Making Miles

Helena, MT – Saturday June 25, 2011

Finally found an internet connection, so here are updates for the last four days. Enjoy!

Continuing our journey northwest there didn’t seem to be too much on our way to Glacier National Park. Besides, June is almost gone and Alaska is still pretty far away.

We did make a stop in Hardin, MT at the Big Horn County Historical Museum. It was the first visitor information place in MT even thought it is 60 miles from the border. The 60 miles is all Indian Reservation. It also happened to be the weekend of the Battle of the Little Big Horn reenactment. Didn’t go to the show, but enjoyed the museum. Lots of exhibits, buildings, and history from the early 1900’s.

I90 had some rough areas and construction, but overall was in pretty good shape. The views became quite spectacular as we got further west. We also witnessed several areas where the rivers were over flowing and moving very fast.

Since making miles was our goal for today, Frank kept the pedal to the metal. It got a little scary as we went over the bridge on Hwy 287 over the Missouri River (which was high and running fast). They had it down to one very narrow lane with barricades on either side. I think I saw some white knuckles as we made that crossing.  We made it to Helena, MT. Most road miles on the trip so far. Since last nights experience at Walmart was pretty good and it was late, we decided to do it again tonight. We weren’t the only ones with that idea. There were 8 rigs already here and became 12 by the time we locked up, plus two car campers (people sleeping in their cars).

 

BG Miles Today	376	BG Total Miles	3171
Eat Out total $	213.94	BG Total Fuel $	1271.39
Entertainment total $	58	Total Camping $	388.21
E Miles Today	0	E Total Miles	980.5
E Total Fuel $	205

Dancing with Thunderstorms

Sheridan, WY – Friday, June 24, 2011

Up and ready to hit the road. Frank had us all set up with a route plan and decided to check current road conditions on the roads he selected and found some trouble areas. Looked at lots of alternatives to try to avoid the interstate and Billings, MT, but most had some trouble due to flooding and road damage. I90 looks like the safest way to go.

Did some provisioning in Spearfish, SD instead of waiting until the weekend. It was sunny and got up to 85 degrees. We did go through an area where the wind and dust were pretty strong. We could see rain to the NE so we were probably on the tail end of the storms.

It turned out that I90 wasn’t so bad (so far) and not a lot of traffic. We could see the Grand Tetons in the distance and there is still snow in them thar hills.

We landed in Sheridan, WY at the Walmart . It’s 6:40 and we just want to fix some dinner and relax, so no campground required. We are about the 5th rig here and I’m sure we won’t be the last. Should be nice sleeping with the windows open.

BG Miles Today	219	BG Total Miles	2795
Eat Out total $	212.95	BG Total Fuel $	1361.08
Entertainment total $	58	Total Camping $	388.21
E Miles Today	0	E Total Miles	980.5
E Total Fuel $	205

Deadwood

Sturgis, SD – Thursday, June 23, 2011

Weather forecast is for rain and thunderstorms later in the day so we decided to go into Deadwood first and then back to RV to get things ready to leave tomorrow. We stopped at the info center to get a map and then drove up to Mt Moriah Cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok & Calamity Jane are buried. Also had a great view of the town.

Parking in town is limited and either metered or you find a parking garage. We found a garage near downtown and headed out on foot. I’d say 90% of the town is either casino/hotels or T-Shirt stores.. We found a neat little place, off the beaten path, for lunch. It was called the Pump House and was a converted Texaco station with original memorabilia. We walked around, donated to a few slots and witnessed a shoot out reenactment on Main St.

 

Life in the old west sure has changed.

BG Miles Today	0	BG Total Miles	2576
Eat Out total $	206.01	BG Total Fuel $	1271.39
Entertainment total $	58	Total Camping $	388.21
E Miles Today	39	E Total Miles	980.5
E Total Fuel $	205

Devils Tower

Sturgis, SD - Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Woke to sunny skies with temperatures predicted to be in the 70’s, so it’s off to Devils Tower National Monument in  WY. Hope to do a little hiking. First we took a little side trip to Belle Fourche, SD. Their claim to fame is that they are the geographic center of the nation. We just had to see how a city so far north and west could be at the center of anything. The sign below explains how it happened.

 

They also had a very nice Tri State Museum there. After our little side track We took the back way to Devils Tower. Great scenery. Then all of a sudden this is what we saw in the distance.

We thought that was impressive until we got to the park. We took the Tower Trail that goes all the way around the base. We saw some climbers who were just getting to the top around 3:30pm. One of their Mom’s was watching and said they started at 8:30 that morning. Pretty impressive as it is a shear, straight up climb of 867’. 7 hours to get to the top.  We wonder how long it’ll take to get back down.  The Tower is definitely one of Mother Natures unique gifts.

Next stop in the park was Prairie Dog Town. We took the Valley View Trail that wound around their dens. It was so much fun watching them. Off in the distance they went about their business playing and eating, but the ones up closer to where we were walking would start to send out a warning “bark”. Then as we got closer they would pop back into their hole and the next one up the line would start.

 

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Another adventurous day and back to BG.

BG Miles Today	0	BG Total Miles	2576
Eat Out total $	195.01	BG Total Fuel $	1271.39
Entertainment total $	44	Total Camping $	369.22
E Miles Today	261	E Total Miles	941.5
E Total Fuel $	169.19

First Day of Summer

Sturgis, SD – Tuesday June 21,2011

As we left the campground this morning, not far up the road, this is what we saw. This is a sight that never fails to have a huge impact on us.  For me, anyway, this is something I expect to see near a large metropolis, not in a remote location such as this.

This is the Black Hills National Cemetery and those are a lot of headstones.  You can tell that the caretakers have a lot of respect for the responsibility they’ve been charged with.  It is a beautiful setting.The grounds are beautiful and well kept.

Next stop was Sturgis.  Did you know that once a year the population swells from 6627 to over 500,000?  In August Sturgis is the site of the worlds largest motorcycle rally.  Where they park all those motorcycles is a mystery.  The town is not that big.

We checked out the downtown area, ate lunch and browsed a couple of T-Shirt stores. One thing I did learn there is “Don’t drink beer from the bottom of the keg”.  Why, cause it’s flat! We also went to the Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame. Lots of cool stuff.

Since it had been drizzling on and off all day, we decided to take a drive to Deadwood, Lead and Spearfish.  Deadwood was also an HBO series set in the 1800’s about the gold rush.  The town has rediscovered gold in the form of gambling.  If I remember correctly there are 32 gambling establishments in town.  There’s GOLD in them thar’ tourists!

As we continued our drive on the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway EJ was on the lookout for waterfalls.  She loves waterfalls.  She guided us to…

Roughlock Falls got its name from the way wagons had to travel the very steep slopes like this during the gold rush days. they would ‘roughlock’ the wheels of their wagons with chains or logs so they wouldn’t turn.  With the horses hitched to the rear, the wagons would slowly skid down the slopes.

It was a beautiful park and falls trail. The weather turned out great. This is one of Roughlock’s critters having lunch.

Happy First Day of Summer!

BG Miles Today	0	BG Total Miles	2498
Eat Out total $	178.35	BG Total Fuel $	1271.39
Entertainment total $	44	Total Camping $	350.23
E Miles Today	88	E Total Miles	763.5
E Total Fuel $	169.19

Rainy Days and Mondays

Sturgis, SD – Monday June 20,2011

The morning is dreary and it looks like rain is unavoidable.  Our wifi signal continues to come and go and posting our blog updates has proven difficult.  We’re planning our next move, trying to decide which direction looks most attractive.  According to the weather channel the rain surrounds us, so there’s no driving out of it.

Sturgis and Deadwood look interesting.  As you probably know, Sturgis is home to the largest motorcycle rally in the world. Frank is anticipating stores filled with motorcycle accessories and seeing lots of custom motorcycles. Deadwood is an old style western town that was at the heart of the gold rush.  It should have an old west flair. We decide we’ll head in that direction.  Frank makes a phone call and finds a campground near Sturgis that’s reasonably priced.  We tell them we’ll stay for two days and that we’ll see them in a couple of hours.

To be expected, as we begin preparations to break camp, the rain begins.  As an added bonus, it’s muddy too.  I don’t care if you’re in a tent or a motorhome.  When it’s raining and muddy, everything gets messy.

The trip from Hot Springs to Sturgis is fairly uneventful except that it continued to rain.  We pull into the No Name City Campground and it looks pretty nice.  It has an inside hot tub, a heated swimming pool, laundry, game room and more and all for $18 night.  However, there are only two other RVs here.  There are some other RVs here, but you can tell they are more or less permanent fixtures and are parked way in the back away from the main part of the park.  And it continues to rain.

We go to our assigned spot and get set up.  Plug in the electric, remove the bikes from the Element, unhook the Element, set up the satellite, and it continues to rain.  It looks like a good day to just hunker down and stay put.

Spent time relaxing and doing some research on the area. Found all kinds of things to do and knowing how we like to explore, we went back up to the office and signed up for 2 more nights.

Shortest travel day yet– 78 miles.

BG Miles Today	78	BG Total Miles	2576
Eat Out total $	161.19	BG Total Fuel $	1271.39
Entertainment total $	34	Total Camping $	331.24
E Miles Today	0	E Total Miles	675.5
E Total Fuel $	147.59

Off to the Badlands

Hot Springs,SD – Sunday June 19,2011

Woke to cloudy skies and rain. Too tired last night to do much planning. Once again we had to figure out what to do today. Thought we would move on because this KOA is $40 a night. Looked at all sorts of options but decided to stay another night here and go visit Badlands National Park even though it ‘s 2 hours away. That way we can relocate tomorrow and see a few more sights before we continue to Alaska. There are so many great things to do and see along the way.

Rain stopped and we were on our way. Our route took us through Wall, SD, home of the famous Wall Drug Store. It is a two block square “mall” tourist attraction. It is about the only thing in the small town, but people come from all over to experience it. The tour busses even stop there. Too crowded for us.

Finally made it to the Badlands, what a unique and beautiful place. Every place we stopped had such different views. The weather was overcast, temps in the high 60’s.

We were taking our last trail before hitting the road around 7pm and this rainbow appeared. Frank said it was a double for a few minutes, but I missed it. Saw more critters today. Prairie Dogs, Burrowing Owl (makes its home in abandoned prairie dog dens), rabbits and chipmunk.

Once again it was around 9pm (just before dark) when we got back to Big Guy. Another great day on the road.

BG Miles Today	0	BG Total Miles	2498
Eat Out total $	161.19	BG Total Fuel $	1271.39
Entertainment total $	34	Total Camping $	312.25
E Miles Today	261	E Total Miles	675.5
E Total Fuel $	147.59