Gnome to Alaska (Part 2 )

With the bad weather in Rapid City Sd, we were forced to stay and wait it out from our campsite in Mitchell.  That would require us staying put until May the 8th before we moved on in that direction.  The weather in Mitchell wasn't all that great but it was better than snow and icy temperatures that were in Rapid City.  We felt that we had made a wise decision until the evening of May the 6th.  The forecast for Mitchell was light rain and tempts around 59.  Before the downpour came, lighting and winds gusting to 50 mph.  Our light travel trailer shook and bounced with ease as the winds pounded us and the sudden storm of hail and lighting bounced all around us.  It was several terrifying moments of us wondering if we should make a run for it or stay where we were?  The winds finally calmed and only the pouring rain and lighting held our attention.  Thruout the night the rains came and went, finally morning came and we had survived.  It rained all day on Thursday May the 7th,  the temperature never got above 52.  We were ok with that as it was five inches of snow and ice in Rapid City and the surrounding area's.  The weather promised to again be back in the 70's on Friday May the 8th.  We chose then to continue our track north.  We would make a stop over in Rapid City, Deadwood, Sturgis and Spearfish for several days, as long as the weather held.



We had no desire to drive 300 miles and be in the ice and snow.  Not when it was so perfect where we were.  We'd wait another day or two before moving on to our next destination.



While waiting out the bad weather ahead of us, we took time to visit the Cabela's outdoor store in Mitchell.  Cabela's is a sporting goods store like the Bass Pro Shop.  It sells camping items, clothing, sporting goods, guns, boats and just about anything else you may want related to sports and outdoors.  I like to walk around and look at all the high price items I have no intentions of buying.  I just can't bring myself to paying $200.00 for a pair of tennis shoes and $90.00 for a rain jacket.  Ok so the problem is I'm cheap and Wal-Mart is my source for special items and everything else related to sports and outdoors.  I mostly just take pictures of all the animals displayed in a natural setting.  These are not real animals, they are stuffed and mounted.  The setting is also fake but it does look real.







It wasn't all wasted time, I was learning something.  Did you know that White Tail Deer can grow some very unusual racks.  Every year their antlers drop off and every year they grow new ones.  Take a look at some of the very odd racks that have been recorded over the years.  This is not a common event, it doesn't happen every year with new growth.









We had been in Mitchell for four days and enjoyed the R&R campground where we were staying.  It was a very quite place even though it was only a couple of blocks from busy I-90.  The campground was clean and very well maintained.  The $15.00 a night fee was a lot less than we had paid at other places for less.  At the R&R we had free wifi, cable of over 100 channels, water, sewer and electric.  That price would be hard to match without all the amenities and I didn't expect to find that again soon.

The morning of May the 9th we were up early and making ready to move our camp.  It had rained most of the previous day and all night, the ground was soaked and our things left outside very wet.  The weather forecast was for the tempts to be in the upper 50's and a light wind.  We were on the road by 8 AM.  Kathie was upbeat to again be on the move.  She was enjoying the travel and looked forward to every turn in the road.  Our first stop was Chamberlain and Oacoma area.  The view of the lake was beautiful.  It  was hard to believe that this lake was feed by the Missouri River.  How many times had we crossed a body of water and it was the same river, over and over.  That Missouri River was one large river, covering and running thru every state we have been in on our trip.








The farmlands and open terrain was forever changing.  The road was straight as an arrow and at times it seemed we could see for 30 miles or more in a straight line.  The traffic was light and every now and then we would have to slow for single lane road work.  We were making good time.





 



Our next stop was the 1880 Town.  It's another one of those tourist attractions along the highway.  It has a town set up right out of the pioneer days.  A large stockade fence surrounds it and you have to pay to gain access.  It has a train dinning car, gas station and general store that you don't have to pay in order to have access too.  We walked around and Kathie made a purchase inside the general store.




One of the poorest critters I have even seen.  I guess the residents of the 1880 town likes their beef lean.




Kat in a buffalo hat, she wasn't buying it, haha.  If this crazy weather of low tempts and high winds continues, she may wish she had :)



We spotted this RV in the parking lot.  I wonder if they were lost?



Later we noticed this new fifth wheel headed to a dealership, the rubber roof membrane inflated on the front.  Notice that large bubble.  That was a poor install job that will be a big problem for some unsuspected buyer.

We continued west on I-90 until we came to the National Grasslands.  What beautiful terrain that was.  Grassy fields as far as the eye could see.  The landscape was becoming more raised and less flat.  The rolling hills and valleys were a big change and we welcomed it with great anticipation.  We could see the Badland off in the distance.

Our next exit off I-90 was 131.  This was the east entrance to the Badlands  loop.  It was right about there that we entered the Mountain Time Zone, gaining another hour.  We were now two hours earlier than the time back home (Eastern Time Zone).  We would adjust and enjoy the longer days.  We spent the majority of the day in the Badlands, taking pictures of all we saw and taking time for lunch at the Cedar Lodge.

Kathie enjoyed her first buffalo burger.

We took a lot of the pictures close up as to capture the array of many colors.

We took some 300 pictures while driving thru the Badlands of South Dakota, sadly we couldn't include them all.  The hour was getting late as we exited.

 

Our next brief stop was at Wall Drug.  While traveling west on I-90 you can't help but notice all the signs advertising Wall Drug in Wall Sd.  It's like a backyard strip mall of sorts.  Just a lot of little shops selling tourist items.  At one time this was actually a drug store.  But now it's just a combination of different merchants.

 

We made a stop at this jewelry store and these two nice souls helped Kathie pick out a ring made from Black Hills Gold.  She was happy with the selection and it didn't cost me too much so I was as well :) 

Back on the road heading for Rapid City, the hour was getting late.  Soon we could see the darkened outline of the Black Hills.

Our last stop for the day would be at the Heartland RV Park and Campground, located 15 miles south of Rapid City in Hermosa Sd.  We had planned to stay there for a couple of days and then move to Deadwood.  As it turned out the weather turned bad and we extended out stay to four days. Where we were was better than where we wanted to go. The campground had views of the Black Hills and that was a plus from the ones that only had the road and traffic noise.

In our next blog story we will share with you the Buffalo at Custer State Park, Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore and our drive thru the beautiful Black Hills and anything else we get into between now and then.  Remember to ask " why go dutch."  I will tell you in many different ways :)  Until then, Dutch, Kathie and the wondering Gnome.  Making our way north to Alaska.