July 17, 2022
Day 3 of Custer’s Gold Discovery Days. Very early in the morning, like 6:00AM, the hot air balloons were scheduled to lift off. We are scheduled to work the late shift so Nancy and our next door neighbor Cora, got up early and went to see and photograph the balloons. I also did not make the pancake breakfast but I was told by Belinda and Kathy that I didn’t really miss anything special.
Nancy had a great time. After the balloons they walked the Mickelson Trail a little. Through Custer it is very flat so when cooler weather comes in we’re going to ride the trail on our bikes. An interesting picture Nancy took was of a bike station along the trail. After the trail they also visited the Gordon Stockade Historical Landmark.
July 16, 2022
Tonight we headed down to Belinda and Kathy’s place. Not for a campfire but to learn another new card game. Tonight we learned how to play Hand and Foot. Very interesting game. A lot of fun. Another night of great fun with great friends.
July 15, 2022
Today starts the Custer Gold Discovery Days festivities. This event is a celebration of the discovery of gold in the Black Hills. This discovery was led by Lieutenant Colonel George Custer and the 7th Calvary in 1874. They have 3 days of activities planned. Included is a Lions Club Pancake Breakfast, local crafts vendors, amusement rides, a 5K run, parade and a hot air balloon launch. The end of the event is the Legends in Laser Light Show at the Crazy Horse Memorial. Crazy Horse is about 5 minutes out of Custer.
Nancy, Bree, and I decided to check it out today. We walked around the arts and craft vendors. A lot of very nice articles, mostly hand made. Of course there were vendors selling jams, jellies, jerky, etc. Some offered free tastes. YUM!! And naturally there were a couple of food trucks. We checked everything out so we grabbed a burger and water from one of the food vendors. Nancy had elk and I had bison. Elk wasn’t bad. Both burgers were a little dry and over cooked. Bree enjoyed the remaining bit of elk burger. As we walked back to the truck I had to buy a couple of items to try. Love local stuff.
It took us a little bit to find a good parking space. We finally did. It was very close to the event but it was in front of a quilt shop. The Quilted Buffalo to be exact. Bree and I sat in the truck while Nancy went in. We were waiting about 30 minutes but Nancy had a great time.
July 14, 2022
Every Thursday from 3:00 to 6:30 a quaint little bar called Denial, has a “Happy Hour” for locals with drinks buy one get half off the next one. Others have been going but we have not been able to go until today. We joined Belinda and Kathy and Kelly and Steve and Carol and Fred. We sat on the patio and enjoyed some adult beverages. The weather was beautiful.
After Denial, we went to the Custer Beacon. We had dinner and stuck around for the live band. It was a country singer/songwriter named Paul Bogart. Very enjoyable evening. Great music. Great company.
July 8, 2022
So yesterday while we were walking around the Keystone Mall, we wandered into a photo studio called Goodtyme Photo. We decided, what the heck, it looked like fun and was something we wanted to do. So we made an appointment for 11:00AM this morning. So now we are back in Keystone to have a photographic session. But this is not your typical studio. They specialize in late 1800s and early 1900s costumes and sets. It is so neat. Nancy and I chose our costumes with the assistance of the folks working there. They were fabulous. Very helpful. The photographer was helping also to pick costumes and then showed us the various settings we could choose from. We chose two actually. The parlor scene and the saloon scene. The cool thing was we did not have to change clothes in between. It was a great experience. We had done something like this in Las Vegas about 28 years ago. Then we dressed as English royalty. I hope you enjoy the pictures. The two that are sepia were 8X10 prints that were part of the package.
Once we finished the photo shoot we stopped in on Black Hills Glass Blowing. It is a small artisan shop that actually blows the glass the old fashioned way. In addition they also use torches with “stick” glass rods to make small figurines, etc. They actually got their training several years in NC outside of Asheville. The Appalachian Artisan area. It was interesting to watch them work. We’ve been collecting Christmas ornaments at our various stops. We also buy key chains to use as ornaments. We won’t have a big tree but it will chronicle our journey. The latest edition is a hand blown snowman. It’s really nice.
Our next stop is in Hill City. The Sick and Twisted Brewery / Naughti Wines. When we entered I had to go use the restroom and Nancy said she would sit down and wait for me. She didn’t want to do a tasting. I returned from the restroom and found her at the bar doing a tasting. As it turns out Naughti Wines has sweeter wines. She found one that she really liked.. It’s called Erotic Red. All of their wines are the adult double entendre. I did not participate in the wine tasting this time. Maybe another day we’ll go back and I’ll try them. I did however try a flight of 5 beers. They were 1. S.M.A.S.H.E.D. - an American Pale Ale, 2. Aces and Eights - an amber ale (in poker, a pair of aces and a pair of eights is known as the Deadman’s Hand. That’s what Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot, in Deadwood, SD) 3. Natural Blond - a blond ale, 4. Blue Beaver - a blueberry amber ale, and 5. Wild Ride - American Pale Wheat. I enjoyed them all about the same. I would definitely order any one of them again as a stand alone.
July 7, 2022
Today we had to go to Rapid City for an appointment. We then decided that it might be a good day to go back to the SD Air and Space Museum. The last time we were there the indoor exhibit was closed. We were 2 days early. So we took the very short drive to the Museum. Big sign out front. Closed for private event. We still have almost 3 months to get there. The weather was looking dark and ominous. So we developed Plan B. That plan was to find a good restaurant that we haven’t been to and have a good lunch. After a Google search, we decided to go to Keystone, located on the way home, to a little place called Halley’s West. It’s in the Keystone Mall. The mall basically is about 10 to 12 small shops in a strip mall setting. Once we arrived we decided to walk around the mall before we ate. The weather was nice now. Always some interesting shops. We saw a neat T-shirt with a road map on it. It was SD 16A, Iron Mountain Road. We have driven this road before and found it very interesting. 17 miles long, 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, 3 pigtail bridges, 3 tunnels, 2 splits, and 4 Presidents. It was an awesome road. We finally walked into Halley’s. We both ordered the same lunch, the Buffalo Burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles and a side of bacon - cheese hand cut twice fried french fries. We ordered our beer which was served in a frosty glass mug. Nancy had the root version and I finally found a local beer that I will buy more of. Its a Blond Ale made by Sturgis Brewing. Really good. I got pictures of the drinks but didn’t take the time to photograph our delicious food. Will definitely go back again.
After lunch we drove back to Custer. On our first outing here back in April we found the Custer County Candy Company. Nancy had purchased a jar of Chokeberry Jam. She loved it. So we headed there for some more. Well they also have delicious truffles. So we got a couple of them also. And since we were downtown Custer we decided on another round of Horatio’s. That’s some good stuff.
July 4, 2022
Happy Independence Day! Yes we worked today but not a full day. It was our day for the late shift. Steve and Kelly decided that today the office/store would close at 5:30PM instead of 8:00PM. They are hosting a pitch-in at their house around 6 for their family and work campers. Belinda cleaned the small bath house for me so all I had to do was the large one. Once I finished with that, I was told to go home. That gave me time to make my stove top Mac and cheese. Of course before work I had to run to the store for a couple of items. At 6 we headed down for the cook out. It was a very nice time. Lots of stories and good conversations. We opted not to go watch the local fireworks. I heard they were very good.
I had been looking at recipes and I was going to do an Apple Pie Smoked baked beans. However, Belinda beat me to the punch so we opted for my mac and cheese. Overall it was a very nice time.
July 2, 2022
One of my wishes came true a few days ago. I have been wanting a tabletop smoker for the RV instead of our larger, heavier Coleman propane Road Trip XL grill. I finally found a very reasonable price. One of the Walmart’s in Rapid City had them for $197. I couldn’t pass it up.. So now we have a grill for sale. I got it home and assembled in no time. Even had time to do the first burn to get it ready to use. I bought a bag of Pit Boss Competition Blend pellets. I also bought a large plastic pail with lid to keep them dry.
A couple of evenings ago, I smoked hamburgers on it. Wow. Great flavor. Today, I grilled hot dogs on it. It’s more than a smoker. I can grill, bake, etc. The hopper holds 7 lbs. of pellets. Last night I put some chicken thighs in to brine overnight. It’s a recipe Phillip got from How To BBQ Right (Malcolm Reed). It’s easy and delicious. Then tonight I put them on the smoker for a couple of hours. They turned out very moist and tender. I can’t wait to do more on it.
#howtobbqright
July 1, 2022
In our camp store we are licensed to sell SD wines and beers. We have 1 cooler for kid-friendly drinks and a second one for adult beverages. Nancy is not a big wine drinker and one of the most popular questions is “How are the wines?” She has been saying that she wanted to go to the winery for a tasting so she could be more educated on what we sell. Today was the day. It just sounded good and we hadn’t been out for a while. The winery is just up the road in Hill City. It’s Prairie Berry Winery and Miner Brewing Company. The best of both worlds for me. They also serve food. We found out once we got there that they are pet friendly and animals are welcome on the patio.
The do reservations for tastings or walk-ins. We had a 2:40 PM reservation at Bar 1. They have 3 bars. Carol was our server. Her and her husband are also work campers and full-timers. Most people that work the winery are work campers. They built a campground for their work campers on the hill behind the tasting rooms. Really cool set-up. I decided to taste also.
After explaining the reason for the tasting, we also got a couple of extra free samples. We tasted about 6 different wines. Nancy trying the ones we sold and I branched out to a few others that we didn’t. Two of the most popular wines are Red Ass and Rosy Ass. Red Ass wine is 90% rhubarb and 10% raspberry. It wasn’t bad but a bit tart for our tastes. Rosy Ass is 90% rhubarb and 10% strawberry. Less tart and good flavor. We both decided that we enjoyed the Gold Digger the best. 100% pear. Yes, Nancy prefers the sweeter wines. I even tried their new Lighten Up Peach which is less alcohol, less sugar. It was okay but I didn’t taste the peach. We also sampled their new wine aritas. Margaritas made with wind instead of tequila. Not bad but not something I would normally order.
We did buy a bottle of Gold Digger. After the wine tasting, we went down the hill to the Miner Brewing Company. We decided to order some food and I got a flight of 6 - 4 ounce beers. My choice. I tried their Mango Cream Ale, Scarlet Red Ale, Watermelon Wheat, Kellerbier, Crispy Blond Lager, and Chokeberry Brown Ale. Of the 6 I preferred the Kellerbier (a German lager) and Blond Lager. I wasn’t motivated to purchase any but they weren’t too bad.
As for the food. It was great to have something to eat while you were consuming alcohol. We ordered a Chef’s Plate and Nancy wanted a Hawaiian Grilled Cheese sandwich. The grilled cheese was smoked ham, gouda cheese, and pineapple. She ate half there and ate the other half for supper. The Chef’s Plate was 3 meats (andouille sausage, salami, and prosciutto) and 3 cheeses (Brie, Goat cheese, and Monteray) as well as assorted vegetables, olives, crackers, bread, nuts, fruit and some very delicious Prairie Berry made jam. Both the winery and brewery are family owned and family run businesses.
After we left Miner’s we stopped at Hill City Harley Davidson. Had to look around. Next month for the 82nd Sturgis Rally, there are several dealers in the area and the Rally is just not in Sturgis. It will be Custer, Wall, Hill City, Deadwood, Keystone, and of course Sturgis and Rapid City. It’s going to be an experience.
After the day we got home and relaxed. About 8:00PM Nancy decided that ice cream sundae was in order to finish the day. Who am I to argue?? I checked Google. Dairy Queen closed at 8. Another place we heard was really good was Horatio’s. They actually make their ice cream on site as well as waffle cones. They closed at 9. So off we went to Horatio’s. Great decision. The sundaes and ice creams are fabulous. We’ll definitely be back.
June 30, 2022
We haven’t ventured out too much lately. We’re just working and relaxing. Today was a little different. Belinda and I finally got to go fishing. Our first stop was Sylvan Lake. It was very crowded. That’s one of the reason why we haven’t ventured out much. We are in the middle of tourist season. Many, many people. Popular places are very crowded. As Sylvan Lake was crowded we opted to find another spot. We opted to go to Legion Lake, still in Custer State Park. The day was sunny but a little windy. We found a nice spot on a pier, with benches. Belinda decided after awhile to venture to a couple of other locations. All locations produced the same results. No fish. I did have something nipple on my worm. The water so clear that as I was reeling in my line I saw a turtle chasing it. I reeled in faster as I did not want to catch a turtle. Although we didn’t catch anything, we still had a good time. Before we left Legion Lake, we opted to go to the Legion Lake Lodge for a bison burger and a beer. YUM!! Maybe next time.
June 25, 2022
When you RV or camp or “glamp” or whatever you want to call it, there are many advantages and positives that come from the activity. First it gives you the opportunity to be comfortable and commune with nature. It gives you a chance to see the beautiful country of ours. That’s one of our goals. We have been familiar with the flat lands of Indiana and the coasts of NC and SC. Last September we went on a vacation to see friends and family. Finally got to Maine, New Hampshire, Delaware. Beautiful scenery.
Then we drove north by northwest (I’ll explain in a little bit). Wow! Different but just as beautiful and awesome. While I dearly miss my family back in NC this has been and is a great decision. We only live once and we never know what tomorrow will bring. Tim McGraw said it all “Live Like You Are Dying”!
But even though you make some great memories, and sometimes you even make a not so great memory, there’s still one thing that RVing allows you to make. FRIENDS!!! You meet people of all ages, different back rounds, etc. The majority are very friendly. As we work the campground and office we get the chance to meet almost everyone. It is another perk of the jobs we do.
As an example last January we met a SD couple, Sandra and Chris, while we hosted at Huntington Beach. They had some great info to share with us on SD. We exchanged email addresses and a couple of weeks ago they were looking for a campground for a few days and wound up here with us. It was great catching up with them again.
This week we met another real nice couple. Chris and Mitch. They live in CO. They had the camp site 2 down from us and also from Belinda and Kathy. There was a connection and the next thing you know we were all hanging out together sitting around the fire and having great conversation. Found a lot of common ground. The more we talked we found out they will be in AZ in January. The plan is to meet up with them again and their going to show us around. Not to mention I’m looking forward to do some cooking and smoking with Chris. Again, phone numbers and emails, exchanged.
Great memories, great friends. The more we RV the longer our friend list gets. The picture above is Kathy, Belinda, Chris, and Mitch from left to right.
June 17, 2022
Tonight we are going to the Blue Bell Lodge Hayride and Chuckwagon Dinner with Belinda and Kathy. This is a 50% off event with our VIP cards. You’ll load onto a wagon (there is actually some straw on the floor of the wagon) and take about an hour ride to a large area where you will be served a chuckwagon dinner. There is entertainment on the wagons in the form of a singer with a guitar and a lot of audience participation., Rodney was our singer. He’s also a song writer and was a lot of fun. While you’re eating the musicians from the 3 wagons get together and continue the entertainment. Then you load back on your wagon for about a 10 minute ride back. All and all a great evening. We even got to see some wildlife on the ride to the dinner. Then we had to wait for an elk to cross the road as we made our way home. Lots of fun and good food. Almost forgot, we each got our own straw cowboy hat with a bandana hat band. Yee Haw!!
June 15, 2022
Today is Nancy’s birthday. We work the early shift meaning I’ll get off work at 1:00PM and she will be off at 4:00PM. I decided to take her to dinner and then she wanted everyone to come over for a campfire around 8:00PM. While I was working she went into town to get her birthday cake. All of this was kind of last minute arrangements. She found some cupcakes at our local grocery store. While we were busy, Belinda and Kathy decided to move the flamingoes from their site to ours. About 5 years ago, this tradition of flamingoes started with the work campers. The rule is that you cannot give the flamingoes back to whomever gave them to you. So, now we will wait until the appropriate time to move the flock to someone else. Maybe even the owners.
FLAMINGOES
I chose the Sage Creek Grille. Everyone I spoke with highly recommended it. Birthday girl had the salmon and I had a steak. The meal was delicious. We split the desserts. There was chocolate cake and a Belgian chocolate pot de creme. Yum, yum!! We got home and set up chairs around the fire pit and started a fire, Shortly after 8 all of the work campers and the campground owners were all gathered for a fire, a beverage and good fellowship. The first group photo (l to r) shows Cora and Leslie (both work campers), Carole (owner’s mother) and Belinda. Skip one and then the next one is Bob and Jimmy (friends of Bill and Leslie), Bill (work camper), Fred (father of the owner) and Jack (Cora’s partner). Then there’s the birthday girl with Steve and Kelly in the background. Steve and Kelly own the campground and Fred and Carole are Kelly’s parents. Jack and Cora also brought cupcakes with candles. Cora was looking for the candles you couldn’t blow out but couldn’t find any. Good thing. The last picture is a visitor that decided to check out our party with his family. Wasn’t too interested so they all hopped back over the fence.
June 11, 2022
We had to run to Rapid City today to run an errand. On the way home we thought “what the heck, let’s stop at the Rushmore Candy Company”. It is a large building. All I can say is WOW!! Here is the link to their webpage. Rushmore Candy Company
June 10, 2022
After breakfast we opted to take a drive south through Wind Cave National Park and Hot Springs. The scenery was beautiful. We actually got to see baby bison. The family decided to cross the road in front of us. It was awesome! We also stopped to take a photo of two bison standing on a hill. Then something else caught my eye. I was able to get a photo. It was a lone coyote standing nearby but watching the bison. Then there were the hundreds of prairie dogs who were all watching the coyote. We found our way into Hot Springs., Like most little towns we have already seen in this area, it was a neat little town. As we were driving through the first time, I noticed a butcher shop. On the return trip, we stopped. It was a very interesting place. They actually butcher the beef on site. On Monday, it came in the back door on the hoof and starting Wednesday it left frozen and packaged out the front door. They sold bison, pork, lamb, and chicken in addition to beef but the beef is all they butchered. The rest was from other local farms. We had to buy a few items to try.
We had made plans to have Belinda and Kathy over for dinner and a campfire this evening. I made Italian sausage subs and pea salad. They brought some fresh watermelon. Delicious meal and great fire side conversation. This is the life!
June 9, 2022
Busy day scheduled for today. We’re going to make a couple of stops on our VIP card and then meet up with Belinda and Kathy for an event in Rapid City. Our first stop is Old MacDonald’s Farm. It is a great place for kids. This is a family run farm and they have all kinds of neat animals. They even have goats roaming free for a short time period. Then they send out the dog and he rounds up the goats into their pen. Really cool. They sell feed so you can feed the animals as well. At various times they have different events going on. They had some baby lambs and allowed a few people to bottle feed them.
After Old MacDonal’s we went up the road and went through Bear Country USA. They have a small area of outdoor walk through exhibits, which we did not go through. The main attraction is the drive through wildlife park with various species of animals. We could have seen Rocky Mountain Elk, Reindeer, Arctic Wolves, Dall Sheep, Big Horn Sheep, Timber Wolves, Mountain Lion, Black Bear, Pronghorn, Mule Deer, Black-Billed Magpie, and of course Bison. Not all species were awake and moving around but we did see several.
Around 5:00PM we met up with Belinda and Kathy at Memorial Park in Rapid City. On this particular night there was a concert with rock music. In addition, there was a beer tent and 3 different food trucks. The park is beautiful and this event was geared toward the family. There was a splash pad, open spaces to play, tables with umbrellas and, chairs. It was a real nice time. The only down fall was we had to drive an hour home. We actually stopped at a Safeway for groceries before we left Rapid City and headed home. Busy day and night!
June 8, 2022
Plans for today are to go out to dinner with Belinda and Kathy and then find a place to play cards and have a drink or two. We decided to try the pizza at Pizza Mill. It was not very good. Each of us ordered our own personal pizza but the crust was soggy on everyone’s pizza. We checked out a couple of places and wound up at the Custer Beacon. Belinda and Kathy taught us a new card game. It was called Tens. A neat game. Very difficult to shuffle because you have to use two decks. It was a lot of fun. There were other patrons at other tables playing other games as well. There were also folks playing pool. Nice night.
June 4, 2022
Today is Keystone day. We have driven through Keystone and it looks like a quaint little town,. We decided to go back and spend some time walking around and visiting the local sites. Again our VIP card is allowing us to visit two museums today for free. Doesn't get much better. Our first stop is the Borglum Museum. It is dedicated to the man and his art. He is the designer and sculptor of Mount Rushmore. One of the most interesting facts I found was that Borglum had to convince Congress the Teddy Roosevelt should be on the mountain. Obviously, he did. Can you name the four presidents on Mount Rushmore?
We pulled into the museum and on the edge of the parking area is the Dahl’s Chainsaw Art. Absolutely gorgeous art with some prices that I can’t afford. We strolled around and admired the art before going into the museum.
We entered the museum and it is an audio self-guided tour. We were each given a remote control number pad with a headset attached. Each area has a number and when you get there you press the number on your pad and listen to the description of what you are viewing. Very cool. I only took one picture. It is an actual size granite eye. The detail shows a piece of stone projecting from the eye but that is what gives the eye a shadow or depth. Borglum figured this out. Very cool.
After the museum we wandered through the gift shop and then decided it was time for lunch. One young lady from the gift shop suggested Boss Burger’s and Cheesesteaks. Sounded great to us and we could easily walk there. Nancy had the Pineapple Express Burger. In addition to the burger it came with Provolone cheese (her choice), grilled pineapple, Teriyaki, ham and lettuce, tomato, and onion. The side is tater tots. I had the cheesesteak with the works (sautéed onions, green peppers) and tater tots as my side. Very good food.
After lunch we headed to the National Presidential Wax Museum. Again this was a self-guided audio tour,. Except this time you did not have any headset. You held the device up to your ear to listen about the facts of the President you were viewing. Each President was dressed as they would have been. Very interesting museum. Even some of the First Ladies were displayed. Again, we didn’t take any pictures except at the beginning of the tour. The very first exhibit is a mock up of the Press Room. It has quite the history. You can stand up and give your speech and it is even “televised” on a screen. At the end of this tour we headed home. It was quite the day.
June 3, 2022
No trips are planned for today. Actually we finished up the fire pit area and stacked some firewood. Nancy did a great job of digging out and leveling the area around the fire pit. I hopped on the Kubota BX 235 with a bucket and brought in 3 buckets of gravel. Then I went to the free firewood stack and picked up 3 buckets of firewood. I dumped it and Nancy stacked it. We have a nice little area for entertaining.
May 28, 2022
Today was a work around the house day. I emptied our tanks and had to replace one section of our sewer hose. I first opened the valve and then I noticed a pin hole leak. I immediately shut it down and let everything drain out of the hose. I replaced the bad section and proceeded with my task. The only other thing we did today was to move our fire pit. It was not in a very good position as people were sitting at angles. So we found an area a little more level but not a great distance away. Nancy even tried to dig a little around the pit to make things even more level. Now we just need to get some firewood and let the campfires begin. Actually, there is a very large pile of firewood that they cannot sell. They were going to just add it to their burn pile. The workampers said if you’re just going to burn it, can we burn it? So we have permission for free firewood.