A Quick Trip–South Dakota (Day One)
Since this was supposed to be a mini-vacation (and I wanted to wait for delivery of a package from Amazon), I didn’t set the alarm for an early wake-up. Still, between awakening early on my own and the early arrival of my package, I was able to begin my journey at 9:30 a.m. As it worked out, this was a good thing because my destination was the famous Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. I wanted a cowboy hat and knew they would have a wide selection of the genuine article in stock. The Silver Bullet’s odometer read 33,650 when I started. The Mapquest route indicated an 8.5 hour drive covering some 625 miles. With my departure time, I would only have about an hour to shop, but I tend to be the type of shopper who goes with a goal and a get-in-get-out attitude, so that should be plenty…
Home, Home from the Range
The night’s storm died away, but that Tuesday morning afterwards began still cloudy and was the coolest of the extended holiday weekend. Fortunately, it wasn’t so cool that I changed my mind about visiting Evans Plunge Mineral Springs in Hot Springs. I entered the small town around 7:30 a.m. and was able to get enough of a Wi-fi signal from my phone to find the direct route to the facilities. My timing was perfect because there weren’t many people there. I actually had the sauna to myself for several minutes. There were also few swimmers using the indoor swimming pool as I approached. I again reminded myself as I slowly walked down the steps into the shallow end that it had been decades since I swam, and what my body could do then was not the same as where things stood now. Those words of warning faded as…
… And We’re Off!
First of all, let me say that the weather was gorgeous! I’d been looking at the forecast all week, but I’ve been in the Midwest long enough now to not completely trust it to match up with reality. The reality, as it worked out, was even warmer than I expected for Memorial Day weekend, almost like the weather I’d expect at home. One of the things I appreciate about driving solo is that I can leave when I’m durn well ready to go and take as much sh** as I want without being concerned about handling it or paying extra for it. I didn’t say, however, there weren’t potential consequences to this. RB and I didn’t hit the road until early Saturday afternoon. The holiday weekend traffic was, unsurprisingly, rather heavy for Iowa and didn’t really lighten until we reached the South Dakota side of I-29. The timing worked because…
Black Hills Revisit
It's hard to believe that next summer marks the ten year anniversary of : //www.randyejones.com/GoinWest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my first big trip since I moved to Iowa "four score and seven years ago." So, instead of making the Utah national parks trip I missed last summer, I've decided to retrace most of the route one of my nieces and I took to the Black Hills of South Dakota.
My hope is not only once again to see Mt. Rushmore, which I'd finally been able to strike off my bucket list, and Crazy Horse--and find out how much closer it is to being finished, but to take RB into the Badlands National Park and to see what we can see at Devil's Tower. Plus, there's now a new site, a sculpture entitled, "Dignity," that I'm looking forward to seeing. Besides, who can drive through South Dakota and resist a stop by Wall Drug? I'm always on the lookout for a great cowboy hat. Since I only have a week, I'm not adding more until I actually know how much time I have to take it in. For now, all I know is that I want to return using a route different than I've taken before.This is route as it currently stands:
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BTW, this still allows me another week later in 2018 to visit Utah. Crossing my fingers!