It is 9:30 am, the sky is absolutely blue, the temperature is 81 degrees, there is a nice breeze blowing, and the campground wifi is working. Yeah! So I have more time to write about our doings. The trip from Marquette to Rapid City was a little grueling. We did it in two days so that was a lot of driving. It really was not very interesting. Once again we noticed differences between the regions and the states. Going such a long distance in a short time makes it more noticeable. Finding a place to stay on Friday night was a challenge. We had decided that we did not want to pay to stay in a campground just to sleep. But the rest areas do not allow overnight parking in Minnesota and we got off the interstate so we were on a two lane highway with no rest areas. Bob assumed that we would be able to see a WalMart from the road. We drove and drove and didn't see one. It was also boring and I was getting irritable as was Bob. We had no more CDs to listen to. Yuck. We finally stopped for dinner. It was okay. We then continued driving. At about 8 pm (it was still full light) we stopped for gas and I took the amazing step of asking if there was a WalMart around. There was and we found it easily. We bought some stuff there (including a CD) and spent a fine night in the parking lot.
The drive on Saturday was easier because we had a shorter distance and we had a CD to listen to. The info center when we entered South Dakota was full of info, but the guy who gave it to me spoke so quickly and by rote. He had done this too many times. There were so many touristy spots along the road. It was all aimed at tourists. We had not seen so many RVs since Florida - I guess it is time for summer vacationers. The info guy told me that we might have a hard time finding a campground without reservations so we sat in the parking lot and I started making calls. It only took three calls and we got a spot at this very nice KOA, We didn't want to pay $40 to get here at 8 pm and just sleep so we decided to try another WalMart. First we stopped at a Flying J. They were fine with us sleeping there, but there were so many big semis (a lot of noise and movement) and it was gravel. So we found the WalMart. This one already had about a dozen RVs in the lot. One had even disconnected the trailer and the car was gone (a real no-no). It was warmer that night and the rv that parked next to us ran his generator and his air conditioner most of the evening so it was really noisy - how rude. But we slept well and were ready to go.
We had a 45 mile drive on Sunday so we got here real early. The place is just huge. It is a full mile from our site to the front desk. The scooters are coming in really handy. The quieter pool is by the front desk and not by us (did I say the scooters are handy?). There are so many kids here. It is a kids paradise. There is always a background noise of kids having fun. It is like music. It is remote enough that many parents allow the older kids to just go where they want. The temperature is nicely warm, very hot by 5 pm, but cools down nicely in the evening. This is a nice destination campground if you have kids (or grandkids). Maybe we will come back with the grandson. It is even nice without kids by the way. Just a relaxing comfortable place.
One thing that I found interesting is why they decided to carve the Rushmore monument. It really was as a tourist destination. They wanted to bring folks to western South Dakota. They did. It was quite a spectacle and an amazing feat of engineering. By the time we left it was really crowded. People pushing and being rude. When I was in the gift shop I started to pick up an item, but the man standing next to me decided he wanted that item and grabbed it, almost from my hand. The elevation was over 5000 feet so Bob was having a hard time breathing. He mostly sat while I ran around taking pictures. at one point he was looking for a seat, someone stood up and he started toward the seat and a couple of teenagers ran over and sat in it before he could. RUDE! Too many people. Time to do other things - which we did. The drive around here is intersting and stark. We noticed that there were not many deserted buildings as we had seen in other areas. We decided that things were too hard to get here to abandon buildings. There was not much water. What there was was dammed up and made into resort areas - for more tourists. I wonder what the state would be like if they did not have the tourism.
Yesterday after we left Deadwood Bob said that he was done with touristing. I agree. It may be just that we are getting close to home, but I am getting anxious to be home. Today we are going to just stay in the campground. I want to spend some time cleaning Honey. We can go to the pool or just ride around on our scooters or bikes. Campfire tonight probably, then pack her up again. We will leave tomorrow morning and take the back roads and head for Oregon. It will probably take us about three days or maybe four. Yeah.
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