Carolina’s Notes
September 4, 2009 Travel day from IL through Iowa. Iowa was nice for me because I enjoyed soaking in farmland scenery; the corn crops were as far as the eye could see. I enjoyed it immensely. Things still tense between Tony & I from the rocky start. We decided to bunk in the town of Chamberlain, South Dakota off the Missouri River for a night. It was time well spent. Next morning we had to vacate because there was no lodging for us to stay.
September 5, 2009 making it to the Badlands, Tony & I spent time touring the Badlands of SD and it started off to be a great trip but then a traffic sign notifying tourists of a hill approaching put my ‘Fear of Heights’ into MELTDOWN. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Tony maintained driving Harry to a safe parking spot for me to get my wits back. Honestly, I don’t know how Tony got Harry safely down because he knew I wasn’t doing well and he had to keep focus on driving. Once we got to a visitors spot Tony tried to console me but sometimes men really are from Mars. Well anyway we decided to go and check out the visitor’s center to find out about the Badlands. Now I was ready to get the H--L OUT! Tony reasoned that if I let this spoil the rest of my day that I would regret it. I couldn’t argue with that logic so I persevered forward. It was rough on Tony & me but we continued to enjoy what we could of the Badlands of SD. Trust me both Tony & I know why this territory is named as such. Once Tony had had enough of me, he decided to bed down in Wall for the night. We stayed not to far away from Wall Drug so we chose to see Wall Drug and to get food and drink. We proceeded to the nearest watering hole and food. I couldn’t order a shot of Jack Daniels quick enough. Thank you Jack!! Seriously folks my nerves were gone; it was do a shot or call the guys in white coats. I made the right call. Thanks again Jack! By the way, Tony & I walked so neither of us drove after consuming cocktails.
Next morning onward to our destination Rapid City, SD for sight seeing which includes Mt. Rushmore and Custer State Park. The first stop was the Air and Space Museum because it was close to the Air Force Base where Tony was stationed in his previous life. I am sorry to report things are still tense for Tony & me because of the heights and bickering. See life happens NO matter where you go. Then Tony wanted us to get settled into our next campground, which is Rushmore Shadows. After settling in, we took in a western dinner show up the street at Ft. Hays Chuck Wagon Suppers and that was SO much fun! It happens to be where a scene from ‘Dances with Wolves’ was filmed. It was the scene when Kevin Costner gets his orders to go to his post in South Dakota. It was a really neat place to visit! Then after the show we came home and lights out.
September 7, 2009 at our camp sight the next morning, we had turkeys roaming around Harry and our site. This was a sight I had never seen. It was another neat experience. We went into town explored, picked up some Dramamine, and did our laundry. Dramamine was an attempt to curb some of my symptoms with my ‘Fear of Heights.’ During our exploration into Rapid City we did a bike ride that took us into Canyon Lake Park, which was a great excursion. Tony & I haven’t done enough bike riding due to my height issue. In the evening, we went to Mt. Rushmore for the Labor Day lighting ceremony. We started at Ruby’s House in Keystone, SD. Ruby’s food and atmosphere was great. It started the evening off on the right foot. Mt. Rushmore was a terrific experience despite my nervousness with heights. The pills and Tony’s motion sickness bands helped. I was so happy I was able to experience Mt. Rushmore in person.
September 8, 2009 we toured Reptile Gardens. This was a place dedicated to reptiles. This was also a neat place. Today was another day to lay low and try to rest. We’ve really been on the move and the month of August trying to get ready was catching up to us. Thus far despite all the height hiccups and bickering I’ve had the best time of my life.
September 9, 2009 was the day we play in Custer State Park and the Black Hills. I was having a great day until we listened to a tour guide to go up a dirt hill for a 360 view of the Black Hills (Mt. Coolidge). This was a mistake because we had NO clue of what we were in for. This was NOT a road to travel when you are afraid of heights. Mt. Coolidge was not a must see for me. It was Defcon 5 for a person who is afraid of heights. The Dramamine and wrist braces did nothing to help me. I was so mad at Tony for leaving the camera in car that I could have strangled him. So I yelled for him to get the camera since he put me through this H—L. I wish he had clicked a picture of me by the car so I can prove I did go up to the top of the world. The rest of the trip through the park and home was trying to say the least. Once in a stable place for me, Tony & I proceeded to Gas Light restaurant. I couldn’t even wait for a hostess. I asked a bus person to get me a shot of Jack Daniels. Thanks again Jack! Mt. Coolidge was the worst yet. Holy Cow Bat Man what’s next? Stay tuned and find out.
Tony’s Notes
Well, like Carolina stated, we moved on from Moline on September 3rd, and drove all day through Iowa. It really was a pretty drive; it was all corn and beans as far as the eye could see, just like Carolina said in her notes. As we got up toward the corner of Iowa, before crossing into South Dakota, we pulled into an RV Park off the highway. We probably could have slept in a Rest Area; however, a full hookup that included Cable TV and Free Wi-Fi sounded good after driving a good part of the day. It was just a road side RV park, and we got hooked up. The thing is, is that we walked over to a local restaurant and had fried chicken and two pitchers of beer. Then, while walking home to Harry, we stopped and picked up a couple small Chocolate Extreme Blizzards from Dairy Queen. This was more of a vacation so far, and not inline with meeting the requirements of our sabbatical. We are supposed to be eating our own prepared food and ensure healthier eating.
The next morning, we headed out and got into South Dakota coming up through Sioux Falls. We probably should have stopped and walked around a bit along the Missouri River in town, but Harry kept on moving. Once we got up to I90, we headed west. At about 5pm’ish, we pulled into the town of Chamberlain, and found a very nice RV resort right along the Missouri River. It was Labor Day weekend, and we were lucky to get a nice full hookup for one night. I do believe that had they had the availability, we might have stayed an extra day. They had a nice paved bicycle trail along the river. It was a very pretty location, and we had dinner at the restaurant on the water; fresh Whitefish and two pitchers of beer. So far, we were spending like we were still employed versus a couple voluntarily unemployed forty something’s.
So, the on Saturday, September 5th, we got up and went for a swim in the indoor pool and spa at the RV Resort. We packed up and headed west. We actually drove several hours toward the badlands. I noticed as we were getting off of I90 and heading toward the entrance to the Badlands National Park, that there was a National Parks museum for the Minuteman Missile system.
The Minuteman Missile mission was something our government put together starting in the late 50’s and / or into the early 1960’s. It comprised the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. They had built about 150 missile silos, and about 15 launch control facilities that were spread over the three states. The Minuteman Missile was an ICBM (Inter Continental Ballistic Missile) that would basically get shot into space, orbit the earth and ‘drop’ four nuclear bombs targeted for different locations. This was something that “protected” us during the Cold War. We had built the ability to execute a full nuclear strike against the USSR by Land, Sea, and Air. This was Strategic Air Commands Triad system.
During my short enlistment in the United States Air Force back in early 1978 through late 1980, I was stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, South Dakota. I worked at the Launch Control Facilities supporting the Minuteman Missile mission. So, when I saw they had erected a museum, I had to stop and check things out. As it turns out, they had made the Delta LCF (Launch Control Facility) a museum; that was the one an NPS ranger would tour people through. Delta LCF was the facility I worked at, so for me it was very nostalgic and reminiscing was cool. I had forgotten that period of my life.
Back then, I thought life was horrible. The military controlled my life, and I was not that happy about it. Of course, back then, my first wife and I were teenage parents, and things were rough, from our perspective. Today, I can look back and see that I had it made in many ways. For example, I had base housing that made my living expenses cheap. My schedule was what they called “Three ON and Three Off”. I basically was gone on the missile sites three days and home for three days. How many of us today would love to work three days and have three days off consistently. In fact, most of us would be happy to work four days and have a three day weekend every weekend. But anyway, I was too young to know any better.
After reminiscing for a while, we headed into the Badlands. I had never actually driven through the badlands, and was amazed. It is a very cool place, and I would have liked to take some time to hike through the many trails. Some people hike into the trail’s, and pitch a tent out in the middle of no where, and then hike out the next day. I can only imagine the solitude, and stars they see late in the middle of the night.
However, we drove through about forty miles of the Badlands around the scenic loop back to I90. We stopped, did short hikes, took lots of pictures, and were very exhausted by the end of the day. It was almost dusk when we drove out of the Badlands and found ourselves in the town of Wall; like Carolina said in her notes. We hooked up at a local RV Park, and headed into town, ate a couple burgers (Mine was Buffalo), drank a couple of pitchers of beer, and each did about three shots of Jack Daniels. We were definitely not meeting the requirements of the Sabbatical project plan. We never drink like that, and almost never drink liquor-period.
It was a great day, despite Carolina’s panic attack. She was doing just fine until we made a turn that lead to a huge drop off view to the left that she was just not prepared for and it shocked her. She really did not recover until she did the shot of Jack Daniels.
The next day, we went into Wall Drug and had some homemade fresh donuts. They were OK, but not like the kind you get at an apple orchard, in the fall, back in Michigan. After we ate the donuts, we saw some awesome looking caramel glazed cinnamon rolls come out of the bake shop; it was then that we realized we had missed out on what that bakeshop did best. Unfortunately, we were still vacationing and not sticking to healthy clean eating.
We headed westward toward Rapid City. I had to get off the highway near Ellsworth AFB and see if the old base housing was still there. It had been torn down and new housing was built a little further in the base. Where our housing had been, there was a military RV Park. I probably could have stayed there for next to free, but I wanted to be more up in the Black Hills. Anyway, they had an Air Force Museum that we checked out, and I looked around, reminisced, and then moved on. I am pretty sure I was annoying or grating on Carolina’s nerves.
We passed through or around the city, and headed up the road toward Mount Rushmore. I noticed there was an RV Resort that would give us three nights for the price of less than one, if we sat through a sales presentation. So I took them up on it and we hooked up at Rushmore Shadows. It was a nice full hookup with Cable TV and Wi-Fi. The next morning we sat through the 90 minute presentation that actually took three hours. I did NOT buy a membership for $9,000. I did not buy anything. However, we did end up staying there at Rushmore Shadows from Sunday, September 6th to Friday the 11th.
Like Carolina had stated, we went into town to use a Laundromat. It was very interesting because the Laundromat was also a coffee shop and tanning salon. They had free detergent, they sold espresso and latte’s; tanning beds to use, and they even sold you the use of a shower facility with shampoo and a blow dryer for only $7.95. I never saw anything like that before. If I ever decide to bicycle and backpack across the United States, I will stop here for a shower.
The Chuck Wagon Dinner Show that Carolina mentioned in her notes was fabulous. For $20 each, we had a huge meal of beef brisket, potatoes, beans, apple sauce, and lemonade. They called the lemonade ‘tender foot’ juice, but the alternative was ‘cowboy coffee’ and it was terrible. Plus, I do not drink coffee in the evening. The show was great. They played a full assortment of music. I love listening to a band with a fiddle and banjo.
Mount Rushmore was great, and it was special going on a holiday. I was quite surprised that there were trails that went up pretty close to where you were looking straight up. We took hundreds of photos at both the national monument and in Keystone. Ruby’s House was an original old saloon with all the antiquities. We were in beef country and for next couple of weeks we were on red meat overload.
I had been to reptile gardens many years ago when Brandy was a little girl, back in my military days. However, I enjoyed the experience, and I know Carolina and I were fascinated by the huge reptiles. I am now prepared for wrestling alligators and crocodiles.
Custer State Park was fantastic. We went in the middle of the day and did not see as much wildlife; just a lot of elk and a couple buffalo. We drove the Peter Norbeck Scenic drive, and along Needles highway. It was very breathtaking. The drive that Carolina mentioned is the narrow one lane dirt road up to the summit of Mount Coolidge. It scared the hell out of me because there was a drop off on one side and no room for a car coming down. We were driving our car, Matt Malibu. No RV’s or cars pulling trailers on this road. I had no idea we were going to get stuck on this road or I would have NOT gotten on it. Once on, I could not turn around. At the top, it was just an awesome view of the world for miles. To my annoyance, there was someone that drove their motorhome up there. It bothered me because it creates a dangerous situation for other drivers on there way up or down while a motorhome is going up or down. While driving these scenic drives, we stopped at a small mountain lake and inflated our row boat and played on the water a little bit.
While driving through Needles Highway, it was getting dark, so I was on a mission to get out of the mountain roads before it was completely dark. We managed to get to the Mount Rushmore area at dark. That worked out because I was driving familiar roads going downhill. About a mile or so from Rushmore Shadows, we stopped at the Gaslight Bar and Restaurant and had a great meal. Of course, it also included a few shots of Jack Daniels to calm the queen of my dreams, and light of my life. It was a great day, but I was exhausted at days end.
