9-26-19 - (Day 64 - Bayard City Park, Nebraska)

Our camper, our clothes, and us, left Southern RV Park a lot cleaner than when we arrived a few days ago.  We relocated 185 miles south today.  We are camped for a couple of nights at Bayard City RV Park in Nebraska.  There are 3 campsites here with water and electricity.  We got the last site when we got here around 3 pm.

Ferny Kat was not a happy cat today.  She fussed for quite a while.  Lauren mocked her meows making her much more vocal.  She deserted her co-captain post for the box in the back seat.  We finally figured out she didn't want us talking or the country music playing.  She is definitely a rock and roll kind of cat and there were no rock and roll radio stations to be found.   We turned off the radio and talked in low voices to quieten the wrath of the Ferny Kat!  It worked.  She curled up on the box and went to sleep.

We made a stop along the way at Carhenge to check out the car art.  It is a pretty unique place.  A good place to stretch your legs and kill a half hour.

We made it to the Bayard City RV Park, took a walk around looking for birds and such, then bird watched from the comforts of our lawn chairs.  We saw plenty of buzzards, sparrows, doves, and flickers.

We saw what we thought were big turnips in the pasture next to the park.  We later found out it is sugar beets.

It has been quite noisy here.  The campground is in the middle of neighborhoods, there is a well traveled road right in front of it, and the trains are nearby.  By the time we went to bed, all was quiet.  Free with electricity is awesome!

BTW, we have another Ferny Kat approved campground.

Pictures:

9-25-19 - (Day 63 - Custer State Park Wildlife Loop)

We spent this cloudy, rainy morning going to Rapid City to stock up.  All for the weather prediction of 0% chance of rain today.

We ate lunch and I mopped the camper, waiting for the skies to clear.  The light rain was on and off with the temperature 55.  We decided, what the heck, we have the riding gear for this weather.  We leathered up and loaded up.

We rode through Custer State Park Wildlife Loop.  It was actually a pleasant ride.  We saw lots of buffalo and the burros on the drive through.  The buffalo were off the road thankfully, cause they were pretty frisky on this cool day.

Several of the burros were eating from cars.  Further down the road two of them were standing in the middle of the road.  They did not budge as we drove by them.  I think we were supposed to feed them in order to travel past.

We went by and visited Cathy and Carlos at Elm Creek Campground at Wind Cave NP for a while.  Then rode back through the Wildlife Loop.  We saw turkeys as we entered the NP.  The buffalo had moved further away on the hill and the burros were no where in sight.  We saw plenty of deer.

By the time we got back to camp, we were cold.  It was heater huddle time.


Pictures:

9-24-19 - (Day 62 - Iron Mountain and Needles Highway)

We lazed around this morning, then took off on Amber around noon.  It was 82 degrees and sunny.  Another perfect day to ride.

We rode Iron Mountain Highway and Needles Highway.  Two beautiful, curvy, rides.  We enjoyed the views of Mt. Rushmore from Iron Mountain Highway, especially through the tunnel.  The temperatures dropped as we climbed in elevation. 

We usually ride the Needles Highway and see the Eye of the Needle at the end of the ride.  Today we changed direction and it was at the beginning of the ride.

There were a lot less people here than when we were here two years ago.  We like vacationing in shoulder season.

We stopped and ate a snack at Grace Coolidge Creek Picnic area, took a few pictures of a snake and such, then headed back to camp.  It was way past time to wash clothes.

Lauren grilled chicken and let Ferny Kat out.  Ferny Kat went rabbit hunting when a cute bunny came over to eat grass at our campsite.

We watched a little TV then headed to bed.  It seems like all the sudden, it is getting dark about an hour earlier.  The days are definitely getting shorter.


Pictures:

9-23-19 - (Day 61 - Wind Cave National Park)

We relocated 87 miles to Southern Hills RV Park in Hermosa. South Dakota.  We stayed at this campground a couple of years ago during the Sturgis Rally.  We have the luxury of full hookups.  The first time we have had them since the end of July.  Ferny Kat sure does enjoy her unlimited supply of drinking water from the faucet.

We got a nice, long, hot shower then headed to Wind Cave National Park.  It was a great day to ride with sunshine and the temperature in the low 80's.  We saw plenty of buffalo in the park.  Our buddy, Cathy, is staying in the campground here.  She was not here, but we stopped by and said hello to her boyfriend.  We continued our ride through Custer State Park.  It was a pretty ride with more buffalo sightings and plenty of deer sightings.

I cooked spaghetti for dinner, we watched a little TV, then we crashed for the night. 

Pictures:

9-22-19 (Day 60 - Devil's Tower)

We woke up to 40 degree temperatures and the sound of rain peppering on the roof of the camper.  This is Ferny Kat's kind of weather.  She has been trying to get us to let her outside for 2 days.  I finally gave in when the rain lightened up for just a few minutes.  It was too cold and wet to stay out very long.

By 10 am we had partly cloudy skies, wind, and temps in the low 50's.  Our plans for riding Amber today were changed by Mother Nature.

We took a ride to Devil's Tower in the truck.  The last time we were here, there were very few tourist. Not the case today.  There were lots of tourist here.

We walked the 1.3 mile trail around the monument.  We saw several rock climbers on the wall, one of them had made it to the top.

We made a stop at the picnic area for lunch and had a great view of the tower.  We were pleasantly surprised at the bird activity.   We saw flickers, chickadees, and blue birds.  One of the chickadees  jumped on the table and tried to get some of Lauren's sandwich he had in his hand.   

We checked out the interpretive trail and enjoyed looking at the exhibits.  We were very impressed with the Sacred Circle of Smoke sculpture.

When we got back to the lake, we had sunshine and a light breeze.  We built a campfire that we cooked over, then went in and watched TV until time for bed.


Pictures:

9-21-19 - (Day 59 - Rainy, Cloudy, Windy Day)

The weather forecast was right today.  We had on and off rain, temperatures in the low 60's, and 20 to 40 mile an hour wind.  Needless to say, we have been inside the camper all day.

I reorganized the stuff in the cabinets and cleaned the camper.  We got our blog and iNaturalist caught up while watching the white caps on the lake.  At least, we have a pretty view.

Finally, the skies cleared and we had a beautiful sunset.

9-20-19 - (Day 58 - Waiting on the Rain Day)

The sunrise over the lake was pretty this morning.  The pretty skies turned into clouds and the rain started.

By the time we got in the truck to take a ride, the clouds were gone.  We had a rainy forecast for today and tomorrow, so we chose to leave Amber parked.

We rode around looking on the other side of the lake then to Sturgis so I could exchange a shirt.  We had lunch at Patti's Cafe and took a walk on the Riverwalk in Belle Fourche.

We had rain at the lake around 4 pm, so we sat under the awning.  Ferny Kat attempted to drink water that was dripping from the awning as it puddled on the ground.  It was absorbing faster than she could drink it.  We placed a bowl to catch the rain water for her to drink. Dang spoiled cat!

The rain quit and we built a campfire. We had a rainbow after the rain.  By the time we were ready to go in for the night, we got some more showers.

Pictures: