Friday, August 28, 2020
We finally drove the Iron Mountain Road. It has three tunnels built into it so that you get a glimpse of Mt. Rushmore as you drive up to it.
We have really seen almost everything in the area these last few days. But I really wanted to see a cave and since the two I wanted to go to are closed, we chose to go on to the Rushmore Cave at Rush Adventure Park. We got there just in time. They had a tour leaving at 3:00 PM and we walked up at 2:50. It was a neat cave. Nothing compared to Carlsbad Caverns, but this cave is owned by five friends who saw an add in the paper that a cave was for sale and decided it would be really cool to own a cave. They are still exploring parts of it and even have a spelunking tour they usually do - but with Covid they have suspended that offering. We enjoyed it. The Rush Adventure Park is really something. It has a zip ride (you actually sit in a chair) and rope obstacle course, a 7D shooting game (what is 7D???) and a mountain coaster all in addition to the cave. These five friends have really done this thing up.
After we left there we went to Bear Country. It is a drive through animal park which I am usually not that fond of, but one of the couples we met in Gering, NE told us we should really go. They really enjoyed it. So we did. It was okay. I wouldn’t pay the $34 dollars again, ever. But it was okay. I finally got to see a big horn sheep, elk and so many bears.
Saturday, August 29
Went to see the park we tried to get reservations at - Hart Ranch - it was amazing! It is a membership park, but since we are Thousand Trails and have a membership in RPI we could get in. It is the finest RV Resort we have ever seen. When we come back here we will stay there for sure. They have every kind of sport court you can have. They have a pet section and a non-pet section. They have a restaurant and so many cabins if you need that. Plenty of space between camp sites and lots of green space. They even have security at the gate and driving through the park. Check it out if you ever want to go to Mount Rushmore.
Just down the road they were having Fall River Hot Air Balloon Festival. They had a flight this morning, but it was at 6:30 AM and I don’t like that time of day anymore. They were also having an evening flight and we fit that into our day instead of going to the Crazy Horse Memorial to see their light show. Well, as our luck would have it, there was lightning all around us and they kept postponing the flight until finally they said, NO GO! I was terribly disappointed. They pulled a few of the baskets out and put their flame throwers on them and did a ‘Blow’ they called it. It was so disappointing. We missed the Crazy Horse light show for that. UGH!
Sunday, August 30
We left the Black Hills for the middle of nowhere South Dakota, Plankinton. Population 742. We are staying at Hills RV Park. We pulled in and got registered. There are only 3 other people in this park and it is pretty nice. Pool is drained and bathrooms closed for Covid, but the sites all have trees and the one we picked is really level!
We pulled the rig off the truck and found I had put down too much leg and couldn't lower it enough to get her level. It happens. So I told Dennis we had to put her back on the truck. He stopped his chores got back in the truck to back it up. What happened next I will never, ever forget. When he backed the truck up to the pin the truck just pushed the RV. It rolled back four feet without locking into the hitch. It was then that I realized I had not yet put down chocks. I normally level the RV and then put the chocks down, unless we have to put it back on the truck, like this time. The Good Lord was watching over us because the pin landed directly in between the rails. NOT ONE THING WAS DAMAGED IN THE DOCKING OF THIS RV. At least not this time. This could have been REAL bad! I will never forget the chocks again after this. Dennis couldn't really tell what was happening from the truck because he is usually watching me in the mirrors as I direct him. He said I suddenly grabbed hold of the RV like I was trying to lift the it up with my hands. I guess I thought I was Super Girl! We laughed nervously. The scariest thing we have ever had happen to us thus far. We got it all put up correctly and immediately got us a glass of wine to calm my frazzled nerves.
Monday, August 31.
Being in nowhere South Dakota we still found stuff to do. We went down the road to Mitchell, SD and found the ‘World’s Only Corn Palace.’ This palace is built every year in downtown Mitchell. Each year has a different theme and all of the corn is grown on one local farm. He grows 12 different colors of corn to construct this palace each year. The first Corn Palace was built in 1892! It is a permanent building now housing a state of the art basket ball court, stage and is a multi-purpose event hall on the inside. The palace is decorated with more than just corn. They use other grans and native grasses to make it the ‘agricultural show-place of the world.’ They start the decorating process in May and it is usually completed by October, according to the website, but it sure looked good to us. It is only August and it was the 2020 design. Guess they finished early this year. Who knows.
They also have a thousand year old Indian village they are excavating in Mitchell. We went out to see it and they had some of it recreated in the museum portion which was really cool and then you walk over to the other building where the excavation site is. It was pretty informative. It was a beautiful day (high of 70) so it was great to be outside wondering around Mitchell.
We will be moving on tomorrow, this was just a short stop in Plankinton, as we are starting our trek back home.
So until next time. . .
Looks like an Awesome Land Cruise!
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