Rapid City, SD Day Two

Well, today was the day to take the jeep in to the dealer. We wanted to see as much of the area as possible before leaving tomorrow, so we got a reasonably early start and headed to Custer State Park to do the Wildlife Loop Drive. On the way we stopped at the Jeep dealer to make sure the part was in. If it wasn’t we could spend more time in the park. Turns out it was in, so we knew we needed to be back by one o’clock

As we entered the park we stopped at the Game Lodge to see if they had anything we could give to the burrows if we came upon any. They did not, but it was good that we stopped since it turned out to be a very nice old inn. President Coolidge and his family evidently stayed there, so you can see how old, I mean rustic, it is. If you come this way by car it would be a beautiful spot to stay. They do have a nice campground in the meadow that would be where we would stay if we were to return by RV.

The Wildlife Loop lived up to its name. We did see more antelope, which might have been pronghorn sheep. I am not an expert on this. Barbara got a chance to photograph another solitary male buffalo, and later we found out why we were seeing so few bison. It turns out that last weekend was the annual buffalo roundup, and as we came over a rise we could see that there were hundreds of buffalo corralled in one area. We need to do some research on what this is all about, but buffalo burgers have to come from somewhere. It did not look like a winter holding area, but it might have been a way to be sure they get enough feed over the winter. They may have been for inspection and shots before being let out to the larger fenced area. Anyway, Barbara got an up close look and hundreds of buffalo, large and small.

Barbara got the biggest kick of the trip a few minutes later when we came across the wild burrows. Jeez, what beggars these guys are! While the lodge did not have anything, there were carrots at the general store down the road. Barbara made great friends with a few as she offered up an entire package of carrots.

We finished our beautiful drive and returned to the dealer at the appointed hour. While we were at it I had them do the usual service stuff, and while waiting the service writer came over and asked me to come speak with the technician. Now that is never good news, right? As it turns, out the tech was asking why it was I wanted to change the shift cable. He was under the jeep while it was on the lift. I explained that the problem was at the other end and he said he understood. I returned to the waiting area and a good magazine article. A little later the service writer returned and asked me to follow him. He said the tech wanted to show me something. While I expected the worst, he wanted to show me that he was able to repair the cable end in a way that made sense even if it was not what the manual called for, by using a  $2 part. Two-dollar part, or $52 part plus 1.5 hours of labor. Your choice.

Now we are home in our home away from home and Barbara and Nia just took a shower. That is a neat trick in an RV shower. Glad the door was closed.

We leave in the morning. Early. In fact aside from the electrical hook up I am disconnecting everything tonight. Why the hurry? Weather Bug says rain all day tomorrow, AND a Winter Weather Storm Watch starting tomorrow evening with high winds and six plus inches of SNOW! He are heading south to Cheyenne, WY, but the weather there may not be much better. It is just as far south as we can get in the time we have. Stay tuned!

Black Hills, SD

Hey, nothing broke today! Although that is not to say everything went without a hitch. As we were about to drive off to visit the Black Hills an official of the campground stopped by to tell us the campsites we and two other campers had selected when we arrived yesterday were so new that they had not yet been released to the campground by the contractor. We had to move. No problem. Since there were plenty of other spaces available it was a simple move because we do not have slides out or leveling jacks down. No hydraulics, remember?

Once underway we had a great time in the Black Hills. The only glitch was the government shutdown had all the National Parks closed. That included Mount Rushmore. Not only did they have the entrance to the park coned off, but they coned off every turnout on the highway that might have afforded a view of the sculpture. They must have run out of cones because we found one wide spot in the road where I took this zoomed in shot. 

All the closer we could get.

I found this confusing. If the park was closed because they had no money for the salaries, why were no fewer than eight rangers standing around talking at the park entrance. It looked like a shift change at a car wash.

We drove over to the Crazy Horse monument, which as a commercial attraction was not affected by the fiasco in Washington. They were getting a lot of extra business since the National Parks and monuments were closed. It is an impressive operation.

Decades into this huge effort. That blip near the end of his arm is a backhoe!

There is a very large visitor center that features hundreds of Native American art pieces as well as historical artifacts. Of course, there is a large gift shop and restaurant as well. While we were there the sixth generation grandson of Crazy Horse gave a talk and, along with his son, demonstrated native dances. Pretty cool.

In the little town of Custer we had lunch at a place that is obviously a local favorite. It was the Black Hills Burger & Bun Co., and as the name suggests we did indeed have burgers. They were excellent, and the fries (both regular and sweet potato) were as well. If you are in the area of Custer, SD drop in. You will like it.

We drove home through Custer State Park. This area is absolutely gorgeous and reminds me of the  Sierra Mountains. Just not as high, of course. The Aspen were turning colors and the low sun made them shine a bright yellow. Barbara got more pictures of wildlife. We saw more buffalo, pronghorn sheep, and bright white mountain goats.

Nia slept through much of this, but she will not be joining us tomorrow since we will be going to a wildlife loop through Custer State Park specifically to be up close with the animals. She gets her knickers in a twist if they get too close.

Ellsworth AFB, SD

We awoke to a wind warning for the area starting this afternoon and going into the evening. So, to stay or to go on to Ellsworth AFB was the question. We had to determine the seriousness of the hydraulic leak first. I opened the access hatch at the steps leading into the coach to allow me to observe the hydraulic pump and switching solenoids while Barbara brought in the slides. We did manage to get all the slides in for travel, but as each slide came in there was a substantial spray of fluid which I caught in a beach blanket to keep from making any more of a mess of the camping site than we already had.

When we had slide trouble in Durango, CO the mobile tech that was helping us out made some slide locks for us out of his wife’s old crutches. Those of you that have followed our travels may remember that event. Well, we put those to good use again this morning to hold the curbside slide in and blasted off for Ellsworth AFB FamCamp in Rapid City, SD. We are going to try to salvage as much of this trip as possible. We managed to get there before the winds got too strong, and got laundry out of the way.

The jeep continues to have a problem with the shift linkage, and in fact, it is getting pretty bad. I tried to find a source of wire to make a temporary fix, but had no luck. I did manage to get a zip tie on the shaft to hold the cable end in place and hope that it works for a day and a half, because I bit the bullet and made an appointment at the local jeep dealer to replace the shift cable.

Back at the campsite things were getting interesting as the sun began to set. We could not put our slides out because of the hydraulic problem we had, but we would have kept them in anyway due to the forecast winds. Some of our neighbors did finally get the clue and brought theirs in. Unfortunately not in time for the coach on our right, and the cloth awning that covers slides was blown out to the point that the spring retractor was overcome. He pulled the slide in, but what we call the topper was not retracting as it should. Actually, it did not retract at all. As it puffed up in the wind it stood the chance of further damage. I went over with a length of rope to lead over the fabric and tie around the slide structure to minimize the amount of billowing. He will need to get someone to get the fabric wound back up as in needs to be, but this should allow him to save the fabric.

Barbara took Nia for a walk and had to fight the wind, which according to Weather Bug is gusting to 42 MPH. Nia was distracted by all of the bags and other debris flying by.

Back inside they found that the wind chime I brought inside when the wind picked up was now chiming away from the rocking of the coach in the wind. Can you imagine a 27,000-pound wind chime?

Tomorrow we are off into the Black Hills and all they offer.

Badlands National Park, SD

We slept in and then did a few motorhome chores, then headed back to Badlands National Park. For the most part we spent the day off the paved roads. It was nothing in the way of serious off-roading, but still off the beaten path in some cases. We were rewarded with terrific views and more wildlife.

We added buffalo and a coyote to our list of sighted critters while here. 

Oh, and more sunflowers! They are everywhere, and this time we could get close.

We also ran into three European families that were touring the states in European RVs that they had shipped over for the purpose. The European’s camp a little less lavishly than Barbara and I do. These RVs were expedition vehicles with four-wheel drive and high road clearances. There was a large Mercedes, a slightly smaller Land Rover, and a Ford that appeared to be based on an American full size van.

On the road to Sheep Mountain Table

Sheep Mountain Table

Sheep Mountain Table

Sheep Mountain Table

We stopped by a couple of campgrounds in case we come back this way. The one in the park was pretty basic with no hookups. You would be off the grid completely, including no water. Another was a KOA a few miles south of Interior, SD population 100. It was in a nice location along the White River, but the sites were a little small. The third was in downtown Interior. While not anything special the sites were good sized and would likely be where we would go if we were to come back.

This national park is worth a visit if you are up this way. It is not large, but it has monstrous views. You can see everything in a day and since it is about an hour east of Rapid City you need not stay here to enjoy the sights. There are certainly more amenities in Rapid City, and from there you can also visit the Black Hills an their attractions.

We are going to try to head that way ourselves tomorrow, but there is a hitch. I have noticed a large puddle of hydraulic fluid under the front of the coach. That means there are slide or jack problems, or both. It is quite possible that our modified plans to spend next week in the Back Hills will be modified yet again. This is the second major trip we have had to cut short because of mechanical problems. It is real disappointing to travel half way across the country to start the enjoyable part of our trip only to have it cut short.

Tune in tomorrow to see how the adventure progresses.

Wall, SD

It rained most of the night. Not a stormy kind of rain, but a moderate, constant rain. By the time the coffee maker woke us up at 7:30 the skies had cleared, but by then the damage was done. Not literally, but we found the leak had not been fixed after all and there was water coming in to the bedroom. Not much, but enough to eventually ruin the interior structure of the coach. Of course, it is Saturday, and we are another 300 miles into our journey and far from the Winnebago factory. It will not be until Monday that we can call the service center and work out a plan of action. What is obvious is that Yellowstone and Colorado, the two major goals of this trip, are now off the table. To salvage this trip we will extend out stay in South Dakota through this coming week. Then, based on the schedule at Winnebago, we will return to Forest City to have this slide problem addressed. It is simply not something that we can let go, and it is complex enough that we came to Winnebago to get it right.

We had a great drive over to Wall, SD this morning and got set up here at the Sleepy Hollow campground. The drive was uneventful. There were miles more sunflowers, but they began to yield to other crops and cattle.

 

Wall is a town of 818 people that exists to support Wall Drug. Early on when people were beginning to travel across county by car, oases cropped up at certain intervals to provide food, fuel and accommodations. Many have disappeared, but a few have thrived and grown to be full-fledged wallet vacs.  Think South of the Border in South Carolina on I-95, and Little America on I-80 in Wyoming. Families stop to break up the boredom on the long drive west, and over the generations it has taken on a life of its own. It is the gateway to the Badlands National Park, though, and that is what drew us here.

We plan to explore it thoroughly tomorrow, but this afternoon we took a quick recon. It is amazing; you drive through miles of prairie and all of a sudden the terrain drops away into a weathered and eroded landscape. 

How would you like to mow this yard?

The wildlife is great fun to watch. We have seen Prong Horn Antelope and Bighorn Sheep.

Prairie Dog towns are all over, and we stopped at one particularly large colony for Barbara to take pictures. When she was done I went to put the jeep in gear and … no dice… it was in Park and that is where it was going to stay.

“Hello, Triple A? We are in the middle of Badlands National Park 25 miles from the nearest town (of 818 people). Can you send help”? “Sure, I will hold”. “You say no one answers in South Dakota”?

That is how it went, so I got out and tried to find the problem. It was obviously a problem with the linkage. I had a similar occurrence last spring. I would have been surprised if it was the same problem because I had a very robust fix for that problem. I crawled under the jeep and confirmed that the linkage at the transmission was intact. Barbara tried shifting while I looked under the jeep. Everything looked proper, so I started at the other end of the linkage. I managed to lift the dust cover mechanism at the shift lever and was able to see that the linkage cable had become disconnected. Luckily I was able to put it back in place and we were able to continue. I have to be careful though because there must be a clip missing or something that allows the fitting to come apart. I will start looking for a Chrysler dealer as we move towards Rapid City.

Stay tuned to see what goes wrong tomorrow as we drive into the back roads of Badlands NP.

Presho, SD

Well we have finally made it to a state that we have not camped in, and can now add South Dakota to our states visit map.

We were finally able to settle up with the Winnebago Service Center late in the afternoon Thursday. Everything that we needed done was done and done well. It was also done at a reasonable price, so we are happy campers, as they say. That is not to say we don’t still have some glitches with the coach, just did not have time to keep going over every little thing. The big items that we did not want to trust to just any shop (like fixing the leak in the bedroom slide) are now done.

The item that kept us the extra day was the broken Corian countertop in the bath. This was a one and a half inch by three quarter inch chip out of the edge of the sink and it was very noticeable. The previous owner broke it, and the two pieces glued back in place in a noticeable fashion. On one of our trips the rough highways bounced the medicine cabinet open and a can of shaving cream fell on the repaired area and broke it again. That is quite possibly the same thing that happened to the first guy. I could not find anyone in Orlando that was interested in repairing Corian. I guess everyone is doing granite now.  Winnebago fixed it so that you cannot tell it was ever broken. Bravo Winnebago!

We were off as scheduled this morning, and were heading west at nine. We had some rain along the way and some pretty strong winds most of the way across southern Minnesota. Those winds abated around Sioux Falls, but the temperature has dropped twenty degrees. We are still at the point where we welcome the cooler temperatures after Florida’s summer heat. One point of interest on the way was the miles of sunflowers! I mean miles! Now you know where all those seeds come from.

We pulled in to the New Frontier Camp ground in Presho, SD around 4:30 and got set up for the night.  It took a little longer than normal because of a particularly chatty neighbor. Nice fella, but lots to say.

View from campsite. Lots of farmland, not many people.

We will take this opportunity for a quiet night's sleep before departing for Wall, SD and the Badlands National Park tomorrow. Hopefully we will come up with some more interesting pictures.

Forest City, IA Day Three

It is our third day in Forest City and we hoped to have the coach completed today, so we stayed close. As we have for the last two mornings we dropped the coach off at the service center and went to Sally’s for breakfast. Sally’s is a typical small town family owned restaurant that does breakfast and lunch only. Nice little place, and the food is pretty good. One of the fun things about being on the road is finding places like this.

We returned to the Winnebago facility and found a quiet spot to try to plan out the next leg of our trip. The visitor center had a nice comfortable area, but the WiFi was spotty and made our research more difficult. We have a rough idea, though.

We returned to Sally’s to investigate the rumor that Sally has terrific pies. Turned out to be true, and afterward we visited an area called Heritage Park. This is an interesting attraction in that it is an assortment of museums of early farming and industrial machinery combined with a large collection of historic buildings that have been moved to this site from their original locations. It is not fully available for visitors everyday, but opened only for special events. It is, however, open to drive and walk  through. This would be a great area to return to on a future visit. The community should be proud of these attempts to save the past.

Three o’clock rolled around and it was time to pick up the coach. Turns out it is not quite complete. We are awaiting material to fix the sink in the bathroom. I rushed the coach back up to the parking area to watch the final America’s Cup race. The race had already started and New Zealand was out front. We have to watch it on the internet and the WiFi was acting up. Through the starts and stops of the service we saw Oracle pass the New Zealand boat and continue to gradually build their lead all the way to the finish line. What an exciting comeback from being eight down by wining nine straight. Unheard of.

Good news! Since they are not expecting the material we need first thing tomorrow we get to sleep in!