There’s Rain in Them There Hills

Weather has not been the best in the Black Hills so we haven't been getting out much to see the sights. For over a week, we have had a heavy mist and/or rain over the southwest area. Could be worse, it could be snowing. The hills are so green right now that we feel like we are in Washington State instead of South Dakota. There are some pictures posted in Webshots under Black Hills. If the weather clears up, we will definitely add to the folder.

The first couple of days were great with beautiful blue skies and fat fluffy clouds. We took it for granted and did not rush around trying to look at all the sights. We drove the Pigtail and Needles scenic highways. We were able to see Mt. Rushmore through the Pigtail tunnels. We stopped to see many different lakes and hiked up a couple of the trails. At one pullover, Dan found himself surrounded by chipmunks. We think Sandy’s camera clicking brought them out. One chipmunk thought he was a model. He would pose – click – move closer – pose – click – move closer. This went on until he got so close to the lens that Sandy finally had to get up before the chipmunk climbed on to her camera. On another rainy day, we drove through Custer State Park and saw many buffalo, antelope, deer, wild turkeys, and of course, the Burro Gang.

On a different day, we drove up to Sturgis. It certainly looks different than it did during Sturgis Bike week. We had lunch in Deadwood at Kevin Costner’s restaurant Jake’s inside the Midnight Star. The restaurant is entertaining with costumes and posters from Kevin’s movies to look over while waiting for lunch to be served. We also stopped by Saloon Number 10 to see where Wild Bill was shot in 1876.

Traffic Jams & Highway Robbery!

We were very happy to see the Black Hills of South Dakota after traveling through the plains of Kansas and Nebraska. Kansas and Nebraska were very pretty with miles of green wheat fields, but we were ready for some pine trees and mountains.

We thought we were done with traffic jams and tolls for a while only to run into both! On our way to Spokane Creek Campground, we spent a half hour in a traffic jam. Please see pictures to the right. Some people tried to reason with the buffalo only to be chased back to their cars. Others tried to sneak around the buffalo only to be blocked in on the wrong side of the road. There was no reasoning with the big guys. It took a group of motorcyclist’s rev’ing engines to convince the buffalo to move off the road.

The next day, we decided to go for a drive before visiting Dan’s sister, Kristy and her husband, Dick. We ran into a highway robbery already in progress. When the Burro Gang saw us, they immediately surrounded us. The leader stuck his head through Dan’s window and started demanding food in order for us to pass. We only had stale tortilla chips, which they took, but we were told next time they would expect something better. Whew! Close call!

We are having a wonderful visit with Kristy and Dick. We enjoyed a quiet Sunday on their back porch watching a variety of wildlife go through their yard. We are also doing a lot of sightseeing so we should have lots of pictures to add to Webshots the next time we post a travel blog.