...and now, where did I put those 'water-wings' and pontoons?

       ...And then it rained for forty days and for forty nights... O.K. that is quite a bit of a stretch, but we have definitely had some rain!   It rained all day yesterday (Friday), last night and most of today (Saturday), with a forecast for ...yep, you guessed it - rain!  The weather wise say that we have a possibility of 1-1/2 inches of more rain by tomorrow morning.   Personally, we have had just about enough, already.  It has been much cooler (or as Marilyn likes to put it in her very frank manner, 'colder') over the past couple of days.  But once again, those forward-seeing weather folks at the NWS are calling for sunny and warmer on Monday (70F);  and, warmer yet on Tuesday and into the rest of next week with temps in the low to mid-80'sF.  That would be more like normal, although an accurate description of normal for the Dakota's is 'if you don't like the weather that you have, wait a few minutes and it will change'.  And actually, you know it is not bad at all, it just all goes with the territory.

       We got a call last night from some fellow RV friends of ours who are headed east toward a class reunion in Iowa, and they told us that they have a few extra days to stop by the Hills and say 'hello' to us, so we are looking forward to seeing them.  They were in Rawlins, Wyoming and expect to turn north at Sidney, Nebraska (home of Cabela's by the way) and head on up our way.  Ralph and Tammy are super nice people from San Clemente, California who we saw at our Pahrump, Nevada rally about three weeks ago.  It should be fun having them visit here in the Black Hills, and we always enjoy visits by any of our great RVing friends.

       This is an interesting place, Elk Creek RV Resort that is.  It is out in the country, in a truly gorgeous setting and is comprised of about 328 acres.  There is the 'main' campground (which we are located in) and then over the hill (about a good 1/4 mile or so) is another part of the campground.  There are also located on the property, about three homes (the owner and two rentals), plus four-duplex cabins (all nice, newer, modern with full kitchenettes). Then there is the lodge, ...ah yes, the lodge.  A large modern wood building of about 20,000 sq. ft., up on a knoll, that has a set-up with outside tables along the large covered front porch.  There is a full commercial kitchen, and a smaller "standard" kitchen, plus a long full-bar in the back area.  During "Bike Week" (that would be the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally that is held the first full week of every August) full meals are available for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Although Bike Week encompasses one full week 'officially', it in reality is more like about two or three weeks before and two to three weeks after that 'official' week (and yes, it does have a huge economic impact on the Black Hills area.  With over 500,000 bikes (and all that entails) every summer in attendance, this place, along with many, many others like it, are full to capacity.  This is when most of these campgrounds like Elk Creek are put into a profitable position for the rest of the year.

Speaking of the lodge, it is booked almost every weekend (Friday(in/set-up), Saturday, Sunday(clean-up/out) for weddings and receptions (outside of Bike Week).  It is a great place for a wedding and/or receptions.  And in the warm weather, the swimming pool is right below the lodge for the kids (and even big-kids too) to go for a swim while they are here.
It is a nice lodge and this is a nice, comfortable campground located close to most things needed (groceries, fuel, steakhouse, saloon, etc.).  And the quiet, emerald green ambiance is surely a big plus too.

       The weather wizards are calling for more rain tomorrow, so I think I know what we will be doing - a lot of relaxing (or maybe that should be, extra-relaxing), some movies and of course a good book.  Actually, the rainy weather here is not all that bad since there is no real traffic, less cars and trucks due to the rain, and the beauty of the emerald green hills, meadows and valleys are still there, and enjoyable to see.  And we are hopeful that that the sun will be back with us come Monday.  We'll see, won't we...

Some additional photos of the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota

A few additional pictures of the beautiful Black Hills area terra, flora and fauna - - -

Viewed Top to Bottom // Left to Right:
.....Alex Johnson Hotel in downtown Rapid City;
.....Wild Big Horn Sheep in Custer State Park;
.....The American Bison (Buffalo) in Custer State Park (these roam wild);
.....A couple of "drop-in" visitors checking out the car interior (...and looking for
     some "hand-outs" too of course);
.....Crazy Horse Memorial (...a work in progress) at Crazy Horse Mountain;
.....'The Eye of the Needle' (about 3 miles from Mt. Rushmore);
.....Native American Indian - Sioux Pottery Factory in Rapid City;
.....Some finished pieces of their beautiful handiwork for sale at the Sioux
     Pottery Factory;
.....Journey Museum in Rapid City (the journey of man from beginning of time to
     present showing developments in culture, settlements, migration, and with a
     vision of the long trail of the Sioux and their brethren.  An excellent museum 
     for all the family);
.....Marilyn and Kalua in the extensive city park (Rapid City), along Rapid Creek.
.....Mount Rushmore National Memorial

     
    
      

Hangin' Loose in Dakota. . . .

We've been taking it kind of easy;  kicking back;  enjoying the quiet, scenic serenity of our environs. 
There has been some rain over the past couple of days.  It usually starts out partly cloudy with sun in the morning, and by mid-afternoon some thunderheads have gathered over the Hills and move eastward, dropping about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch of rain.  At least the temps are staying up in the low 70'sF, so that makes it pleasant.

Yesterday we took a back-roads drive from the local area back into Rapid City.  There are a number of very pretty properties along the way, and with the open pasture areas, it is quite scenic and makes for a very relaxing drive.

We have been casually looking at some small acreage parcels where we could 'light' when we make our visits to the area.  Not looking real serious to tell the truth, but if we came across something that really moved us, we might just jump on it.  It would be an excellent area to have a place where we can stay for two or three months at a time, or even off and on as the case may be.  Like our feelings toward Montana, the Black Hills is so scenic, appealing to us, laid-back and relaxing, that we throughly enjoy the time that we spend here.  So we'll see...we may or we may not find that perfect little piece of land in them thar hills, but it is always a treat to scout around and look.

We have had a beautiful sunny, warm day here today, and we have done nothing today to speak of other than read, relax, a couple of walks with the "daughter-dawg", Kalua.  I did get some further updating done on the Discovery Club web site, which generally is an ongoing process.  But it is great just to have the time to do these kind of leisurely things on my own time schedule.

Today is election day in South Dakota (as it is in another 11 or so states, including California), so we did our civic duties and voted for the winners (...or hopefully so anyhow).

I have added a few pictures of our surrounding area. Some very beautiful countryside out here, and with no traffic, and no noise makes for a great place to hang our hat for a while.  We'll be back in touch soon...so y'all take care of each other now, ya hear!

Key to pictures:  Top to Bottom//Left to Right:
A back-road just outside of Rapid City;
A prime horse property about a mile from here;
Another back-road just outside of Rapid City;
An interesting sectional view of some strata layers along one of the roads;
One of the gravel (albeit it like most, they are in excellent condition) roads next to the Elk Creek RV Resort property here (we are off to the left; looking north)

                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Friday, we made a tour of the local winery, Prairie Berry Winery located outside of Hill City. It is a nice, modern winery offering wine tasting, gift shop, its own café' serving some very delectable cuisine. The facility was built in 1998 when it was relocated from Rapid City. It would be considered a rather small winery, with an annual production in the 20,000 case range. I must say they do have some very interesting, if not amusing, wine names like 3-Rednecks (a Cabernet red), Chokeberry Medley (a rose' made from Chokeberry and Elderberry fruit), Lawrence Elk (a semi-sweet red), Phat Hogg Chardonnay, Buffaloberry Fusion (a dry white), and their largest seller, Red Ass Rhubarb (made from South Dakota rhubarb and red raspberries), which actually is a pretty good, albeit different, semi-dry wine.

All grapes, berries and fruits used in the Prairie Berry wines are grown and gathered in South Dakota.

At the Hill City winery, they crush, ferment, age and bottle all of their wines.  It is a fifth-generation South Dakota winery, having been established in 1876.

We had a delicious lunch there and the quality of the food is excellent. They were quite busy and sales were brisk from all indications.

We took a drive on one of the well maintained back roads on Friday, to Silver City.  This is an old (est. 1876) along the headwaters of Rapid Creek at about 6,000 ft. ASL.  But interestingly it is still an active community with about 80 residents, it's own volunteer fire department, water department and community center, which is located in an old school building with the school bell still in place on the roof.  The post office was closed in 1976, but that is most likely due to the small population, the lack of prior use, and its location (making it probably very difficult to make ingress and egress during the winter months.  It is a very pretty place in a serene setting, making it an ideal "getaway from the crowd type of place".

We drove through a little rustic, western community of Nemo, which seems it could have easily been an old western town with Black Hills charm and scenic appeal. It has a large gust ranch, general store, log cabins for guests, a livery stable, and a rustic log restaurant, all located in a very pretty setting along the hills and meadows of the area.

We drove by Lake Sheridan, where the fishing seemed to be popular, and then on further up 385 we came to Pactola Lake which is a large lake with boating, fishing, camping and the like in and around it.  It too has a beautiful setting, and not being crowded makes for a big plus with us.

Saturday (yesterday), we took a tour of the Black Hills Petrified Forest which is adjacent to our location here at Elk Creek.  It was a very interesting and informative tour.  We found it interesting to learn that about 80 million years ago this was a tropical setting, about 2,000 miles further south than where we are today, and it was marshlands and swamp with many cypress trees, palms and some firs.

Over time, as changes took place, the marsh and swamp disappeared while the land so ever slowly was creeping northward.  Then about 30 million years ago, a vertical up-thrusting began that formed the Black Hills.  One characteristic about the Black Hills is that is was formed by a vertical up-thrusting as opposed to the formation of the Rockies which was formed by the more common method of lateral-shifting and subsequent horizontal over-lapping of plates. 

The direct evidence of the Black Hills vertical up-thrust is visually apparent with the petrified trees that have been broken into various sections of about four to six feet in length, caused by being pushed upward in a 'dome-like' motion as the formation of the Black Hills took place.

There was a very information museum along with a large rock shop and gift shop located on site also.

An interesting item of note for us, was that there was a wedding about to be performed there.  We understand that this is a popular place for couples to 'tie-the-knot'.  I will say that the setting is beautiful and makes for an excellent location for having a wedding ceremony performed.

This morning (Sunday), we went to patronize the local country café here in Piedmont for a bite of breakfast.  It was good, the food was great, the service very good and the setting was quite nice to boot.  A nice way to start off our day.

 

A key to the pictures above - Left to Right / Top to Bottom:

I-90 coming into Rapid City;     The entrance to Elk Creek RV Resort, Piedmont;

Prairie Berry Winery, Hill City;

Prairie Berry Winery Tasting Room;

Silver City;

Nemo;

Pactola Lake;

Double-Diamond Ranch;

Petrified Forest Tree (100' long);

A polished cross-section of a petrified tree (red is from iron oxide minerals during petrification);

Another tree about 100' long;

A petrified turtle found there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's steak in them thar Hills!

Marilyn treated me out to breakfast at the local 'Millstone' which does have some very good meals, and their Eggs Benedict is one of the best.  A great way to start off the day, for both of us.

We went next door (our "home" address, if you will) and picked up our mail, then ran a couple other errands around town taking care of a few things that we wanted to get out of the way.

Then yesterday afternoon we moved our 'home' (the coach) from the Elks Lodge in Rapid Valley to Elk Creek RV Resort in Piedmont, about 12 miles up I-90 from Rapid City.  This is a very nice, quiet RV park also.  It is open and spacious and lays back in the rolling green hills about a mile east of I-90 on Elk Creek Road.  They have a great lodge here with food service, a bar, and of course all the other usual amenities that one would expect to find in a nice RV resort setting (pool, spa, weight room, library, wi-fi, etc.)  Once we got settled in, I did some further work on our club web site so that I can get an update uploaded this weekend that will cover the rally that we had last week in Pahrump, Nevada.

Dinner was a real special treat for my birthday.  Marilyn and I went up to Hill City to the Alpine Inn for a super Filet Mignon dinner, which is their long-time specialty and we have had it before and it is well worth the drive (and not to mention that the drive was absolutely beautiful going up into those Black Hills).  Just prior to going into the Alpine Inn, my dear youngest daughter called me to give me birthday wishes, and as always, it is great to talk to her and of course get the news from back there in the big valley.  Yes, it was a very enjoyable evening (even the Tiramisu was excellent!)

Today (Thursday), we have just taken it kind of easy.  Took care of a couple minor 'home chores' and then we took a drive up to and through Sturgis, which is about 15 miles north of us here.  It is so nice when it is quiet and peaceful in Sturgis, and not crowded either for that matter.  Seems like the last time we were actual in Sturgis town it was during "Bike week" and with about 500,000 bikers and bikes in the little burg, it was beyond crowded and just a little rowdy, but at the time all were having fun.  They are getting cranked up once again for that first week in August when Sturgis is transformed once again.  And of course the "Buffalo Chip" is getting all ready for their concerts and shows, which usually always produces some real top-tier talent and music.  I am sure that this year will be no exception.
We took some drives on the side roads on our way back, and paid a visit to 'downtown' Piedmont, which honestly has not changed a whole lot in 50 years now.  Maybe a few new(er) buildings, a new Post Office, and a new five-bay fire station kind of highlight the town.  A number of the old pioneer buildings from long ago are still there and still inhabited too, so that is always a big plus for a small (make that, very small) town.

We had increasing clouds later this afternoon, and that led to some thunderstorms and heavy down pours that lasted an hour or so, and this passed on off to the east of us.  I guess the water is like more tonic for all of these green hills, rolling meadows and pastures and it makes for some very scenic drives.

Tomorrow our plans are to go back up into the hills and visit the local winery, Prairie Berry Winery.  They make some very interesting wines and likewise some rather artistic blends according to their own brochures.  So we will be off to check them out and see what kind of wines they really have up there in them thar hills.

And of course, hopefully the weather will cooperate with us.  We'll see. . . .

Entering Rapid City on I-190

       

The Alpine Inn, Hill City, SD            Jim & Marilyn at Alpine Inn       Alpine Inn at dusk in the Hills

Friday, May 28, 2010 ---

       Well, I got it done…I renewed my driver’s license, so I guess that I will continue traveling ‘legal’ for the next five years. South Dakota is one of the first states to mandate to the federal 2017 regulations whereby each new/renewal for driver’s licenses will need certain documents and verifying information. Required in brief is either a valid passport or certified original of your birth certificate, a social security card or other acceptable form of SS verification, two pieces of residence verification such as utility bills, local bank statement, or other form of acceptable residence certification. At the same time a ‘Homeland Security/FBI’ check is made (albeit rather fast) as to your standing with the feds and state agencies (I would assume that a “no-fly” listing would not be in your favor). So anyhow, got ‘er done, and out of the way. By the way, every state in the nation is required to have this in place by 2017, so the rest of you can wipe that smile off of your face now, as your time is coming up soon. SD decided that they would start off early so as to ‘de-bug’ their system, but according to the very nice (and smiling too!) lady behind the counter, it started on January 1st of this year and it has gone quite smooth. And once it is done, it does not have to be repeated on subsequent renewals, providing that there is no change in your name. And oh yes, the driver’s license has a ‘gold star’ in the upper-right corner which signifies that you have been checked and verified (as in ‘A-OK I would take it). As of 2017, everyone boarding planes, trains or other forms of ticketed public transportation, will be required to have the ‘gold star’ in order to proceed (...no starry, no goey).

       We have run around and taken care of a couple other minor errands that we wanted to get out of the way.

       I did note that they are still building here and according to local word, the real estate market has not returned to where it once was, but it continues to increase in strength. One of the biggest concerns currently is the lack of inventory. It appears that the market has fared better here in western SD than in many other areas of the country.

Saturday, May 29, 2010 ---

       I spent some time earlier today working on our Discovery Club web site so that I can get an update made to it within the next few days hopefully. Also, got some long over-due emails answered and probably surprised a few with just making a response to them.

       Weather has been very nice, although there is a slight chill in the breeze, but for a few fluffy clouds in a bright and clear azure blue sky. Now if this will just continue. I mean after all, this is Dakota, and they say if you don’t like the weather, then just wait a few minutes.

Monday, Memorial Day, May 31, 2010 ---
       Memorial Day…a day for remembrance of those who have sacrificed for our freedom and prosperity. Freedom is not free…All gave some, some gave all.

       May God bless them all…and the United States of America.
       We took a leisurely drive north of Rapid City this morning, and paid a visit to the Black Hills National Cemetery, to pay our respects to our fallen warriors on this Memorial Day, and also to view the multitude of American flags placed at each and every grave site in the National Cemetery.  There were a number of others there, and as usual, it was quiet and solemn with the exception of the singing birds around us.  It was very pleasant and the visit was rewarding personally for both, Marilyn and Jim.

       We have had a rather quiet relaxing day otherwise, with some reading, taking a nice long walk (well, long for us anyhow…about a mile and a half or so) with our Kalua (she is getting to be the elderly ‘daughter-dawg’) which was very pleasant out among the wildflowers, all the green and Rapid Creek, next door to us, as it flows eastward from the Hills.

       We did a little grilling with a couple of our neighbors here at the Elks RV Park. The weather once again has proven to be ideal for such a great holiday, with bright blue skies and lots of sun with the local temps in the upper-70’s, and a very pleasant and soft breeze.

       Hey, it’s time to grab another cool one and join the others in the stories, jokes and RV veteran experiences from across our great nation, gotta go y'all…Happy Memorial Day to all!

Ahhh, those Black Hills are...green!

There is ample green every where you look.  Spring has sprung in the Hills and the Spring/Summer transformation from the white Winter has now taken place.

Coming on through Wyoming, we made a "mandatory" stop at Sierra Trading Post at it's headquarters store (and a large one it is) in Cheyenne.  Of course Marilyn could not leave without a couple pair of new summer shoes (O.K., yes they're cute...I guess...).

We delayed our start out of Cheyenne for about an hour while a very heavy black layer of clouds along with a good deal of wind, lighting and thunder which produced a sudden but short lived rain storm with some initial light hail.  The sun soon broke through again, and we were on our way.

From Cheyenne we headed northeast to Newcastle for the evening and a great dinner.  Along the way we saw a number of Pronghorn Antelope.  The rivers and streams are running at about full capacity it appeared, mostly from melting snow-packs in the higher elevations. 
We awoke to more sunshine and less wind than the evening before.  Once we got breakfast out of the way, we continued our journey northeast from Wyoming into South Dakota and the Black Hills.  We stopped for lunch in Rockerville - The Gas Light Saloon, which is a large restored saloon and restaurant that serves surprisingly good food and great libations.  Of course at this point we are only about 20 miles from our Rapid City destination at the Elks Lodge on the east side of town.

We are now settled in at the Elks Lodge RV Park, along side the Elks beautiful 18-hole golf course that is situated along Rapid Creek.

There are some Memorial Day festivities planned in and around the city, as well as throughout the Black Hills as well over this holiday weekend. 

Marilyn and I hope that all of our friends and family have a very safe, relaxing and fun Memorial Day weekend!  If you haven't already broken out the barbie grill, then ya better get busy, as some serious barbie time is right around the corner now.

It is great to be back in our "home base" (for those that may not know, Marilyn and I moved our residence from California to South Dakota back in 2005, when I finally took to full-retirement.  SD is a much friendlier state for retirees than that of CA.  There is no state income tax, no property tax, no inheritance tax, no estate tax, and the state sales tax is only 3% on vehicles, and 4% on any other taxable sales goods.  The vehicle licensing fees are only a small fraction of CA (example- one care is only $26 a year, another is only $42 a year), so licensing for all of our three cars and our 43' Monaco Dynasty motorcoach is less than $300 per year here in SD, whereas in CA it would well exceed several thousand dollars for the same period and vehicles.  There are a number of additional positive reasons for making our residency in SD, but I think you probably get the drift here anyhow.  So this is our "Home", if you will, and it is a great place to have it located.  Nice scenic area, a lot to do and see, and of course, some great local folks to boot.  A hard combination to beat, for sure.

Well, enough for today, but I will return in another day or two and let you in on our adventures here in the area.  Hope that this finds all of you in good health and getting along well these days.

-Jim and Marilyn