8-13-17 (Day 13 - Enchanted Highway)

                                                                morning walk

We were all snug as a bug in a rug this morning, until I made the mistake of hot flashing and threw my leg out from under the covers, invaded the Ferny Kat space, I then got bit, (pretty much just a nibble,) which woke everyone up.

It was on.  Ferny Kat never has anything to do with me, for the most part, she started PURRING!! She woke me up every time I dozed off to make sure that I petted her.  This cat ain't right.

                                                         cg view from the overlook

It was a cold, cloudy, in the low 50's morning.  We strolled around the campground a few times, hiked up a hill to the Buffalo Gap Overlook, (I slittered down the steep backside,) ate lunch, and waited for the sun.

Finally we had sunshine around noonish, time to ride.

We rode the interstate to Enchanted Highway.  We usually avoid the interstate but there is not much traffic in this area and the back roads around here are gravel.  A no brainier.

It was a splendid ride through the farming land.  At one point, we saw what looked like a blue lake in front of a Windmill field, realized it was a some sort of crop of blue.  Totally gorgeous.  Found out later the so called blue lake was Flax.

The seven metal sculptures in the 32 mile stretch are amazing and definitely enchanting!!

We stopped in town for ice cream and continued on our way.  We made a stop at Wally World for some chicken to grill and checked out another beautiful boondocking spot.

Of course, Ferny Kat was ready to come outside when we got home.  She has been chasing bunny rabbits and birds in her little part of paradise.

More pictures right here:

8-12-17 (Day 12 - Teddy Roosevelt National Park)

It was a cool morning with the temperature in the low 50's.  Ferny Kat was all cuddled up with us, snoring this morning, when Lauren woke her up.  Pay back for all those mornings she woke Lauren out of a deep sleep, which by the way, doesn't happen very often.

It was a beautiful morning as we watched a flock of turkeys walking in our yard, while eating breakfast.

                                                                     turkeys

We rode a few miles east on I 94 to Teddy Roosevelt National Park.  There were big piles of hail leftover from last nights thunderstorm and leaves covering the ground that had been knocked out of the trees.  Luckily, our weather wasn't that bad last night.

We were very impressed with Roosevelt's cabin.  It was small, but all you really need to live comfortably.

It was a very pretty 36 mile ride through the Badlands in the park, watching thousands of prairie dogs, lots of buffalo, wild horses, and one buck .  It had a lot more greenery than the Badlands in South Dakota.

We had a great picnic lunch in the Cottonwood Picnic Area, motored the last 5 miles of the park, then headed through downtown Medora to catch I 94 east.

We took in some more gorgeous scenery at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center where we watched several wild horses on a ledge across the canyon.

It was time to head to the camper.  We decided to make one last stop to check out a boon docking spot.

We got on I 94 west then took some gravel roads on Amber, The Asphalt Queen, to check out another good looking boondocking area. It was secluded and beautiful.  Our kind of place.

We saw the dark skies in the direction of home.  We pulled over, put on our rain gear, and toughed it out.  Luckily, it was only 14 miles to the camper and only hard rain, not lightening and hail.

We hung up all our wet clothes in the garage, watched the lightening bolts dancing in the dark skies, thought we were done for the day, then this beautiful rainbow appeared on the hill.  We love rainbows.

We took a short stroll, grilled some pork chops and sweet potatoes while Ferny Kat explored the jungle in our back yard.

It cooled off fast tonight.  We are inside with all  the windows closed thinking about turning on the heater.

Da Pictures are here:

8-11-17 (Day 11 - Buffalo Gap Campground)

                                                           Headed north on country roads

We really wanted to stay a few more days near Sturgis, but wanted to get to our next adventure.  Been there, done that, never been to North Dakota, so it was time to move on.

We got off the interstate and took the country roads.  We had a great lunch standing outside at the South Dakota/North Dakota state line pull out, while watching prong horns grazing across the road.

                                                                 lunch stop

 After 279 miles of hay, horses, cattle, prairie dogs, grass fields, wheat fields, sunflower fields, dead deer on the side of the road, and numerous prong horn grazing, we have reached our little place of paradise.

We are at Buffalo Gap Campground in Sentinel Butte, North Dakota, overlooking a hill of grass sweeping in the wind.

We have no electricity, no water, an awesome, somewhat secluded campsite, and are  living, (slightly), off the grid with the solar Lauren has installed.  We would not have phone or internet  service without weboost assistance.

Ferny Kat is in cat heaven.  She keeps going inside to rest, but doesn't stay long.  She loves hunting in the grass.  Another Ferny Kat approved campground.

After grilling a burger and calling it a night, (although it is still daylight outside), it came a thunderstorm.  Mother Nature put on a pretty show right about dark.

By the way, we haven't seen any buffalo at Buffalo Gap Campground.  LOL


More pics right here:

8-10-17 (Day 10 - Custer State Park and Needles Highway)

It was cold, cloudy, and in the low 60's riding today.  We listened, to classic rock riding through the country.  I thoroughly enjoyed singing along with the 80's songs.  It's a good thing the rumbling drowned me out so no one else had to hear me sing.

We went a short distance from the campground to Custer State Park and rode the Wildlife Loop.  The wildlife were scarce.  We saw lots of birds, prairie dogs, burros, and finally on the last mile of the loop, saw a few buffalo.  A little disappointing but still a pretty ride.

We puttered on to Needles Highway, pulling over to let the ones in a hurry go on by so we could take our time and enjoy the scenery.  We saw a few more buffalo,  one turkey, and several mountain goats. We stopped for a break at one of the overlooks and got our picture taken with some Italian bikers.  The next stop was The Eye of the Needle and it was as spectacular as before when we were here.

We came back through Mount Rushmore and Keystone, then took Highway 40 back to camp.  We saw a lot of deer on Highway 40 grazing in the fields.  Another peaceful ride.

We made a quick trip to Wally World, fueled up the truck, loaded Amber, and are pulling out heading North tomorrow.

                                                           Plenty of bikes in Rapid City also

I made a good ole' pot of chili tonight.  We sat by the campfire and could see the movie  on the drive in theater screen in the nearby field.  Campfires in August and Drive In Movie theaters are a rarity down South.

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8-9-17 ( Day 9 - Badlands)

                                                                     Hwy 44 to Interior

It was a strong northerly crosswind as we headed east this morning on this beautiful day.  It wasn't too bad of a ride, as long as you are comfortable with feeling like your lips are blowing to the other side of your face.

After we got to the Badlands National Park, we rode up to a couple of overlooks  then came back and had a picnic lunch at the Visitor's Center with a great view.

We really enjoyed the scenery throughout The Badlands among the many Big Horn Sheep and the Prairie Dogs. We checked out some boondocking places outside the entrance that were really nice. We probably won't be boondocking there this trip as we are headed North in a few days.

We took a ride to Wall, strolled down the street, bought some tee shirts and watched T Rex at Wall Drug.  We just couldn't miss a trip to Wall Drug.

We made the loop back on I 90, with the wind HOWLING.  I thought it was going to blow my eardrum out the other side of my ear.  Thankfully, I can still hear.

Even with the wind, it was another day of fantastic riding, looking at the scenery, and enjoying life with a gorgeous sunset.


More Pictures:

8-8-17 (Day 8 - Sturgis Day)

We changed all our clocks to Mountain time yesterday, except for Fernykat's.  She started trying to get Lauren up at 5:00 am and was more persistent than a snooze button on the alarm clock, coming back over and over until he got up.  Too bad when we were changing all our clocks yesterday to Mountain time, there wasn't a button to change Ferny Kat's.

                                                         Hair twirlin in the wind...Sturgis or bust...

This is our first ever Sturgis  Bike Rally.  We traveled the Nemo Highway this morning to get there.  When we first got on the highway, it was a nice peaceful, curvy ride through the Black Hills.  When we reached Nemo, it changed.  We were bumper to bumper with motorcycles in both lanes.  A very unique riding experience.

                                                                     Nemo

When we arrived and parked on Main Street around 10:30 am.  It was busy, but not that busy and then the motorcycles kept pouring in.  We walked up and down the street, visited the shops and vendors, biker watching, walking shoulder to shoulder with fellow bikers, ate lunch, bought tee shirts,  got the HOG member pin, and headed out. A very enjoyable experience.

Main Street

We rode through Deadwood, Keystone, went by Mt. Rushmore, and rode Iron Mountain Road.  It was some beautiful riding in the switchbacks, with a few one lane tunnels, plenty of bikers, with on and off  rain showers. 

We were very fortunate with the weather.  It came a flood at the campground while we were gone. 

   I checked out the restroom/showers at the campground, which by the way are super clean and nice.  This is painted on the wall, says it all!!

Da Pictures are here:

8-7-17 (Day 7 - Southern Hills RV Park, Hermosa, South Dakota)

                                                             getting closer to Sturgis

We moved 272 miles and have set up camp for a few days at Southern Hills RV Park in Hermosa, S.D.  The entrance of the campground is a miniature Mount Rushmore, without the Mount, cause its in a field and not nearly as big. It is called Big President Heads.  It is  3 different 15 foot bust of Presidents George Bush, Ronald Reagan, and JFK.

We have been seeing frequent corn fields along the interstate for the last few days.  Today, it was sunflower fields.  I always loved to plant sunflowers growing up.  I just had a few plants, not a field of them. The sunflower fields were very pretty.

We got into more hills today, saw a lot of cattle, and a bunch of Wall Drug Store signs.  We had stopped at Wall's in 2009 and did not want to stop there today, but we were very entertained by their persistent signs along the interstate.

One of our best stops today was the Dignity sculpture at the Louis and Clark Information Center in Chamberlain, South Dakota. This Native American statue wears a quilt that has 128 stainless steel blue diamonds that glitter in the sun overlooking the Missouri River. The quilt she wears represents respect, honor, and admiration in Native America Culture.  She is a 50 foot beauty!!

We grilled a late supper, thought we were in for the night, until I saw this gorgeous orange moon out the window.  Mother Nature has some beautiful art!

The pictures are here: