far as seeing this area. I’ve tried to come up with an analogy that will help you understand what this place is like. I decided that it is like being on the beach where you are the size of bug. Someone has gone along the beach with a large sand bucket and made thousands of sand castles. They are not all in a straight row. In some places they are clusters of sand castles and some are higher than others. Some have been shaped so that they are more of a pyramid shape and others are more rounded. Then it rains on the sandcastles causing them to have gulches and valleys and some to melt like snow. Now, you are the bug walking along (or in our case - riding along) through all of these sand castles. If this analogy didn’t do it for you, maybe the pictures I am going to post, will. Like I said, I am so glad we made the trip into Badlands National Park. It is unlike any place I have ever seen.
We made a decision to go to Aberdeen, SD and stay the night and then head to Fargo, ND. Our trip took us through the SD state capital of Pierre. Actually, the sign coming into town says “Fort Pierre”. The city is small by the standards of state capitals in other states. Of course, the population of then entire state of SD is small. Most of this state is open land used to farm and raise cattle. The Missouri River runs through the city of Pierre. There is a park along the river that we could see from the bridge we crossed. It appeared to be a very nice park with walking paths and picnic shelters.
The trip to Aberdeen was a beautiful drive. The countryside out here is just something to see. You can see forever and what you see are miles after miles of open grasslands. The fields are either very green or brown because they are last year’s cuttings of wheat or corn. I did get to see some new wildlife - pheasants. The male is brightly colored and easy to spot. The females are a brownish color and blend in with the cut fields. I bet we saw over 50 cocks and maybe 20 hens.
We are staying the night in Aberdeen at the Wylie Park Campground. This is a wonderful place. It not only has a top notch campground but there is also a lake with beach, bumper cars, go-karts, water slide, zoo, storybook land with its own castle, Land of Oz with rides, volleyball courts and softball field. It is a super place for families. I wish we had something like this in NC. I’d love to take my grandchildren to a place like this. I wish we could stay longer, but we have places to go and people to see. Anyway, it is suppose to get down to freezing tonight. This part of the country is still pretty chilly.
Tomorrow, we head to Fargo, ND. I’m not sure if we will be spending the night there or moving on into MN. We will cross that bridge tomorrow. Now, it is time for me to get to bed.
Pics - May 25&26,2008-Mt.Rushmore, Badlands, Black Hills, Etc.
Here are pictures we took on our way to Rapid City, SD plus those we took at Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, Badlands National Park, and the Needles Highway
Saturday, May 24, 2008
May 24, 2008 - Riverton, WY to Rapid City, SD
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Today we traveled a long ways. We left Riverton, WY early this morning and traveled across WY and into NE and turned north. We made our way up to Custer, SD and through Hill, SD and on to the outskirts of Rapid City.
The drive from Riverton through most of WY was not very interesting. This area is what is called "high desert". It is mostly flat, with lots of sagebrush. The towns are tiny and far apart. One town had a populations of 44 and another had a population of only 1. I'm surprised it even rated a sign. I took a couple of naps during this part of our trip.
As we got closer to the NE line, the landscaped started to change. The land started to roll softly and the sagebrush gave way to green grass. Mike says that this time of the year is the prettiest in this part of the country because there is enough moisture to make the grass green. Not too far into NE, the land flattened out. There were a few homes dotting the countryside, but very few. We saw lots of deer and antelope and cattle. This is big cattle country. I was shocked at how beautiful this area is. I fully expected it to be desert country.
We turned north toward SD. Our journey took us into the Black Hills area. We did not realize that we were going to drive through Wind Caves National Park. We had no idea we were going to pass through this park. It is an interesting place. It is a buffalo refuge above the ground, and under the ground are 116 miles of caves.
We also passed by the mountain carving of Crazy Horse and the turnoff to Mt. Rushmore. Tomorrow we are going to visit these places as well as a short drive into the Bad Lands and along Needles Highway.
Friday, May 23, 2008
May 23, 2008 - Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole
I can’t believe another week is almost over. Today is Friday and we left Yellowstone this morning. I need to make a correction to a comment about Yellowstone Lake. I said in an earlier blog that it was so wide that I could not see the opposite shore. Well, today it was sunny when we left the park and I was able to see the other shore. Granted, it was a long way off, but I could see it. The snow and bad visibility prevented me from seeing the mountains on the other side when I first viewed the lake.
OK - Now that my correction is out of the way, I’ll move on. We left Yellowstone this morning around 9am and headed out the south side of the park. Almost immediately upon leaving Yellowstone on the south side, you enter the Grand Teton National Park. We did not take any of the side roads in the Grand Teton Park because we were making out way to Jackson Hole, WY. We had mail waiting on us at the Jackson Hole post office and we needed to pick it up before they closed.
The Grand Teton mountains were off to my right going toward Jackson Hole. The Snake River runs along them and there is a very wide valley on either side of the highway. I think what makes the Grand Tetons so remarkable is there are no foothills in front of them. The rise sharply right out of the valley floor. I don’t know the height of these mountains, but they must be pretty high because they still have a heavy snow cover on them. It is such a sight to see the contrast of the deep blue of the mountains, the bright white of the snow against the lighter blue of the sky and green of the valley. I hope the pictures I took will be turn out good so that you can see the beauty of these mountains.
Well today it finally happened. I SAW A MOOSE! We have seen tons of elk, deer, antelope and buffalo, but not the elusive moose. We were well into our drive to Jackson Hole and saw cars stopped. We slowed down and I strained to see what everyone was looking at. I couldn’t see a thing. Mike asked me if I wanted to stop and see if it was a moose. Mike pulled off and stopped the truck. I got out and walked back to check it out. Sure enough, back in the trees just a short way from the road, a female was lying down. I got some good pictures. I was hoping she would stand up, but she never did. A noisy car came by and she did open her eyes and raise her head. I think she even winked at me. Anyway, I can now rest easy as I have finally seen a moose in the wild.
Jackson Hole is a neat little place. Mike had been there before and knew I would like it. The streets of the town are narrow so we found a back road where we could park the RV. We walked around town for a while and had a bite of lunch. Jackson Hole is a ski town filled with lots of expensive little shops. As a true typical ski town, they have a great pizza place. Mike and I ate lunch at Mountain High Pizza Pie. It sure was good. I’d been wanting some pizza and this hit the spot.
We found out that the main post office is now outside of town. So, we had to go back and get the truck and RV and drive out to the new post office. Thankfully, the roads in the newer section of town are not nearly as narrow so we did not have any problem driving to the new post office.
We left Jackson Hole and backtracked a ways ant then took another highway toward Dubois, WY and on to Riverton, WY where we spent the night. Our time on this trip is fast running out if we want to bet back to KY for a family reunion by the 23rd of June. We still have several places we want to visit on our drive back east. I would have liked to stayed in Jackson Hole and visited some of the shops, but I knew I was not going to buy anything and we needed to get on our way.
OK - Now that my correction is out of the way, I’ll move on. We left Yellowstone this morning around 9am and headed out the south side of the park. Almost immediately upon leaving Yellowstone on the south side, you enter the Grand Teton National Park. We did not take any of the side roads in the Grand Teton Park because we were making out way to Jackson Hole, WY. We had mail waiting on us at the Jackson Hole post office and we needed to pick it up before they closed.
The Grand Teton mountains were off to my right going toward Jackson Hole. The Snake River runs along them and there is a very wide valley on either side of the highway. I think what makes the Grand Tetons so remarkable is there are no foothills in front of them. The rise sharply right out of the valley floor. I don’t know the height of these mountains, but they must be pretty high because they still have a heavy snow cover on them. It is such a sight to see the contrast of the deep blue of the mountains, the bright white of the snow against the lighter blue of the sky and green of the valley. I hope the pictures I took will be turn out good so that you can see the beauty of these mountains.
Well today it finally happened. I SAW A MOOSE! We have seen tons of elk, deer, antelope and buffalo, but not the elusive moose. We were well into our drive to Jackson Hole and saw cars stopped. We slowed down and I strained to see what everyone was looking at. I couldn’t see a thing. Mike asked me if I wanted to stop and see if it was a moose. Mike pulled off and stopped the truck. I got out and walked back to check it out. Sure enough, back in the trees just a short way from the road, a female was lying down. I got some good pictures. I was hoping she would stand up, but she never did. A noisy car came by and she did open her eyes and raise her head. I think she even winked at me. Anyway, I can now rest easy as I have finally seen a moose in the wild.
Jackson Hole is a neat little place. Mike had been there before and knew I would like it. The streets of the town are narrow so we found a back road where we could park the RV. We walked around town for a while and had a bite of lunch. Jackson Hole is a ski town filled with lots of expensive little shops. As a true typical ski town, they have a great pizza place. Mike and I ate lunch at Mountain High Pizza Pie. It sure was good. I’d been wanting some pizza and this hit the spot.
We found out that the main post office is now outside of town. So, we had to go back and get the truck and RV and drive out to the new post office. Thankfully, the roads in the newer section of town are not nearly as narrow so we did not have any problem driving to the new post office.
We left Jackson Hole and backtracked a ways ant then took another highway toward Dubois, WY and on to Riverton, WY where we spent the night. Our time on this trip is fast running out if we want to bet back to KY for a family reunion by the 23rd of June. We still have several places we want to visit on our drive back east. I would have liked to stayed in Jackson Hole and visited some of the shops, but I knew I was not going to buy anything and we needed to get on our way.
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