Fishing and washed the truck so it rained

John and I were up early and out at Sylvan Lake by 7 a.m. We fished for over an hour and a half simply enjoying the beautiful morning and the view. A father and son a couple of hundred feet from us where catching good sized ones left and right. Sheesh; we didn't even get a nibble.

We decided to stay home and get some chores done. John washed the truck and I did laundry. Wouldn't you know it, later in the day it rained. Of course. Actually, we actually had thunderstorms that rolled on for over two hours that dropped a fair amount of rain.

Dinner plans with Rick and Y were to go up to Crazy Horse and have Native American Tacos in their Laughing Waters Restaurant. Luckily, the rain stopped just a few minutes before we headed out. Sadly, the Native American Tacos weren't as tasty as the last time we had them. A bit of a disappointment for me.

We then headed up to Rick and Y's for some fun and games. John and Rick tied for winner of a game of Shanghai and the girls took the guys two games out of three of Pegs and Jokers. Other than the first game (guys won), the last two games were very close but the girls prevailed. We called it early around 11 p.m. as we both have to work in the morning.

Geocaching and nature

We have a family of Hairy Woodpeckers that visit us from time to time. This morning we only had two guests visit. The interesting thing (at least to me) is how vocal they are. They also stick their beaks into the bird feeder and I guess come away disappointed when there aren't any bugs to be found.

We decided to find us some geocache sites. Rick and Y hadn't done any geocaching before so we took them up to Cicero Peak where we knew it we could get the hang of it once again. Rick used his car GPS while we used our handheld model. The handheld model proved to be more accurate the closer you get. Here are Rick and Y with their find.

Once the log books were signed and the cache put back the way we found it, we were off to find a couple of more geocaches before calling it a day. One of the caches was ridiculously easy right alongside the highway. The third hunt for the day lead us not to far from the campground. We had to climb up this rock hill that had three "caves". The guys spotted the cache pretty quickly. Here is Rick with the contents of the cache box. The geocache boxes typically contain a logbook and assorted trinkets. You can take something, leave something, or simply sign the logbook like we did.

Rick took this beautiful panoramic shot of a ranch not far from our third geocache site. This view is just one of the reasons while we love this area.

While headed to our fourth geocache of the day, this white tail doe with her twin fawns crossed the road in front of us.

Geocaching is a fun way of getting exercise, having the thrill of the hunt, and communing with nature.

The fun day was ended with us playing cards. Once again, the girls got their butts kicked by the guys.

Hanging out at the campground

I spent the morning looking up some geocache sites as we want to introduce Rick and Y to this fun activity that is doable wherever you go. We went over to discuss the possibilities and it was decided that we would do a few caches tomorrow.

After lunch, we went over to play cards/games. Once again, the guys beat the girls at Canasta and Pegs and Jokers. We did win one game out of three of Pegs and Jokers. A while back we were winning all the time and then we heard about the fragile male ego. Enough already! Y and I have got to get our mojo back! Still, a good time is had by all as there is a lot of laughter, moans, and groans.

We headed home early as we wanted to get caught up with Melissa and her life. As always, it is nice to hear her voice and laugh. It always makes us feel better knowing that she is well and happy. Melissa had found a clock that she had liked while here in Custer when she visited. She had asked us to see if we could buy it for her but when we went to see about purchasing it, the last one had been sold. Luckily, we were able to get one ordered for her and UPS delivered it to her today. She is looking forward to hanging in on her wall; although, she said it was bigger than she remembered. We laughed because we said we thought it seemed smaller than we remembered when we took it out of its box so I could send her a photo to make sure it was what she wanted. I think none us would make good eye witnesses!

Wall, SD and Badlands NP

The four of us (Rick, Y, John and myself) were on the road around 9 a.m. and headed toward Wall, SD. The big draw (?) to Wall is Wall Drug. Actually, it is a big tourist trap. The story of how Wall Drug got started is interesting. Click on this link to read the story. The tourists were stacked up in Wall Drug. We wondered their buildings for a while and came across this stuffed Bison. Rick had fun sticking his finger in its ear.

Wall Drug also has a TRex that trys to feed every 12 minutes. Luckily, John posed with attitude under the dinosaur while it was still digesting its food from its last feeding or he would have been toast (HaHa).

We grabbed a bit to eat at Subway before heading off to Badlands NP. We had stopped at a scenic area where we noticed Big Horn Sheep (ewes with lambs) in the area. It was fun watching them maneuver up and around the mountains. As drove up to the main road, there were ewes and lambs feeding on the grass right near the roadway.

Here are some scenic shots taken at the Badlands. Rick looking for his photo op.
The contrast of the blue sky with the muted colors of the Badlands just isn't properly shown in this picture.
Another beautiful shot.

After the Badlands, we headed back to Rapid City where we stopped to pick up some items and grabbed a bite to eat before heading home. We got home close to 8 p.m., put our few items away, and settled in for an while before heading off to bed.

Slow start

We had a nice slow start today. We spent some time sitting outside enjoying the day when fellow Workampers Faye and Marshall came over to chat. We do enjoy visiting with them. We were so busy chatting that time flew by and before we knew it, Rick and Y pulled up to pick us up for our lunch date. Oops!

We had a nice lunch at Baker's Cafe and then visited the 1881 Custer County Courthouse Museum. The courthouse was the hub of Custer County from 1881 to 1974 and has been a museum since 1976. Within the three floors, you will find nature and American Indian exhibits, Custer expedition exhibits, exhibits on mining, industry, and forestry, a courtroom, classroom, ranch exhibits, general store, and of course, an original jail exhibit complete with a prisoner. All in all, it was pretty interesting.

We headed home where John took a power nap while I, unfortunately, couldn't quite nap. We then headed off to Rick and Y's for a night of games. The guys whipped up on us playing Canasta and Pegs and Jokers. Y won a game of Shanghai and John won a short game of Chicken Feet (dominoes).

Relaxing, good food and company, and cards

After a slow start and a trip to town, John and I pretty much just hung around the rig. John did get up on the roof and gave it a good cleaning as it was pretty dirty. We will soon have to wash and wax the rig but we won't get serious about it until sometime in August. We did get a little outside sitting and visiting done with some campground guests. It was a beautiful day.

We then went up to Rick and Y's for some grilled chicken. We brought grilled veggies and garlic bread. Dinner was good and once the dishes were done, we set about getting taught /refreshed on Canasta. It has been many years since we played so we were starting from scratch. The guys trounced the girls. John and I agreed that we will need to play a few more games before the game playing gets a bit clearer. Before we knew it, it was almost midnight. My how the time flies when you are enjoing yourself.

Busy and productive day

I was woken up around 1:18 a.m. with the loud rumblings of a forthcoming thunderstorm. Even my sound sleeper (John) was woken up by the loud rumblings. We were treated to quite the light show from our bedroom windows. Finally, it all dissipated around 2 a.m. and we were able to get back to sleep.

As we had scheduled a service appointment for the truck for this morning, we had an early get up and go and were on the road to Rapid City by 7:45 a.m. We had coordinated the appointment with Rick and Y and they picked us up at the Ford Dealer. We went out to a leisurely breakfast and then Rick had the oil changed on the Jeep. We were pretty much in and out from the Kwik Lube pretty darn quick. We got a call from Ford saying that our truck was done. We decided to pick the truck up later so we headed off to the Journey Museum (see our May 19 journal entry). Rick and Y seemed to enjoy it and we consider it one of the Gems of the area. We then headed to the Ford Dealer and picked up the truck. Good to go for another 10,000 miles.

We then stopped at two RV stores for some water heater parts Rick was looking for as he is having some random issues that are driving him nuts. We had a nice linner (lunch/dinner combination) at On The Border. Of course, while in Rapid City, we stopped to do some shopping. We got home a few minutes before 8 p.m.; it was a long day but very productive . . . gotta enjoy that!

We went up to Rick and Y's to play cards but called it an early night a little after 11 p.m. Learned a new card game and Rick and Y want to refresh themselves on the rules for Canasta before we play that game. John and I have played Canasta a couple of times many years ago; hopefully, it will come back to us quickly.

Slow and easy day

As Rick and Y had to hang around their rig waiting for Jim the service technician to install a new propane regulator, we decided to just chill at the campground. John went for a bike ride, I got laundry caught up, and after dinner, we went up to Rick and Y's to play games. Nothing too exciting but we certainly enjoyed ourselves.

Pioneer Museum - Hot Springs & Crazy Horse Light Show

We headed out to visit the Pioneer Museum in Hot Springs this morning. The museum building was the local schoolhouse until 1961. The building still looks very much like a school and has chalk boards, desks, etc. You can imagine what the interior must have sounded like when the recess bell rang. In the back was an old fashioned carousel that kids push and then jump on for a spin as well as an old fashioned teeter-totter.

The building houses a lot of "old" stuff. It was amazing and entertaining to look at the collection they had on display. John said his Uncle Emil had an old stove for heat like the one in the middle of the picture.

Look at the length of that gun. The consensus was that you would have to be very close to whatever you shot to make it count.

Original Hot Springs post office boxes and counter.
Old fashioned Maytag washing machines. Thank goodness technology has advanced!
Collection of old stoves.

These Siamese calves were born in 1962. They did not survive very long after their birth. One of those strange but true pictures.

Here I am lending a hand to Y as she tried clamping on these old fashioned heat rollers used for setting permanents in the olden days. Looks like some strange torture machine. Wait a minute, that is exactly what it was for women!

Old dentist office equipment. John and Rick remember their dentist's office looking much like this one. I guess I have blocked that part out as it looks a bit scary to me.

Old telephone switchboard equipment. Couldn't help but think of Lily Tomlin going "One ringadingy, two ringadingys" from the TV show Laugh-in. I know, I know, I'm showing my age!

It was very interesting and there were so many different things to view that I couldn't begin to include most of the pictures. Lots of history in the way it used to be done.

After we had lunch, we headed back to Custer via some of the back roads that take you through Wind Cave park lands and Custer State Park. We were able to spot this mule deer buck from the Jeep.

We took the drive up to Mt. Coolidge which is a fire lookout. John and I went last year but I didn't like going up the narrow road with shear drop-offs plus meeting cars/trucks heading in the opposite direction in our big truck. This time we went up in Rick and Y's Jeep. Much better. Here is a pretty shot of the Cathedral Spires that you view up close when you drive the Needles Highway. From this vantage point on Mt. Coolidge, with binoculars, you are able to see Crazy Horse and George Washington's profile.

We headed home and settled in for a bit before heading out to Crazy Horse to take in the evening laser light show. We all had a Native American Taco for dinner (so good) at the Laughing Waters Restaurant before touring the grounds and taking in the short movie. We watched the laser light show standing outside in the Veranda. It was a bit chilly with the wind blowing and Y wrapped her bottom half in a blanket to comfortably watch the show. Once we got back to the campground, we all headed to our respective homes and beds. Whew! Another full day.

Jewel Cave National Monument

Jewel Cave is only about 13 miles west of Custer so we didn't have far to travel for this sightseeing venture. Jewel Cave National Monument is the second largest cave in the world and is made up of calcite crystals and many other "jewels" that we hope these pictures will show off. We took the Scenic Tour that was just that. The tour was a bit more strenuous with steep stairs but it was well worth the trip.

Cave curtains
Stalactite heading toward a stalagmite
Very long soda straw
Looks kind of creepy, doesn't it. Formations are called cave curtains.

The picture doesn't do it justice but this is an over 20 foot long cave bacon formation.Amazing at how a bit of dripping water can change the look of some of these rock formations. Looks slimy!

This cave really was a jewel and is well worth touring. It had a bit of something to please just about anyone. The Visitor Center was also very nice.

Wind Cave NP - Fairgrounds Tour

John and I had taken the Entrance Tour at Wind Cave a while back. Rick and Y wanted to see Wind Cave so we signed up for the Fairgrounds Tour. John and I both agreed that the Fairgrounds Tour was a lot more scenic that included more narrow passageways and more steps but worth it.

Wind Cave is the fourth largest cave with more than 135 miles of explored passageways. More passageways are discovered every year so in that respect that cave is growing. Wind Cave is famous for its boxwork formations. Wind Cave is one of two caves in the world that has this specialized formation. Pictures just cannot do it justice . . . one must see it with their own eyes to see the beauty.

If you are looking for stalactites and stalagmites, this cave is not for you. As it is a dry cave, they simply don't exist. Wind Cave also has popcorn and frostwork formations but none of our pictures were very impressive.

Here is a group of spelunkers getting ready for some cave exploration. Basically, you have to be young and/or very thin to go on these tours. There is a concrete formation that one has to wiggle their way through in order to qualify for the tour. Belly crawling through tight spaces doesn't sound very appealing does it?

After a nice lunch in Custer, we headed home to enjoy the afternoon and evening.

Air & Space Museum - Rapid City, SD

Our first stop was Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City to go through their Air and Space Museum. John is my airplane guy and he isn't around at the moment so I have no idea what type of planes the pictures below show.

We took the tour of the base that was offered and got to see all of their main buildings, military housing (very nice), and the Minuteman II Missile Silo. The missile silo was used for training up to 1994 and was operational although it did not have a warhead or fuel. Here is a shot looking at the nosecone.

A shot looking down into the silo.

Actually, it was a nice tour and air museum. Even us girls found things of interest to make the trip enjoyable.

On our way home, we were given an extra treat with a viewing of a Big Horn Sheep Ram and his harem of five grazing along the road. I think that brought a smile to everyone's face in the car.
Another fun day that ended with cards, laughter, and good company.

National Museum of Woodcarving

As I was going to work the evening shift for Faye tonight, we decided to stick close to Custer. We went to the National Museum of Woodcarving with Rick and Y. We had gone last year and were disappointed to see that some of their animated exhibits no longer work properly this year.

After we were done at the Museum, we stopped for lunch at the Baker's Cafe and enjoyed our meals. Then we drove around Stockade Lake and stopped at Bismark Lake (a good possible kayaking lake).

After my 4 to 8 p.m. shift, we went up to Rick and Y's for more card game fun.

Devils Tower National Monument

The four of us got an early start (9 a.m.) to head out to Devils Tower in Wyoming. The drive took about 2 1/2 hours. Here is an interesting shot taken just outside the park. It really is something to see standing up there all by itself in the middle of nowhere. If you would like more information on this national monument, here is the link to Devils Tower. I find the history and Indian lore fascinating. I can understand why the Indians consider Devils Tower a sacred place.

Rick made sure we had proof that we actually went inside the park.

We hiked around the base - 1.2 miles. We spent a lot of time watching climbers going up or down the face. Unfortunately, John didn't have the long lens on the camera so we can't show you any of the crazy/adventurous people climbing or hanging off the rock.

Rick couldn't resist doing a little rock climbing himself. John had flip flops on and declined in joining him.

Here is a shot of the beautiful valley that surrounds Devils Tower.

We stopped in the town of Hulett for lunch. John noticed that the town believes in keeping their buildings named simply. Here is the motel and site for bingo.

Quite simply, the Bank.

On our way home, we stopped at a wood carving location. John really liked this bald eagle. Good thing he was so big and heavy.

Another fun day that ended with us playing cards and Pegs and Jokers late in to the night.