Oct 22 - 23, 2019 Some new places and really good people.

Oct 22
We spent some time before bed last night plotting our route through Wyoming and into South Dakota. We use a Garmin RV660 which we really like but the learning curve for plotting a path has been a challenge. We're getting better at it but it can be tough. The Garmin tries to keep us off narrow roads and away from low overhangs etc because you can program in the vehicle height and length. It also allows you to alter that path for a preferred route. If it won't build a route that way then there is likely something it is trying to avoid. Well I wanted to go a little east of Glendive on highway 94 then south at Wibaux on highway 7 with a first stop at Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. I read about a 10 year old girl that climbed to the top of this 900 foot rock with her dad this summer and it is so close, I want to see it. Highway 7 was tough to put in the GPS and now we know why. When we turned south at Wibaux the GPS directed us to the right into the residential area. A road sign said to go left to highway 7 south, I turned left, cursing the GPS. About 200 yards ahead was another turn to the right and a sign for a bridge height of 13' 6" which might clear us but it would be super close. Exactly what the GPS is supposed to protect us from! I found a spot to do a U turn and followed the path the GPS showed to get around the low railroad bridge. Another lesson learned. 
The cool thing about the new route is it took us past this really old church in Wibaux. We never would have seen it if we didn't get redirected.

Beautiful old church in a really small town.

Heading south in ranch country.

Grain elevator in Baker.

Cool countryside.

We got back on highway 7 south and other than being a little narrow and a few potholes and rough spots it was great. This is cattle ranch country and there were some amazing homes set back from the highway and lots of cattle. Lots of rolling hills and we are definitely gaining elevation closer to 5000 feet. There is more snow in the ditches but it was a nice drive. We passed through Ekalaka, Montana, I said the name so many times Leslie was getting annoyed lol. It just rolls off your tongue. Ekalaka, Eeeekalaka haha!

Elevation makes a big difference.

We called ahead to the Devils Tower Monument to make sure that we could park the rig there and yes they have big rig parking so we can definitely go see it. We arrived at the gate to the monument and paid for an annual national parks pass, $70 USD. These passes pay back easily with the savings on entrance fees. It's a steep drive up to the visitors center but not terrible and there was lots of room to park and get out for a walk around. They recently had snow but it's only on the edges now and in the shadows. The trail around Devils Tower is "no dogs allowed" so we just walked Margaret around the parking area a couple times, enough to get her soaking wet in the slush, and put her back in the truck for a bit. Leslie and I went for a walk on the path around the base but not the whole thing. We want to be in South Dakota way before dark and this trail could easily take an hour or so with picture stops so we'll get a few pics and get back on the road. It's a cool stop though, well worth it.

Our first clear view of Devils Tower.

Red rocks on the way to the tower...beautiful

On the path at the base. These rocks are from the tower.

The Tower looks different from different angles.

A little info.

They close the tower to climbing to observe the native spiritual time in July.

Of course a Tower selfie.

After a really good walk on the path we got back in the truck, refreshed and ready to head for Custer, South Dakota. We're hungry though and a lady at the monument told us about a small restaurant not far from us so we're stopping for a burger to go. Really good food from a small Mom & Pop place, nice. Leslie grabbed a pic of their "jackalope" collection lol.

The elusive Wyoming jackalope haha.

We plugged in the address for Jim & Barb's place south of Custer and hit the road. We're excited to stop here for a couple days to get to know them better.

South Dakota ! Never been here before.

Coming into Custer S.D.

The sign kind of says it...

We met Jim & Barb in Quartzsite Az. briefly a couple years ago and we have followed their awesome blog for a few years now. Check it out. It's a great read. Jim & Barb blog  It just shows you how great this RV lifestyle can be that even though you don't know people really well you can stop and say hello and enjoy fantastic hospitality. We had messaged Jim prior to inviting ourselves to their place lol. He kindly gave us GPS directions and welcomed us even though he really doesn't know if we're axe murderers or not. We did get props from the Colibaba's which carries a lot of weight in the RV world. They assured Jim & Barb that they should be safe for a couple days haha.

Not far south of Custer we turned off the highway and found their driveway and climbed a small hill to their awesome place. They are in the process of building their own house, a huge task, so they have 50 amp power, water & a sewer connection right in the driveway that they used while building. Absolutely perfect for us!

We said hello to Barb first as Jim was at the neighbours place in the side by side. Barb showed us where we should park and just as we got parked Jim got back. Big hello to Jim and they showed us all the hookups, then let us get set up.

Not a good picture but we parked to the left of the black trailer.

Barb has made Instant Pot ribs for dinner which is so nice. They went inside while we got set and told us to come in when we're ready. We'll have a quick happy hour and chat for a bit before supper. We brought some First Trax Brown Ale from Canada for Barb to try but sadly left Jim out. Sorry buddy. 

This is going to be great though! What a view out our window to the south of their property. Beautiful place. Thank you so much Jim & Barb for everything. 

Jim & Barb with Daisy. Dakota is a little shy at this point.

We enjoyed an absolutely fantastic rib dinner with creme brulee (spelling?) for dessert. Fabulous meal! We only stayed for a little while after dinner enjoying a glass of wine. It has been a long day already and we're looking forward to tomorrow. Great day!

Oct 23- Jim had let us know last night that when the garage door is up then they are up and ready for company. That's an easy sign but Leslie and I are not up with the sun most days anyway. We got our coffee and got ready to roll and we noticed Jim out in the yard. Right outside our dining area window is a small flock of wild turkeys! How cool is this, I've never seen a wild turkey up close. Of course we have a picture of this.

Jim said they are there every day, very cool.

I ventured out to see what Jim was up to and he was working on the skid steer in the shed in front of our rig. The release mechanism for the bucket loader isn't working for some reason. Jim has already tested the hydraulics and he has pressure so he feels it's electrical. We actually ended up calling the dealer in St Paul Alberta to find out where the fuse box is on this thing! Man it's well hidden behind a panel that is the cup holder. We did learn how to tilt the whole cab trying to find the fuse box lol. Anyway, it wasn't a fuse. Jim said that the switch he is using has no light and the others do. Okay maybe a bad switch. Lets remove the switch column and check that. Sounds easy right? Not so much. We took off every visible fastener on the column and it still wouldn't budge. Another call to New Holland in St. Paul, thanks Justin, and he told us in polite terms that getting the switches off is a "bear". Insert your own adjective for bear. At that point Jim called a halt to the project. We're afraid of breaking the plastic or wrecking a switch trying to remove it so we just stopped. He is taking it to Rapid City tomorrow to get fixed.

(Jim let us know that it was a mouse attack on the wiring to the switches, we were so close to finding that!)

It is a really windy morning but the sun is getting warmer so we are going to do a walking tour of their property. There are lots of trees on their place so we'll be out of the wind. They own a beautiful piece of land and have just made a deal to add another 18 acres to the west side of their place. It protects them from someone building too close. 

Leslie, Barb and Dakota in the trees.

You almost can't see Jim in his camo coat lol.

We walked the fence lines on 3 sides and I'm disappointed we didn't get a picture of the valley from the back of their property. It's a beautiful view. Very easy to understand why they want to live here. It's amazing! 

Next up we did a tour of the house build which is still very much in progress. Most of the work is just the two of them and they are doing an excellent job. Use the link above and check it out. They have done some great work in some really high places. Good job guys. We understand in a small way, after our garage build, what you are doing.

Next up we jumped into Jim's truck for a driving tour of the area. This is so good. We really wanted a chance to look around this area but we didn't think we would get a chance. We got a sneak preview of where we are having dinner tonight, The Hitchrail Saloon, for burger night. 

Cool looking place with great burgers. Real close to Sturgis and the bike rally.

Next up we stopped by their building mentor's house for a couple minutes. He is building a very similar structure on his property which is definitely off the beaten path. Good thing Jim is driving. We would never have seen all of this as tourists without a local guide. Somehow we ended up in Custer State Park and the Black Hills National Forest on some unbelievably winding roads. There are switchbacks and what Jim called "pigtails".  Much like a clover leaf on a highway only tighter and smaller. The views from these roads are stunning. So glad we're not driving so that I can just look out the window. We pulled into a small lake and got out for a selfie.

Lakota Lake.

We continued the tour climbing higher in elevation and Jim stopped just before a tunnel. I didn't see it at first but through the tunnel you could plainly see Mt Rushmore framed by the tunnel! 

Hard to see in this pic.

Easier to see now.

Views from the road that we were on.

Jim got us right to the base of Mt Rushmore, awesome!

I'm not getting all of this in the right order but the driving tour we got was off the charts. There is no way we could have found all these places in 4 hours. Thanks guys!

We also got to see Sylvan Lake, South Dakota edition. (There is a Sylvan Lake in Alberta too) and then a stop at Crazy Horse Memorial.

Beautiful spot but definitely cool. Sylvan Lake S.D.

Then a stop at Crazy Horse.

Was not as complete as I thought it was. You can just make out the profile.

Picture taken by Jim & Barb's friend Phil. He works here.

One of the museum displays, really cool place.

A teepee with Native Artwork. So much to see.

We have seen so much that we didn't expect to see and we really appreciate Jim & Barb taking the time to show us around. We know they have more important stuff to do but they are just awesome and they really blew us away with this tour.

We drove back to their place and everyone let their dogs out of the rigs. We've been gone a while now. After a short walk around with the dogs we jumped back into Jim's truck to head to Hitchrail for burger night. It was great of course. Burger and a beer is just comfort food.

The Hitchrail selfie, happy crew.

We went back to their house after supper and joined Jim & Barb in their rig for a nightcap. After some great conversation we were all ready for a good sleep. A long day but oh so worth it. Thanks again guys. Such awesome hospitality on short notice and with full hookups to boot! Fabulous stop along our way south.

Wow this is already a good size blog so we'll stop here for now and start a new post for our trip to Ft. Collins. We met a couple from Ft. Collins while we were staying at High Chaparral last December and we are going to say hi and get some work done on the trailer at their dealership, RV World in Ft Collins, Colorado. 

Cheers everybody!