The City of Presidents–Rapid City South Dakota

 

again with the rain. . .

we left Medora Friday morning in a bit of a drizzle. ..

thankfully, we drove out from under it within half an hour

the five hour drive to Rapid City was a bit longer than we’ve been doing. . .

here we are all set up at Lazy J RV Park out on Hwy 16. . .

a bit of a tight squeeze. . .but very doable for  a two night stay.

50A FHU Pull Through

and then on Saturday. . .the reason for our stopover in Rapid City. . .

The City of Presidents Walking Tour

We had seen a handful of the Statues when we were here in 2010. . .

we have returned to see them all. . .

a great reason to take a 24 block stroll through the city. . .

We will show you a few of our very faves. . .

Eisenhower – President when both of us were born. . .

Kennedy – the first President I actually remember. . .

I also remember where I was that fateful day. . .

six years old. . .sitting in the car as my Mom came out of the bank crying. . .

Lincoln – the President I remember learning the most about in school

Thomas Jefferson – the man was brilliant. . .wow!
Love reading his stuff and seeing his designs

Teddy Roosevelt – the President with the foresight

to set aside National Park Lands. . .

I’m so thankful!

TEXANS!

our very favorite President – Reagan

 

City of Presidents - Rapid City South Dakota VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

a very appropriate mural. . .

and a couple of fun things. . .

these newlyweds are getting life together started off right!

and the poor mailman. . .I feel your pain buddy. ..

don’t envy you that chore in a couple of months. . .

this is another Stavkirke – a Norwegian House of Worship

discovered on TripAdvisor – Chapel in the Hills

Stavkirke - Chapel in the Hills VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

and the finishing touch to our Saturday. . .

a meet up with former co-workers and fellow RV’ers,

Terry and Becky, who we met in Estes Park Colorado,

when we were all Park Hosts there. . .

So great to see you guys again.

 

We’ll see you next at Custer State Park,

‘til then,

Janice and Dave

Theodore Roosevelt National Park–Painted Canyon

 

awww. . .well it was just too bad that my Bub

had to go work for a livin’ on Tuesday. . .

so while he’s driving two hours north

to deliver the truck, and meet with the techs,

Sis and I may as well shop and have lunch. . .

Dave decided changing out the water filters,

and recharging the water softener would

be more fun than shopping. . .ha ha!

I’m not much of a tourist shopper,

but I did buy some yummy taffy caramels. . .

(I may need to go back for some more)

we had all decided that we would drive out to the Painted Canyon

after Louis arrived back from “work”. . .because later in the day,

when the sun was lower in the sky, it really lights up all the layers in the sandstone,

and paints quite a picture. . .

a couple of things were very interesting. . .one. . .

that the lignite coal veins can smolder underground if ignited by lightning or by a grass fire,

causing the caps of the mounds to turn red, as you can see in the above pic. . .

and two. . .that during heavy rainstorms, such as the area received last Friday,

the face of the mounds literally slide down to the base. . .that would be amazing to see.

we were so thrilled with having seen the wild horses yesterday

(actually “feral horses” is the correct terminology as these horses came from domesticated stock)

anyway. . .we decided to go drive the South Unit Loop again. . .and yaaa. . .

another, different group of three. . .

since both groups have been all males, I’m thinking perhaps these are the “teenagers”

who are not yet old enough to have established their own “brood of mares”. . .

but that is just conjecture on my part. . .don’t really know that for a fact. . .

seeing a couple of turkeys was cool too. . .

but, having read Sherry’s Blog last month. . .we know there is a herd of horses

here in the park. . .and that is what we want to see. . .ONWARD!

now, there are three of us watching, watching, watching for the herd. . .

but Dave. . .who is driving. . .is the ONE who sees them. . .

way, way out on a ridgeline. . .

it took binoculars, and all the zoom my camera had to bring them in this close. . .

just realized, looking at that pic again, that there is a colt nursing. . .

he looks awful big for all that. . .good grief, it’s almost as big as the Mom. . .whoa!

thank the Lord for camera zooms. . .right?

 

Louis and Kim leave in the morning. . .heading back to Texas.

 

Dave and I have decided to NOT drive the 175 mile round trip

to see the North Unit of TRNP, which is considered the “Badlands Area.”


We will be doing a two night stop at Badlands National Park in South Dakota. . .

It’s my understanding that is the setting for Dances with Wolves. . .

I think I will try to watch it between now and then. . .we’ll see!

 

This has been a great stop in our journey. . .

one that we highly recommend if you are coming this way. . .

 

See you next time in Rapid City South Dakota. . .

‘til then,

Janice and Dave

 

Theodore Roosevelt National Park–South Unit

 

our parking spot at Red Trail Campground in Medora North Dakota

is pretty great. ..way in the back. . .50A FHU. . .loving it

if you are parked in the front section, near the train tracks,

although there are no train whistles at the crossings. . .evidently, it’s pretty loud. . .

tickled that my Bub, and his Princess, my sis in law. . .

have made it to North Dakota to explore

Theodore National Park with us. . .

you may recall they were able to meet us at Niagara Falls last summer. . .

a division of the company my Bub is a supervisor for,

services the cooling units for the oil rigs. . .
His company has technicians all over the country

and they need to have supplies delivered to them.

This trip, Bub needed to bring one of the techs

a brand spanking new work truck,

and take the old truck back to Texas. . .

It’s a tough job, but someone must make the sacrifice

to travel the country, and keep the guys happy.

Needless to say. . .we were thrilled to see them and get our hugs!

now. . .on to the Star of the Show. . .

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

first stop. . .the Visitor Center to purchase our America the Beautiful Pass. . .

since we haven’t yet reached the magical discount age of 62. . .

we gladly pay the $80 fee to renew it annually. . .worth every penny!

we decide the best plan for the day is to drive the South Loop Road. . .

starting at the Visitor Center. . .you can see it in red on the map.

our first stop. . .Skyline Overlook. . .where I meet up with. ..guess who?

A retired Postal Worker. . .yes indeedy. . .a former Postmaster in North Dakota. . .

see. . .that’s why ya gotta talk to folks. . .’cause there’s all kinda interesting stuff to know!

She and her hubs own a North Dakota soybean farm. . .

and were taking a quick getaway trip before harvesting begins. . .

next stop . . .Wind Canyon. . .required a little hike to the top and around. . .

so worth it for this view of the Little Missouri River. . .

and from just behind this highest point. ..

a view of the buffalo herd, which would not have been visible from the road

 

cool rock formations. . .

what I think may be a Rock Wren. . .

Wind Canyon - Theodore Roosevelt National Park VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

next stop. . .Badlands Overlook. . .

beauty in every direction. . .

and as we turn the corner to Buck Hill. . .

look who we find. . .a mule deer, who seems to be saying. . .

You lookin’ at me?

but. . .here is our REWARD for the day. . .

this fabulous little band of wild horses. . .

standing right out beside the road.

They did not seem to be bothered in the least by the papprazzi. . .

Wild Horses - Theodore Roosevelt National Park VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

and then we were told by our FaceBook RV friend, Marilu,

to not miss the Medora Musical . . .

$31 upper seating. . .$35 lower seating. . .

and the Pitchfork Steak Fondue supper. . .lots of fun. . .

$28 each for the Steak and Sides. . .or. . .

$28 each for the Buffalo Roast, Chicken, Ribs and Sides. . .or. . .

$14 each for just the Steamtable with the sides. . .

if we were doing it again. . .we would have one Steak,

and two Steamtables with the sides. . .it was way more food

than you could eat in one sitting. . .the steaks were huge

and cooked to a perfect medium. .

.

we always forget how much we enjoy musicals,

so each time we attend one, we say, oh. . .we need to do that more often.

I’m not going to show you a bunch of pics of the musical here,

just because I don’t think it translates well. . .

it’s just one of those things you must experience in real life!

but I did want to show you something that tickled us. . .

the boys holsters are the microphone holders. . .

isn’t that cute?

and I must show you one of our very favorite things. . .

at the beginning of each performance. . .

one of the trail riders (see album)

drive two bull elk to the ridgeline behind the stage. . .

isn’t he just magnificent?

Medora Musical VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

                                                                                                         

The Landscapes of Theodore Roosevelt National Park VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Short Hikes in Theodore Roosevelt National Park VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Wildlife - Theodore Roosevelt National Park VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

LiveJournal Tags: North Dakota,Full Time RV Living,Motorhome Travel,Theodore Roosevelt National Park,Medora Musical,Pitchfork Steak Fondue,Red Trail Campground