Devil's Tower, SD

We arrived in Spearfish, SD early since we had planned an extra day to account for possible weather or mechanical problems and none had slowed us down. We took our extra day to drive over to the Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. This rock face featured prominently in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind back in the seventies. The drive out was beautiful since the aspen trees are turning a golden yellow and splashes of color dotted the hillsides.

 

Approach to Devil"s Tower

View from base trail

Although it was a cloudy Wednesday there were many visitors, and the parking lot was nearly full. We elected to hike the trail that winds along the base of the mountain. It is an easy hike of about 1.2 miles and the surface of the trail is paved. The level trail was a blessing because my knee is still a mess from my trip to Acadia National Park with my son Chris.

This mountain holds spiritual significance to some Native Americans and prayer bundles and prayer cloths could be seen throughout the trees along the path. It is also holds a strong attraction to rock climbers, and while we were there several could be seen hundreds of feet about the boulder field at the base of the mountain. Believe it out not, the record for climbing this mountain is sixteen minutes! That was done by a very talented, if not sane, free-climber. I understand that the average climber takes closer to six hours utilizing ropes and other aids.

Prayer bundles

We took a less direct path back to the campground and avoided the interstate. Highway 24 rolls through beautiful hill country and is a well-maintained two-lane highway. We saw some deer, but the highlight was the number of wild turkeys we encountered. In the three or four different meadows we saw at least fifty turkeys. The highway runs through the small community of Hullett, and we stopped in at the Red Rock Cafe for pattie melts and fries. Pretty darned good, so if you find yourself in this area stop in. The beef and wild rice soup was great, too.

Al's Oasis, Oacoma, SD

Not as famous as Wall Drug, but similar, is Al’s Oasis in Oacoma, SD. Like Wall Drug, you see signs for Al’s Oasis along I-90 for miles before you arrive. You descend the bluff high above the Missouri River in anticipation of the grandeur of Al’s, the river is gorgeous as you cross and climb the opposite bluff. There it is! Built to look like a western town front, Al’s turns out to be a nice supermarket and shops featuring clothing, gifts and books that focus on South Dakota and Indian life. There is also a restaurant that looks like it can accommodate busloads.

All is within walking distance of the campground that is a part of all this enterprise. We needed some groceries so we made the walk, and got a burger at the restaurant while we were at it. Aside from being very convenient to the river and the activities it provides, this is not a distenation campground. It is a great stop along the rather sparsely populated I-90, however. The essentials of level sites and full hook-ups are here, and the staff is friendly. They offer a nice discount to campers if they purchase fuel across the street. The only downside is the proximity to the interstate, but that is true of most campgrounds accessible for easy overnight stops. We would stop here again. 

View towards river from campsite

Offutt AFB, Omaha, NE

We continued on our way to Spearfish, SD and tonight stopped in the campground at Offutt AFB in Omaha. The facility is just off the base and is on the shores of a 144-acre lake. A Wounded Warrior Care Project is underway this week, and cycling entrants were practicing on the facility roads. These events are meant to acquaint wounded veterans with athletic opportunities that boost their confidence and physical well-being. It appears that the Wounded Warrior program supplies the cycles in this case, and there was an interesting array of modified cycles that accommodate the various challenges these veterans bring to the event. It is great to see such an event, and the participants appear to be enjoying the heck out of the activity.

The campground itself is nicely wooded, with concrete pads. Even with the trees on our site we managed to get satellite reception, which is quite important on Monday nights when Dancing With The Stars is underway. If we were staying longer there would be plenty to do. This is a nice fishing lake, evidently, and boats and gear are available for rent.

Tomorrow we head further north to Oacoma, SD on the Missouri River.

Danville, MO

We are on the road again for this year’s long trip, and stopped over in Danville, MO. We are staying at the Lazy Day Campground for the night. This is a very well cared for campground with nice amenities like a pool, and a few games like horseshoes and ladder toss.

Bella really had a ball with the other dogs in the nice dog park. 

The proprietor is quite the artist and has decorated the office and other building with her murals. Of particular interest are the woodcarvings that are distributed throughout the campground. It appears that when a tree is damaged by storms a local artist carves them into sculptures similar to totems. The guy is pretty good with a chainsaw.

Camp Lake Jasper, Hardeeville, SC

As promised, we are back at Camp Lake Jasper in Hardeeville, SC. We stopped in here last Wednesday on our way to the Asheville area. This park is only three years old and they have done a wonderful job on their infrastructure. The laundry and bathhouse are both very nice, as is the pool. There is a nice deck area looking over Lake Jasper, and they offer rental kayaks. All of the roads are nicely paved, which is great.

 

There is a small camp store and free morning coffee.

Site 15 was pretty level and offered lots of space.

The laundry and bath house flank the very nice pool.

Nice deck overlooking Lake Jasper.

Disney, take note. This is how you ask folks not to swim in your lake.

Nice community fire pit.

It is not without problems, though. Our only complaint is the surface of the individual sites. Rather than crushed rock they used course sand that washes away in heavy rain. This leaves a substantial crown to at least the pull-through sites where we were. Enough sand washed away after the strong rain when we arrived last week that Barbara twisted her ankle when she stepped out of the coach. It is also tricky to get level since the sites drop off a good bit on the ends. We have seen coaches with the front wheels well off the ground. We are a shorter coach and managed to just barely get level on site seventeen. A previous visitor had sunk into the sand and left a large rut for us to navigate. We asked for a different site for our return today and are happy with site fifteen. The deep rut is still there on seventeen.

I talked to the very nice woman at the counter and she says there is new management. Revamping the sites with crushed stone is planned for this year. They have purchased a tractor to perform site maintenance. This is all good news, and we will plan to return in November. If you are reading this for ideas of where to stay in the Hardeeville area keep this place in mind. It is a very nice place if you don’t mind messing with leveling issues. It is an easy stop over when traveling I-95.

We have also stayed at the Hardeeville RV Park on Okatie Highway. It is $15 per night cheaper, not near I-95, and has no amenities at all. It is very convenient to Savannah, though. We will likely stay there again at some point since it is closer to friends that we like to visit as we come through here.

Postscript: 
After writing the above we took Bella out for a post-dinner walk. We found a nice trail that goes back in to property belonging to Jasper County Park. Along the way we disturbed a good sized gator. So, if you come with a small dog be vigilant.

Chimney Rock and Lake Lure, NC. And others.

We had a free day today and used it to goof off and see a little more of the area. Last night we drove to Black Mountain to join some of Barbara’s dog training friends for dinner at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Rechtine. Glenn and Joann recently completed their new home, and it was a pleasure to share their gorgeous view of the mountains.

 

View from Glenn & Joann's deck. Town of Black Mountain in background

We were not out that late, but did enjoy sleeping in this morning anyway. We took Bella out for a nice long walk, and then loaded her up for a drive in the country. We enjoy the back roads in this area. They travel through forest and apple orchards, and wind and twist their way through the mountains. We drove through the attractive community of Chimney Rock and stopped at Lake Lure to enjoy the lake views and let Bella take to the water. She was having fun in the water, but the local ducks were not too pleased. She wanted to get closer to the ducks and in her enthusiasm pulled Barbara in to the lake. Luckily she kept her balance and only ended up with an unintended wade in the muck and was only wet up to her knees. Bella on the other hand was soaked and happy as can be.

 

The Lake Lure beach was popular.

Before the ladies got wet.

We worked our way back towards Flat Rock by way of Columbus, Saluda and Tryon. It was scenic two lane roads all the way. It was a pleasant outing. If you happen through this area, and find yourself in Tyron, stop at the Huckleberry Restaurant for ice cream.

 

Bella watching as Barbara orders at Huckleberry's.

We start back towards home tomorrow by way of Hardeeville, SC. We will not be stopping at our normal campground since they were full through August second. We stopped at Camp Lake Jasper on the way up, and will do so on the way home as well. More on Camp Lake Jasper later.

East Flat Rock, NC. Yet again.

We are back in North Carolina for a reunion of the participants of last year’s dog training course. We had the day together before Barbara went off to a dinner with her friends, so we started with a fantastic Greek omelet at Kosta’s Restaurant in Fletcher, NC. We followed that up with a visit to the Sierra Nevada Brewery adjacent to the Asheville Airport.

The Brewery tours are evidently pretty popular, at least in the summer, because it turned out you needed reservations and they are booked about six weeks out. Bummer. We did the self-guided tour and had a good time anyway. They have a very large taproom and restaurant, but as nice as a beer sounded, it was still a little early for us to start drinking. We will save that for next time.

The Sierra Nevada Brewery story is one that I like. A couple guys start home brewing beer in their garage back in 1989 and after getting a couple of recipes right they thought that they might try to do it on a larger scale. They bought a storefront in Chico, CA and put together a ten-barrel operation. That grew and a taproom was added. Soon they were importing a salvaged 100-barrel brewing system from Germany. That facility was eventually doubled, and when demand continued to outstrip production, they built this beautiful new 200-barrel brewery here in North Carolina.

In this age where so many are looking for government handouts, or blaming everyone else for their financial situation, it is nice to read a story of a couple guys who went out there and made something happen. Thanks to them, not only were hundreds of jobs created, but also we all have some damned good beer to drink. God bless ‘em.