GREAT FUN IN THE BLACK HILLS OF SOUTH DAKOTA

 August 22-24, 2015

An 1800 Vintage Steam Train Ride makes for a great day anytime. In windy, chilly weather with round trip tickets we boarded an enclosed car on the 11:15a.m. train at the Keystone Depot bound for Hill City through the Black Hills. The ride takes about an hour each direction through granite rock forests as the Number 110 engine pulls passengers in seven cars along the railroad tracks. The conductor blows the train’s steam whistle twice at each of 14 road crossings. Hill City in 1887 had gold miners flocking into town. Today the quaint small town is a traveler’s popular destination. 

Some of the Sturis motorcycle rally crowd is still vacationing in
the Black Hills and many are seen in their black leather digs most everywhere.

With a growing reputation for its vibrant art scene and award winning wineries and micro-breweries, the town for the weekend was holding the annual Wine, Brew & BBQ event for a coveted spot in the Jack Daniels World BBQ Championship. A grand cooking competition of BBQ smoked meat filled the bitter cold, chilly air along with blue grass music.

The best spot in Hill City though we thought was actually the tiny building called Teddy Bear Town, a repository museum of sorts filled with 9,000 donated stuffed old teddy bears from around the country and world. The owner gave us a free personal tour and explained little building. holds the Guiness World Record for the Largest Teddy Bear Collection. It was amazing and impressive because everyone young and old loves a teddy bear and the stories behind them.

In order to shoot photos of the steam train rounding along the tracks on the return trip back to Keystone JR and I opted for an open air-seating car as one of the braver passengers. Along the rails our bones and bodies didn’t freeze in the chilly air and the two of us survived. At night we retire to the comforts of the motor home all warm and toasty.





A day of adventure was shared with Tom and Ginger out boating.

If one is looking for a perfect lake in the area we found it. A day boating at Stockade Lake gave JR another chance to get his dory in the water. I got in a good row on the lake with him. There were ospreys and a bald eagle soaring above the lake. The light air breeze made for a good sail afterwards out on his own. Tom and Ginger, whose property we’ve been staying on, brought along their pontoon boat and joined us for an afternoon on this serene beautiful lake. The four of us drifted together on their pontoon in the late afternoon. 

 JR sat on the stern seat for the first time and got a row with Tom at the oars

CATCHING THE CENTRAL STATE FAIR IN RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA

August 18, 2015

It has been years since either of us took in a state fair and rodeo. When the opportunity arose we grabbed a chance for one here in the South Dakota midwest.  Being at the Central State Fair in Rapid City JR and I were right in style with wearing our newly acquired cowboy hats.    The $3.00 admission fee was cheap at the entrance gate. 

The first building took in the 4H building exhibits. 4H youngsters usually participate from ages 7-18 in a variety of activities ranging from crafts and farming to live stock raising. Entries are made at county fairs and winner exhibits move onto state fairs for award place ribbons. Best in Show (royal blue), First Place (purple), Second Place (green), and Third Place (red).  Youngsters age 5-6 participate for rainbow ribbons but their displays don’t go on to state fair competition. 

Patriotic needlepoint
Everyone is judged by his/her age group in various categories: photography, crafts, quilting, wood carving, needlework, leather stamping, art work, canning and culinary, gardening. Many of the entries are quite amazing.

Handmade lace

The fair has animal barns with livestock. Tom and Ginger, whose property we are based at,  had some of the hundred rabbits they breed and raise for sale at the fair.   

 Seated in the Fairground Grandstands we watched 12 local rodeo teams compete in 3 major events at a Ranch Range Rodeo in the evening. Teams with four riders in the arena were timed in the first event to rope and tie down two cattle, then rope a third cow and herd it into a cattle trailer and lock the gate. The second event with two teams in the arena had to rope and bring down a cow, milk it and get the container to the judges for the fastest time. Bucking bronco riders were timed for staying on a horse as the third event of competition. The best average score for all 3 major rodeo team events determined the winner.

 Music, a lively announcer, and fast action rodeo cowboys on horses and cattle steers brought lots of excitement for the evening. You can bet attending a state fair and rodeo will be a regular happening on our calendar in the future.

              

 VISITING THE BADLANDS OF SOUTH DAKOTA
August 17, 2015

Along Hwy 240 the road looping into Badlands National Park began The park’s scenery of spires, gullies, and ridges is a premier example of badlands topography. Beneath the Badlands lies one of the world’s finest Oligocene fossil beds of animals that flourished 27 to 34 million years ago. 

The weathering and erosion, irregular ravines, fantastic ridges, low hills and cliffs displaying variegated color alternating with grayish-white sediment are spectacular examples one sees. Because it rained early in the morning the colors were more pronounced in the terrain. 

Longhorn sheep grazing along the roadside were the only wildlife sightings spotted during the drive. The fourteen viewpoint turnouts provide good vistas to photograph the layers of sediment with pink and yellow striations. The landscape was interspersed with subtle colors of compressed sandstone and Pierre shale. The Badlands here reminded us of much of parts around Death Valley. They are not nearly as stark, dismal or desolate as those we had seen at Drumheller in Alberta, Canada.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK 
 NORTH DAKOTA

While the scenery doesn't really vary in this park compared to countless national parks we've been to, JR and I were pleasantly surprised by the animals . We drove through the 32-mile south unit loop twice over three days.  During the late evening dusk and early dawn safari hunts with our cameras there were great sightings of animals out amongst the sharp laden buttes, grassland plains and sagebrush of the desolate grim, beauty of the Badlands. 

More bison herds here roam than in Yellowstone NP

Sunrises and sunsets were an added bonus to our adventures spotting prairie dogs galore pop in and out of holes, wild horses grazing, herds of bison crossing the road, two coyotes looping up the hillside, wild turkeys and western prairie chickens forging in flocks, pronghorn antelope and white tailed deer staring us down before turning to leap away and jack rabbits hopping into the bushes. 

Prairie dogs galore

 

Prairie Dog Towns 

It wasn’t hard to understand why Teddy Roosevelt came here to hunt big game, purchased Maltisse Ranch and Elkhorn Ranch where he romanced the outdoors and spent what he called “the best years in his life” as a cowboy rancher from 1883-1900 in the Badlands before getting into politics. 
Sitting in the Medora Old Townhall  Theater listening to  Joe Wiegand, a terrific improviser, role play "Teddy Live" was delightfully informative and a “bully” good time. His performance filled us with wonderful adventure stories, wit and humor about the 26^th U.S.President’s life.

Wild horses graze and roam free in the park

Black tailed deer in the grassland

Spotting a pronghorn was a thrill

To beat the 102º heat we headed into Medora a quaint little western town at the entrance to the park to the saloon for air condition relief and cold drinks.

Checking out the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame was interesting seeing rodeo clothing, saddles,  silver belt buckets and spurs.

An evening attending a Medora Pitchfork Steak and Cowboy Cookout was great grub eating outdoors high up on a butte.  

Afterwards at a nearby amphitheater beneath an open starlit night sky the Medora Musical’s 50^th Year Anniversary troupe performed a smashing North Dakota entertainment show that outdoes the glam and glitter of Las Vegas

Teddy Roosevelt Rough Riders on horseback came on stage as an opening thrill for the audience

North Dakota Badlands along the Little Missouri River nestled amongst the cottonwood trees with a herd of bison ain’t too shabby either folks. The creatures were rather docile meandering along and oblivious to traffic

Well we gotta say It sure beats the North Dakota oil fields and road construction.

"Okay which one has the right away?"we laughed waiting for the road to clear