Just back from a big "Go West" RV vacation with Keith's brother & sister in law Denny & Nancy. Our ride was a huge Greyhawk RV.
Keith & I flew up to Milwaukee Friday, May 24th, where Denny & Nancy met us. Saturday we picked up the Greyhawk, packed up, & headed West. We crossed the Mississippi River, traveled through Nebraska, & crossed the Missouri River.
Our first night out we camped at a KOA in Nebraska. It rained all night. The next day we drove by the Corn Palace, in Mitchell, S.D., an amazing building covered in corn & corn husks. A unique idea & surprisingly well done!
Next stop, Wall Drug. We bought some delicious donuts for breakfast the next morning--& Keith found Annie Oakley!
From there we entered the Badlands of S.D. Beautiful sandcastles rising out of the grassy plains. Before scouting out the Badlands we toured the Minuteman Missle Site nearby. The photo here shows Phil, our enthusiastic & fact-filled tour guide. He was so good! Check out: http://www.travelsd.com/Attractions/Minuteman-Missile-National-Historic-Site
This was one of my favorite & most informative sites!
Afterward we hiked a bit through some of the Badlands trails, ate supper at the National Park cafe, then camped right outside the park at Interior Campground. The wind howled through the night. I really thought we might be blown away. Didn't bother anybody else, it seems?:/
After having a wonderful supper at The Longhorn in Rapid City, S.D., we camped at Horse Thief Campground in the Black Hills. A chilly night, but a pretty site with a nice bathhouse--very important:) The following day we headed to Mr. Rushmore:) Such a beautiful place! Denny, Nancy, & I enjoyed a hike underneath the carved figures (lots of steps), while Keith stayed at the amphitheater to take photos. Next we drove to the Crazy Horse Monument, which was begun in 1948. Impressive, but it will take years to finish.
The next night we camped right outside of Custer State Park, at Custer's Gultch RV Park & Campground. The following morning we drove into Custer State Park & ate breakfast at Blue Bell Lodge, a beautiful log cabin style lodge with fabulous food:) Our favorite dining spot of our trip:)
After leaving the lodge we drove through miles & miles of the State Park seeing buffalo, pronghorn deer, & hundreds of prairie dogs--rolling grass-covered prairie as far as the eye could see.
Before leaving Custer State Park we checked out the cabin of Badger Clark, S.D.'s first poet laureate. He lived a simple solitary life, never married, yet loved people & traveled throughout the U.S. often.
Then Nancy, our scout & weather-watcher, checked her radio, & realized we needed to turn south because of threatening storms & possible flash flooding. So, we altered our route toward Hot Springs, S.D., where we camped for the night at the local KOA. A rainy night, the beginning of our weather turning gray & rainy & wind:/
Our next destination; Fort Robinson State Park in Nebraska. We toured the museum, the officers' living quarters, & ate supper in the dining hall. That night we stayed at Eagle Rest Campground, my least favorite spot of the trip:/ The next day we started back east through Nebraska & Iowa, as cloudy skies & rain & wind led the way. We camped in Sioux City the following night. I was so glad to see civilization again, city girl that I am. We arrived back in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, Saturday afternoon.
Heading further south we stopped at The Museum of the Fur Trade (www.furtrade.org) in Chadron, Nebraska, located on the original site of James Bordeaux' trading post. Beautifully decorated beaded Indian outfits were my favorites. This place was chocked full of rifles, guns, everything the early settlers & Indians used & traded. Also had a nice gift/book shop, something I had trouble finding in our travels. Items in various shops along our route were too pricey or too cheap, from Pendleton blankets to plastic water globes:/ Found some pretty silver jewelry here:)
One neat stop I forgot to mention, in southern S.D., was in a small railroad town in the middle of nowhere, Edgemont. It was raining pretty hard. We decided to get dessert late morning (crazy:)) & found a little cafe open. The owner had just baked a chocolate cake, so 3 of us had cake & coffee & hot tea. Keith had a brownie. The owner, nice & friendly, sat down & talked a while:) A special side trip:)
Nancy, our guide & map-reader & weather gal:)She's always thinking ahead:) And Denny was a trooper to drive most of our trip:)
We really enjoyed spending time with them:)
Monday evening I began feeling bad, had chills. I was very tired but figured it was normal after all our traveling. We packed. Tuesday Nancy drove us back to Milwaukee to catch our flight to Atlanta, then to Raleigh. I felt pretty funky the whole day but made it home ok. By Wednesday I was really sick, especially suffering with sweats. Friday Keith finally got me to the doctor. She diagnosed me with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Keith & I were both shocked. I'll never know when I was bitten by an infected tick, but I am so grateful for a doctor who recognized my symptoms & gave me Doxycycline, a miracle drug. (My mama's sister Margarette died of RMSF in the 1920's before Doxycycline) Even weeks later I haven't fully recovered, but am doing better. Was it a souvenir of my trip? Or was it a NC tick? It'll be a mystery.