Subject: Wanderers update
This is the seventh Yellowstone to Atlanta email that was originally sent out as separate emails to family members to let them know where we were, what we were doing and give tidbits about our activities. I have copied the original emails and added some pictures for viewing. The trip started in August and ended in October. This is the first of our extended stay trips in the Adventurer.
Wow, we have traveled the last two days from Hill City, SD through Rapid City, SD with a stop overnight in Mitchell, SD before ending up at Forest City, IA on Thursday night.
I left off a couple of observations from the last email because I got so caught up in the German RV driver episode, it just escaped my memory. So here are the things I forgot to mention. The first thing we noticed when we stopped at the Horse Thief Campground was there was ‘pixie’ dust all over the ground. It did not matter if it was dirt, grass, rock, the road or up in the mountains or forest; there was this twinkling ‘pixie’ dust everywhere. It is really pronounced when a light shined on it such as a flashlight or sunlight. For the longest time, we could not figure out where it came from or if there really is such a thing as ‘pixie’ dust. We discovered the source of this phenomenon when we were reading the marker placards placed along various points of interest on the Needles Highway. The rocks in the Black Hills are a combination of Granite, Feldspar and Mica. The pixie stuff was mainly Mica chips and bits scattered everywhere. Some of it is so light it floats in the air when a good wind blows so that explained our marvelous fantasyland we were living in during our stay.
The other item to tell you happened towards the end of our Needles Highway tour. As we descended in elevation, having already been to the top of the highway and now were exiting towards Custer, we began meeting Corvettes. Mostly new red convertibles to begin with but by the time it was all said and done, there were 28 of them in a row. Evidently a Corvette club was out for a beautiful scenic drive in the opposite direction on Needles Highway. We just hoped there was not supposed to be 30 of them with the last two taken out by the crazy German as he screamed down the mountain at breakneck speeds and the other 28 did not realize their friends had been knocked off the road.
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| Crazy Horse model vs real thing- Hole in rock is 10 stories high |
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| Mt. Rushmore viewed through walkway of state flags |
The next day it rained and turned off cold. We decided another rest day was in order and had homemade corn chowder soup that really hit the spot on a cold day. So you see, even a wet, cold, miserable weather day does not affect you in a motorhome. You just make lemonade with your lemons and thank God for the lemons. We had neighbors move in next to us and found out they were from Iowa headed to Estes Park, CO but the day they left is when they heard about the flooding. It turns out one of the flooded rivers runs right through the campground they were planning to visit. When they called about their pending reservations, they could not reach anyone and decided to pull over in Hill City until they could find someone in Estes Park they could question about the situation. Talk about lemons, there are some lemons.
Our final full day in Hill City, SD dawned bright and beautiful and of course we had to make a visit to one of the main attractions in the area, Mount Rushmore. We went during the day and then to the lighting ceremony at night. Our photography team probably will need some therapy for their aching finger joint from snapping so many images that day. Everywhere you turn is another reason to point and shoot. As we were leaving the monument during the day, we discovered two mountain goats on the side of the rocks taking a rest. So naturally this is an opportunity for the perfect image capture. It is very interesting to learn about the building of Mount Rushmore, the people involved, time and money it took and of course the dedication of the sculptor. Then also have the opportunity to compare that with the Crazy Horse monument since Rushmore was government funded and Crazy Horse is privately funded. We also learned the Crazy Horse sculptor worked for a time with the Rushmore project.
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| Gi-normous in size |
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| Up close shot of faces |
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| Mountain Goats outside of Mt. Rushmore entrance |
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| Collar helps keep track of the herd |
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| Good Bye Horse Thief, it has been fun! |
Now it is time for us to say goodbye to SD but before we do, we decide to stop during the first day of travel at Wall Drug in Wall, SD. It is very confusing since Wall Drug is really Hustead’s Drug and there is no Mr. Wall. Wall refers to the end of the wall of badlands in the Badlands of South Dakota. Too much information, I know. All along the route are signs urging us to stop at Wall Drug for various reasons.
The interesting thing about Wall Drug is its size, longevity and marketing genius. It covers a lot of downtown Wall and has all kinds of merchandise and food available for the traveler and you can get FREE ice water just for stopping in. During the summertime, 25,000 people a day stop in and they hand out over 5,000 glasses of water each day. After a few small purchases and lunch we are on our way again.
The next stop is overnight in Mitchell, SD but we lost an hour on the way. We lost an hour that day because we passed back into Central time from Mountain Time zone close to the Missouri River in SD. I am glad because of the confusion the times were giving me during our stay in the Mountain Time zone. Some of the clocks switched over automatically, others did not and I never got around to changing them so I had a hard time finding out the correct time of day the rare times I wanted to know. This stop provided us the opportunity for a Wal-Mart visit and as Sophie correctly pointed out, we bought out the place. That night there were big thunderstorms and a lot of rain but no damage. We took time to visit the Corn Palace in Mitchell before departing for our Forest City, IA stop.
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| Front of Corn Palace - notice scaffold truck they are changing murals |
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| One side of the Corn Palace |
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| Close up of one panel |
The morning was very brisk and cool so Sophie and I waited for David and Beverly to snap pictures of the Corn Palace for documentation. The palace was being re-done for the following year because it is now time to harvest the corn. It is interesting how they pick certain colors, prepare the corn for putting on the wall and we got to see the ‘paint by corn’ method used to create the murals. An image is projected on the wall and someone traces it out and labels the various areas for coloration purposes. Then the corn is simply cut for nailing into place according to the template up on the wall. Most of this information came from a booklet we picked up but some of it came from our photography team.
It is most shameful how they obtained this information and I am embarrassed by their actions but forced to relate the story to you anyway. As they were outside the car taking pictures, Sophie and I noticed they had gone down the street and around the corner to get a better angle on the murals on that side of the building. Of course, they were completely out of sight for some time. We noticed this rather large tour group coming from that same side of the building, crossing the street and stopping a short distance from the car. The man obviously in charge and providing information waited patiently as the entire group assembled before beginning his dissertation of facts and figures. It was at this time we noticed our photography team, David and Beverly, ambling back across the street trailing this large group. Our team stopped in close proximity to the group to ‘snap’ a few more pictures of something they had already snapped from this same angle earlier. It soon became apparent what was going on as first David and then Beverly attempted to blend into the group and listen to the oration from the leader. There is a picture attached (***) that documents this event lest you not believe me. But as truth must always win out, they were found out because they did not have the ‘telltale’ I belong to the group plastic name card hanging around their neck like the actual tour group members. It was at this point several of the group members began pointing to our team and asking each other, do you know those people? So David and Beverly quietly tried to slip away so as not to be brought up on official charges of listening without paying. But here comes the shame and embarrassment of it all. They get in the car with Sophie and I with all eyes of the group now on them instead of the object of the leader’s point which causes him to stop and watch as we pull from the curb. Then in the rear view mirror I see a lot of finger pointing at our car with animated discussion between several of the group members. It appears we barely escaped the wrath and indignation that they surely would have shown a couple of interlopers. I did not stop the car again after that until we got back to the campground having made several turns and crossovers to make sure we had not been followed. You never know when one of them ‘old codgers’ might try to take the law into their own hands.
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| That is David, fourth from the left in the crowd, Beverly is hidden close behind. |
When viewing the picture, David is fourth from the left of the group of people standing together. Beverly’s hair can be seen behind the gentleman with the red, white and blue jacket and shorts. Notice how some of the group on the right are now staring at David and Beverly instead of the presenter. Sorry about the clarity but this is all my iPhone 3 could do, since I do not have a fancy camera like our photographers.
Having successfully made our escape, we hit the road for the remainder of South Dakota, for a short piece of Minnesota into our final destination of Iowa. We passed miles and miles of corn, soybeans and sunflower fields already or almost ready for harvesting. David said he was tired of mountains for now and I can honestly say I am tired of cornfields too. Now you are probably asking yourself, why are they in Forest City, IA. This is where Winnebago Industries is located and we thought it would be fun to take a plant tour. That is our agenda tomorrow. We will report in the next email how this tour goes, especially since we will officially be part of this tour and not eavesdropping as is the modus operandi of our photography team.
You may also be wondering when we will be back in Texas. We do not know for sure. We heard today that it was 98 degrees there today. Well the high today is 74 degrees where we are. I think you can do the math and realize the differential is too large to overcome yet. Maybe soon.
Until the next report; be safe and take care.
Larry and Beverly (Gran and Bibi)
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