Blogs from South Dakota, United States, North America - page 10

Geo: 43.5453, -96.7313We started this roadtrip in Dec of last year so, for the most part, we've been traveling in the off-season and we haven't had to book ahead for either hotels or attractions (DH might argue that many of the things I want to see are always off-season since no one else wants to see them). It has been a great run of seat-of-the-pants travel up until now but all good things come to an end and, tragically, we are going to have to blow by one of my must-dos. The original plan was to zip across the top end of South Dakota and, just inside Minnesota, there was going to be an opportunity to drive a WWII tank (if Martin W was doing particularly well with our investments, there was an extended opportunity to ... read more

Geo: 44.3767, -103.729As we were leaving Wyoming a short side trip took us to the Devils Tower and it's not a bad name given that one of the theories around its formation is that it is a volcanic plug or that it is the neck of an extinct volcano. It must have something to do with the Devil because we saw a number of Hells Angels types cruising around. Apparently the tower is part of a motorcycle circuit that originates in nearby Sturgis, South Dakota, and bikers are drawn to the area as soon as the nice weather appears. Sturgis is the magnetic centre of the earth for anyone owning a motorcycle and the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally draws 450,000 participants to a town with a population of 6,600. Like our friends Art and Kevin in ... read more

The bedroom skylight woke us up early. Dave opened the shade and the window was covered with frost. The temperature was 32°. Brrrr... By 7 we were at the Cabin Coffee Company slurping delicious coffee and turtle hot chocolate and inhaling bagel breakfast sandwiches. A final quick trip to Bill's supermarket and back to the RVs. Tom and Dave took the van to Dick and Vera Hynes' to store until they return post Alaskan Adventure. We thought we could park it at the Winnebago Wonderland but we were mistaken. We checked in to the AA headquarters, listened to important information, and watched a video that explicitly demonstrated all the mistakes we could make ultimately causing destruction to the RVs. Ouch. And so at 11:00 we hit the open road with winds gusting up to 25 mph. ... read more

I didn't really get to do much today, since the drive was massive. But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy what I did get to do. My day started off in Morrill, NE, where I had stayed at the Oak Tree Inn - a place I highly recommend if you ever find yourself in town. Next to it is Penny's Diner, and this thing is right out of the 1950s. Inside, it's like a Waffle House, but less grimy. The food was good, greasy, and quick to arrive. All things you hope for in a diner experience. The service was great, and I really didn't have to eat again until much later in the day. I took my time this morning, since I knew I could get some much-needed sleep before starting the 4-hour drive to ... read more

Mt. Rushmore 9/14/2015: Everyone picked up an apple at breakfast to eat later at lunch. Stopped at a rest area at Powder Creek, WY, and feasted on apple slices (thank you, Latha, for bringing along your treasured pocket knife given to you by Giridharmam) and Terra veg chips. A while later stopped in Gilette, WY and had coffee at Starbucks/ McDonalds. Reached Mt.Rushmore National Memorial around 5:30 local time. We were impressed with the granite outcroppings, the Faces of course, and Crazy Horse face (partially done) at another site. Some of us walked the Presidential Walk.Drove down to Keystone for a Mexican meal, and ended up at Himalayan Indian Cuisine when we saw that Mijo's was closed. It was our good fortune, as the meal was very good- everybody's taste buds got rekindled with familiar spices ... read more