Monday, September 6, 2021

17 Days of mostly fun!

 Seventeen days of fun in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  The first night we boondocked/dry camped at a place called Dude ranch on the Missouri River. Boondocking means no hookups, no electric, water or sewer. We don't need that in the camper, we have generators and tanks for water etc. It was so peaceful there even with 6 other campers, we were all spread out. 


Before we crossed the river, we pulled into the rest area and met Destiny.  Wow is she magnificent!  Even hubby enjoyed seeing her.  One just doesn't realize just how tall she is until you are standing at the base of her. 

Next stop was boondocking south of Lead, SD for 4 nights and riding some ATV trails in that area. We met up with hubby's cousin, wife and their friends to ride with. We had rain on Friday and we chose to drive the Spearfish Canyon in the truck.

 On the way to the Hills our truck had a warning light come on. So we stopped at a service dept. in Spearfish and they said to come in on Monday morning.  We then found a campground there and booked 3 nights. On Monday afternoon they said they had to order a whole new exhaust system and it would take 5-7 days coming by truck from Michigan.  WHAT...we hadn't planned on being in Spearfish at all.  We ended up there for 11 days.  What he hadn't told us was that was 5-7 days was after it shipped and didn't include the weekend.  We were lucky the campground could accommodate us that long.  We had a beautiful spot, the back of our toy hauler opened to a nearby walking path and a stream, yes we could see part of the stream and hear the water. 

The weather was gorgeous there too, no humidity and 70's and low 80's.  We now can say we know the ATV trails there really well, haha. That was our past time. It had rained there on that Friday so the trails were muddy, ummm not just muddy, there were cows all over there and you know what that means.  Our ATV got pretty dirty!  

Here are a couple sites we saw as we rode around on the ATV.

We were kinda upset it was taking so long to get the part in but we made the best of our time sightseeing.


I did get to a couple of quilt shops out there. I might have bought a couple more panels. I couldn't resist getting a Gnome one! And I found a red truck panel, one that I had made up last year and promptly sold it, looked for more then and couldn't find. This shop only had one left so I snatched it up!  I did have my sewing machine along and pieced 5 runners in our down time.  On the way home we were able to stop and see my old roommate from single days. She and her hubby live on a farm and let us camp there overnight. It was great getting to see them as it had been 14 years since we were together. 

My question for all of is have you ever been to the Black Hills?  We have several times and did all the touristy things then so we didn't really do that this time. So much beauty in this area. I highly recommend it.  Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend.




12 comments:

  1. Well, if you have to be broken down, then Spearfish is a beautiful spot for it to happen. We love the Black Hills. We went more often when our daughter lived in Rapid City, and my husband’s sister lived by Lake Pactola. I’m glad you were able to make the best of your extra time.

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  2. In spite of the problem getting the part for your truck, you were in a beautiful place and made the most of it! I love the Black Hills area - we've had many vacations up there over the years. My son went to college in Chadron, Nebraska, so it was a close and enjoyable area to visit. That one photo looks like the Needles Highway, not too far from Custer State Park - beautiful!

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  3. On our three week trip through the National Parks out west we took a drive thru of the Badlands. After heavy rains it was very muddy but, hey, when would we get there again?!! We tried to see Mt Rushmore one day but the fog was absolutely opaque! I mean really white out! So we found Custer State Park nearby and hiked through there. Very nice hike.

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  4. Aside from the technical difficulties, it looks like a wonderful trip!

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  5. oh no - I hate having vehicle problems when we camp -- we had an air conditioning problem with the car that we tow once and ended up in Laramie WY for two extra days - went on to Utah and the same problem happened which ended up being the fault of the Laramie people and had it back in the shop for a second time in Utah that time with them billing the Honda place in WY for the trouble!! We have been to the places you mention and it is so pretty - saw the big sculpture - amazing it was. We enjoyed Custer State Park In SD we haven't done the ATVs not into that but love the area and the campgrounds and parks

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  6. Oh, sorry that your trip was disrupted, but glad you were able to settle in and make the most of it. I admire your jumping on those ATVs!

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  7. If you have to have a breakdown, it's best to have it when there's such a wonderful place to be able to have an extended stay in! Haven't been there yet, hoping to do a National Park tour over the next couple of years so definitely putting SD and those ATVs on my "must do" list!

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  8. I've been to the Black Hills! We used to spend summers on our land in Lemmon, SD, and always drove through the BH getting out to our fall roads. It sounds like a wonderful trip, even with the breakdown.

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  9. Wow, Vicki! Sounds like a great time. Love your photos, so much beauty out there. Sorry about your truck and I hope you were happy with the repair work.

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  10. It's such a pain when we have car troubles on a trip (been there, done that). Glad you could camp. Looks like it was a fun trip despite the car troubles. Nope, I've never been to the Black Hills. I'd like to, one day.

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  11. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip! If you have to break down, Spearfish is the place to be. There is so much to see and do. I live just outside of Rapid City and we love exploring in the hills. Dignity is magnificent.

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  12. Sounds like a great trip and that you made the most of being stuck in an unexpected place. Sounds like you had a great campsite, too! I love being able to hear the water.

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