2017-The Black Hills of SD

In early May we left Santa Fe and headed to what was going to be our summer home- The Black Hills of SD and the Rapid City area. If you have never been to the Black Hills of South Dakota, it should be on your list. We grew to love this area and everything that it offered. During the course of this blog post, you'll see just some of what we experienced.

Hart Ranch was to be our home base for the next 4 months.......

Part of Hart Ranch viewed from a distance. Note the rolling hills, the cattle,  and more importantly, the Black Hills and Mt Rushmore off in the distance. As the crow flies, we were probably less than 10 miles from Mt Rushmore.

This was our spot, site # 258

Another view of our area......

Our spot is midway up on the left....

The first few weeks were interesting.....seems we always had baby birds "visiting"

I need to fill in some of the blanks here regarding our stay. I had a workcamper job as a CPO(Certified Pool Operator) and worked at the pool most weeks, 24 hrs, with some at 32. Duties included water testing, taking corrective action to balance water chemicals, closing pool in the event of thunder/lightning and fecal events(we had waaay too many), supervising the 2 pool attendants and either opening up or closing up the pool facility. The Pool also included 3 spas. The first week was spent working with the other pool employees getting the pool and spas opened up and ready for the season......

Pool floor was painted prior to filling

View of the pool- one that held 335,000 gallons of water. The 3 spas are in the fenced area.....

View of closed pool after a recent thunderstorm with subsequent rainbow

A Busy day at the pool

We were open at night until 10:00

 Pool duties ended with the Labor Day. Well not quite. We closed the pool Labor Day at 6:00 PM. The next 2 days were spent literally closing the pool and spas- securing for winter. This involved an extended checklist of things that needed to be done, not the least of which was draining the pool and spas.

While I wasn't overjoyed to be working( I did retire once already), in exchange for 20 hrs of work each week, we got our site for free. This was a big deal because it  also included electricity, a discount on Propane, and $10.00 per week for laundry expenses. Plus pay for hours in excess of 20 each week.  I was glad when the season ended though.

Hart Ranch is a member owned resort with just under 500 sites. The opening photo of the Ranch shows a portion of the almost 1000 rigs stored here for use during the season. The park is nearly always full and with this kind of activity, some neat pics were always available.....

Horses in the fields surrounding the park

The quilting group met each tuesday night

Couldn't believe it when I saw this rig

Or this one......

Sunrise over the park

An awesome looking trike

Couldn't get over the paint job on this Prevost........

Each morning when I got up, I did a 30-40 minute walk around the park and right after that and some breakfast, it was time for Pickleball. We had 4 courts here, and for the most part had at least 2  of them utilized every day. Great fun, great exercise with a great bunch of people.......

Some of the pickleball group- including John, Jim, Murray and Nancy......

At the beginning of this post I mentioned the Black Hills and how much we enjoy this area. Well, on this trip to this area, we experienced Sturgis Bike Week, which is usually held around the 1st week of August. We found that it is the area that makes the Bike Week such a success and why it draws 300,000-500,000 people each year. There is so much to do and experience in this area- it is almost too hard to explain or put in to words. So, as I proceed with this blog post, I'll highlight and share our different experiences, so you can see for yourself. And you'll see why bikers from all over the country come here for Bike Week.  A quick summary of what you'll see:

• The Badlands
• Hill City
• Spearfish and Spearfish Canyon
• Keystone
• Sturgis
• Custer State Park
• Crazy Horse Memorial
• Bear Country
• Downtown Rapid City
• Iron Mountain Rd and Needles Highway

Badlands National Park

A trip to the Badlands involves getting on I 90 in Rapid City and traveling east about 40 miles. We got there and first stop was the Wagon Wheel....

One thing about this area: there are bikes everywhere

Just up the road from the WagonWheel. See what I mean about bikes.......

And then it was on to  Badlands National Park. The scenery is just basically breathtaking.....

Check out the Mtn Goats on the rocks.......

Hill City

Hill City is a neat little town set in the heart of the Black Hills. It is a trip of about 25 miles from Rapid City and from Hill City a trip of less than 10 miles to Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial. It is a very tourist oriented town whose population in the winter is probably around 600. One featured business, and one we made it a point to visit 4 times during our stay was the Alpine Inn.

The Inn features German Food and we haven't decided yet if we really liked the dinner special or their luncheon menu. One thing for sure- we have very rarely ever seen an empty seat or table in the place. It is THAT popular. Oh, did I mention that the prices are reasonable. And that they have a great dessert menu?


Spearfish & Spearfish Canyon

Spearfish is a neat little town north and west of Rapid City. It is right off I 90 and about 40 miles from Rapid City and just this side of the Wyoming border and also about 35 miles from Devils Tower. We
"adopted" the Vet in this town for Molly and with her problems, this became a regular trip for us. No problems. We like the area. Especially the Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant.

Right down the street from our vet. And Crows Peak Brewery......The trout fishing in the area is not bad either. Especially with DC Booth National Fish Hatchery located there.

Another thing that makes the area really special is Spearfish Canyon. We've taken this scenic drive at least 3 times during our travels and don't get tired of it.

Spearfish Canyon

Just prior to our most recent trip through the canyon, the local news advised that foliage in Spearfish Canyon was nearing 60%. I am really sorry, but being from Vermont, and knowing what real foliage looks like, I was just a bit disappointed in the foliage offering. Still a nice trip though....... and one that eventually took us through the old mining towns of Lead and Deadwood.

Deadwood

Deadwood is a destination adventure all by itself. The featured attraction is gambling. In fact, at Hart Ranch, where we stayed, there was a bus trip there every wednesday. Leave the park at 9:30 and a return at 6:00 pm. The trip is free and included complimentary "gambling money and lunch". The other featured attraction is Wild Bill Hickock....

The main street. Note the tour buses. There are a number of Gambling Resorts in the area.

These bars were really neat

A couple of the locals

Cobblestone streets

If I ever get a bike, this is what it will look like.....

The whole Deadwood experience reminded us of Tombstone.......

Keystone

If you are going to Mt Rushmore, you will probably be driving through Keystone In fact, at some places along the main drag, you can look off into the distance and see Mt Rushmore....

View from main street in Keystone

Crazy Horse Memorial

Traveling from Hill City south, Crazy Horse Memorial is a drive of about 9 miles. We've been there at least 3 times- another spot we don't get tired of.

A view inside the "marketplace"

Mt Rushmore

No doubt the premier attraction in the area is Mt Rushmore. Thousands come here each year to experience what we did......

There are a couple of other ways to experience Mt Rushmore besides traveling through Keystone. One is accessed just south of Hill City - the Needles Highway. This is a driving experience that features hairpin turns and narrow, one vehicle tunnels carved out of the mountain.....

The other is the Iron Mountain Rd. We accessed this via Hermosa and Rt 36 to Custer State Park. This is another awesome drive. At a couple of points, you travel through rock tunnels where if you look straight ahead, you are looking right at Mt Rushmore......

Custer State Park

Custer State Park is a place that we will never get tired of. The pictures say it all.....

The Welcome Center at Custer State Park. They feature an excellent documentary movie on the park narrated by Kevin Costner.

Tatanka

State Game Lodge where we had lunch one day

The State Game Lodge 

Just a little history here

Black Hills Raptor Center put on a demo here that we attended

View from the Fire Lookout on top of Coolidge Mountain

Typical day in Custer State Park

Typical day in Custer State Park

Bear Country

Bear Country was really not very far from where we stayed all summer, probably a drive of less than 8 miles. As a workcamper I got a free admission to the place, so we took advantage of it and were glad we did. We went after Labor Day to beat the crowds and also first thing in the morning- to accomplish the same thing. Glad we did, because it was a wonderful experience. You drive through the park......

This bear had the right idea

Inside the gift shop

Downtown Rapid City

Like I said to start this blog installment, we have really come to like this area. Rapid City is just a neat town. Not too big, not too small. Just right. With Mt Rushmore the headline attraction in the area, Rapid City gets into the Presidents game with their own displays. Lifelike bronze statues of all the presidents are set at each street corner. It is really interesting doing the walk and checking them out.....

Mary with Gerald Ford

Inside Firehouse Brewery

Mary with Calvin Coolidge

Downtown Rapid City Park

Really neat

View from Dinosaur Park

Sturgis - Bike Week

Probably the thing I will remember most about our summer in the Black Hills will be Sturgis and Bike Week. When they say it attracts 300,000 - 500,000 people they are not exaggerating. It is truly an experience. It began for us with a pre-trip to Sturgis (before the whole thing started)- wanted to see what it was like before.

Lazelle St 

The Motorcycle Museum

Mary's new friend

This view will change in 1 week

Inside the Motorcycle Museum

This bike is all hand carved out of wood

Where else......

This view definitely changes

This is a wall mural- but definitely expresses the size of the event

Even Molly got into the spirit of the event

We could not visit Sturgis without a visit to one of our favorite places - The Knuckle Saloon, for lunch.

While we were in the area, we had to also take in two of the premiere hot spots- where most of the action and name entertainment took place: Pappy Hoels / Full Throttle Saloon, and the Buffalo Chip

These 2 places were definitely a before bike week visit. I don't think we could get close to the places during the week.....

The "sign" outside of the Full Throttle Saloon

Inside the Full Throttle Saloon

Inside the Full Throttle Saloon

Inside the Full Throttle Saloon- check out the designs and artwork

Inside the Full Throttle Saloon- a lathe over the bar. Incredible

Buffalo Chip

 And then it was time for the week to start. For me it involved a trip to Exit 55 and Black Hills Harley Davidson. They actually sprout a small city here comprised of just about every vendor of every product you could possibly use on your bike......

Over 700 bikes for sale under the big tent

Parking for preferred customers

Some of the many vendors

One of the incredible sites

More of the sites at Exit 55

Finally, the last day of Bike Week, I ventured a trip to downtown Sturgis. Had to experience it and see what it was like. What a difference from our trip the week before.......

This was the main street of town. Lazelle St, over another block, was more of the same, except it was predominated by vendors the whole length of the street. Unbelievable. What an experience.

Must mention the fact that during our Black Hills stay, Mary and I celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary. And what better place to spend it than at Custer State Park and the State Game Lodge where we had an awesome dinner in an awesome place.

I guess that about covers our Black Hills Experience. Pretty neat, huh? Can't believe that we are going to be leaving next week. Heading south to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta. 2 weeks there and then to Monument Valley..........laissez le bon temps rouler.