Sept 22 - Friday-We stayed at Billings KOA and when we got up it was raining. The weather outlook appeared to be raining all day. We decided to stay another night. I paid some bills and we watched TV and relaxed. When the rain let up we walked the dogs. It was a relaxing day.
Sept 23- Saturday-So this morning we were up at 8:00 and left the KOA by 9:15. We got gas at Lockwood, MT. It seems difficult to find a gas station where we fit near Billings. We drove I-90 to Sundance Wyoming. Then we got more gas and snacks at Moorcroft in eastern, Wyoming. We stopped at Buffalo, Wyoming and walked the dogs. We turned south at Sundance, WY and took US 85 south through eastern Wyoming and joined US 16. It was a lovely drive and maybe a little out of the way. We crossed into South Dakota, and as we passed by Jewel Cave National Monument we saw Bighorn Sheep. Later as we headed into Hill City we passed the Crazy Horse Monument. It looks like they have made a little progress. We visited here in 2003, so we didn't return. I would like to see it when it is finished. I may not live that long. We stayed at Black Hills Trailside Park on the south side of Hill City. There was a nice creek that ran behind the RV. It was a back in space and we were fairly close to the neighbors.
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Hardin, MT
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| Decker, MT |
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| Parkman, WY |
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| Crossed into South Dakota at 5:03 PM |
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| Scenery near Jewel Cave National Monument |
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| Saw these guys at 5:21 PM at Jewel Cave National Monument |
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| Crazy Horse Monument near Custer, SD |
Sept 24 - Sunday-We got up about 9:00 and had our breakfast. We dressed and then walked the dogs. We had some time to relax and watch a little football. There is a bike trail (or walking) called the Mickelson Trail that runs from Edgemont to Deadwood SD. It is accessible from the RV Park where we stayed. You can even rent bikes there to ride the trail. About 3:30 we went for a drive. I drove the pickup. so no pictures on this drive. We also washed the pickup at the drive thru car wash before we left. We took the Iron Mountain Road and drove through Custer State Park. It was a lovely ride. it was about 6:30 when we got back to the RV. Steve & I went to the Chute Rooster for supper. It was a cute place and the Hamburgers were great!
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| Creek beside the Rails to Trail pathway next to the RV park where we are staying. |
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| Spokane Creek RV Park at Keystone, SD - We had a brake problem here in 2003! |
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| Chute Rooster - Great Hamburgers! Hill City, SD |
Sept 25 - Monday-After having breakfast and walking the dogs we got the RV ready to roll. Steve washed the windows and we hooked up the pickup. We drove south on US 385 to Hot Springs, SD. Our drive included going through Wind Cave National park. We had been here in 2003 also. I kind of screwed up on the GPS, because I set it to downtown and there was all kinds of construction, oh boy, what a mess. But my excellent driver, Steve got through without a problem We took a break at Broadwater, Nebraska then drove on to Sidney, Nebraska and stayed at Cabella’s RV Park. It is just a parking lot - but works fine for an overnight stop.
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| Creek behind the RV |
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| Does this shot make my butt look big? |
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| Custer, SD |
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| Custer, SD |
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| Even though horses don't love me - I enjoy seeing them. Especially Appaloosas |
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| Hot Springs, SD |
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| Wind Cave NP |
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| Bison |
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| Bison in the distance |
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| Wind Cave NP |
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| Hot Springs, SD |
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| Hot Springs SD |
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| Hot Springs, SD |
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| We made it into Nebraska about 12:30 PM |
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| Another flower |
Sept 26 - Tuesday-It is another driving day today. We had breakfast, walked the dogs and unhooked the utilities. Then we stopped at Walmart before hitting the interstate. That took some time, but we needed groceries. We headed east on I-80. We stopped and got gas at the exit before the place where we stayed overnight. The place we stayed tonight was Windmill State Recreation Area Campground. There were not very many people camping there. It was a lovely spot, but some of the sites were back in, and some were kind of pull off by the side of the campground road. We chose a site that was just like a pullover. It was a lovely evening and we sat outside for a bit.
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| We saw this at Cabella's RV Park - Sidney NE. I think they said it was a 1976. |
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| Kearney, NE |
Sept 27 - Wednesday-We got up and around. The dogs enjoyed their walk in this park. The grass was nice and Poopsie loved it! Steve washed the bugs off the window and we headed east again. When we got to York, NE we turned south and drove on US 81 to Salina, KS and hit I-35. Our overnight stay tonight was at Wichita. And man was it hot when we got there. We stayed at Camp Range RV Park. We have stayed here before when it was called USA RV Park (I think that was the name). Anyway it is clean and has a lot of pull thrus. So it is convenient but the heat almost did us in.
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| Pretty Flowers always get my attention |
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| Windmill State Recreation Campground |
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| Our site was shaded! |
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| Old Windmill at Windmill State Recreation Area |
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| We crossed into Kansas at 12:25 PM |
Sept 28 - Thursday - Well it was the usual morning routine. We got around and headed south on I-35. There was not a convenient place to get gas so we had to get gas at Belle Plain on the interstate. The toll for this section was $6.00. I found out much later, after we got home that I also got charged $4.00 for the pikepass in the pickup. The pikepass is now a sticker and you can’t remove it and put it in foil in the glove box anymore. So we donated a little extra! We got off at South Haven and headed east to Arkansas City, KS. Then we passed through Caney, KS and on south to Dewey. And oh boy was it hot when we arrived! it was 94° and humid in Dewey. We stayed at Spring Creek Home & RV Park. This is convenient since my sister lives in Dewey. We got set up and the breaker kept kicking off while running only the air conditioner. I called the owner and she said to plug in to the site next to us. After that, we didn’t have any more problems. We visited with my sister and her husband and took them out to eat at Chili’s.
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| Arkansas City, KS at 11:30 AM |
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| Crossed into Oklahoma at 12:53 PM |
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| Sunset - Dewey, OK 7:40 PM |
Sept 29 -Friday- Today we got up and around, walked the dogs and had a slow morning. We also listened to a VA call about the PACT act. We took Pam & JC to lunch at Montana Mike’s in Bartlesville. Then we visited more and returned to the RV for a rest. Later we re-joined Pam and JC at their house and my niece and her husband arrived later. We all went to eat at Luigi’s in Bartlesville. Steve and I just got a dessert, we were not hungry. Then it was back to the RV for the night.
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| Sunset - Dewey, OK 7:21 PM |
Sept 30- Saturday-Today we got up a little earlier than usual because we wanted to get home before the heat became unbearable. When we arrived back at Perry, we unhooked the pickup and I drove it home to unlock the gate. Then Steve drove the RV home and parked it in it’s spot. We unloaded some stuff and watched football. Most of the afternoon was spent inside keeping cool and relaxing.
I know this got really long - I didn't think I had this many pictures. It was a lovely drive back home. There is always something beautiful to appreciate!
