Yankton, South Dakota

We arrived at our Nancy and Bob's new home in Yankton, South Dakota. They have a beautiful and large apartment in a fifty-five plus complex. After the welcome hugs they showed us where to park in the underground garage and they helped us with our bags. Their apartment has an elevator, which is just what we needed. The evening was spent in reminiscing about old times, and it was an early night as we were tired from the two days of driving. The next morning, we rested a bit before going on a walk in the park along the Missouri River. We also crossed an old railroad bridge that had an elevated/suspension roadway that had been turned into a pedestrian and bike path. It felt good to be able to walk again and to stretch out our legs after the prolonged trip. That night Nancy and Bob taught us how to play dominoes, a simple game called chicken foot. The game took quite a while and Nancy could do no wrong. She won five different hands and she easily beat all of us!

The next day they drove us to the Gavin Point Dam. The dam headquarters had exhibits about Lewis and Clark and from the overlook we could see boats lined up, fishing for paddlefish. The paddlefish do not bite and so the people were tossing rigs with treble hooks and sinkers. As soon as the rig hit the water each person would rip their rod upward hoping to snag one of the giant fish, (we never saw anyone hook up with one of the monsters).

The exhibits had a mounted golded eagle, an American indian pipe with pipestone from Minnesota, and a bull boat. The bull boat was made from a buffalo hide, (we highly reccomend the new Ken Burns documentary on American Buffalo). The road crossed the dam to a nice park and campground where we walked along the shoreline enjoying the nice day. One of the boats caught a fish, it kind of loo

ked like a perch, which is great to eat! Finding a nice picnic table, we enjoyed the lunch Nancy and Bob had packed. That evening we tried another game of Chicken Foot but again Nancy won. We decided that we should rename the game and call it Nancy’s Foot. She said that she had just been lucky, but it seemed to us that we would need another rematch the next evening before we renamed the game. The next day we had planned on leaving but high winds and rain made us rethink our decision to leave and so we stayed another day and night. As we hadn’t eaten out yet, we went out to eat at one of our favorite fast food places. Culvers. The food was good, but the hot fudge sundae was great, (I have gained back some weight and so ice cream is now pretty much out of my diet).

After lunch we went to the Mead Sanitarium. The first exhibits were dedicated to the nurses who trained and worked with the patients. One exbibit contained a straitjacket, (it made me remember when one of my fellow teachers had a break down and was subdued and hauled away), and another had an exhibit of techniques for lobotomies(barbaric).

There were other exhibits including several rooms describing the Lewis and Clark Expedition. That evening, Bob grilled steaks on his new Ninja Grill! After the delicious supper out came the dominoes. Perhaps Nancy eased off, but I won and Renita came in second. Talk about kind hosts! It had been a great stop, it always is with friends. They may visit us in Rockport or even come out to Wyoming for some fly fishing and bear watching. Clear skies

From Star Valley to Yankton South Dakota

We finished the winterization of our fifth wheel and headed south, (kind of). The plan was to cross Togwotee Pass, heading first for a short visit with our friends Nancy and Bob. However, as we neared Moran Junction Renita saw on Google Maps, that there was a traffic jam along the Pilgram Creek Road. Probably a bear jam! Changing course we drove to Pilgram Creek to see rows of cars with many photographers having tripods out all set up.

They had seen a morning grizzly and were waiting for it to make another appearance. Finding a place to park, we saw there were bear management people present and that orange cones blocked the Pilgrim Creek Road. We waited for a couple of hours but the only thing we saw were more cars. Stalling for more time we ate our lunch, but we never saw any bears> we finally gave up and so we headed for the pass. Our goal for the first day was to reach Douglas but with our delay we only made it to Casper.

The next day we planned on driving over five hundred miles to reach our friend’s new residence in Yankton, South Dakota. Following Google Maps, we crossed into Nebraska and drove parallel to the South Dakota border. The road was named the Outlaw Trail, and it was a narrow and rough old road, in need of maintenance. It was the first time we have driven through the Sand Hills of Nebraska. Below the high weathered cliffs sand dunes were everywhere. The dunes are partially covered in vegetation which has anchored them in place. A small change in climate would cause the vegetation to disappear and the dunes would move again, which would be a disaster for the ranches in the dune fields.

You could see blowouts on some of the dune faces, white areas where the vegetation was striped and the underling sand was exposed. The land seems to be hovering on the edge of a knife. With climate change will the desert soon reappear?

Crossing into South Dakota we arrived at our friend’s new home. They had sold their house in Kansas, due to the high taxes on their house and because Kansas taxes pensions and Social Security. South Dakota does not have any income tax, (like Wyoming). Being welcomed with open arms we were glad to visit their new place and to rest for a few days before we headed south to our place in Texas! Clear skies ps The sand dunes are on the flat plains below the cliffs. IT is difficult to see them as they are very gradual slopes covered with the short grass prairie. In places you can see the sand peeking through and even places where lagre spots are bare of any vegetation.

The Black Hills, Rock Hounding for Teepee Canyon Agate

We left Iowa, heading for the Black Hills. The first day’s drive was a long one, but Renita took a turn behind the wheel! It gave me a chance to take a nap and relax from the constant monitoring of tires, oil pressure, engine temperature, transmission temperature, and fluid level, that makes sure that everything is ok.

We drove to Mitchel, South Dakota, where we found an inexpensive campsite, thank you Passport America, and of course went to Cabela’s. We needed to buy two things, sleeping bag liners for Yellowstone and I needed a new raincoat as mine no longer keeps me as dry as I would like.

The next day we continued our trip towards Rapid City. It has been a while since we drove across Interstate 90 and as we neared the Missouri River the large statue of Sacagawea came into view. We had already passed the rest area exit and so we had to settle for some quick images from the front seat of the truck.

The drive was uneventful, and my highlight was when Renita took another stretch behind the wheel. We have made the drive across South Dakota so many times, (we lived in eastern Wyoming and drove to Iowa each year to visit our parents), that the endless highway stretch seemed to go on and on.

Arriving at Rapid City we stayed at another Passport America campground, again at half price. The next day we had plans to go rock hounding at Teepee Canyon and visiting a few rock shops on the way back. Packing a picnic lunch, we first stopped at a rock shop in Keystone where I purchased the worst made fossil assemble I have ever seen.

The reason I purchased it was, so I could dissolve the glue and recover the fossil ammonites form the bondo, (car body repair filler). These were relatively unique South Dakota fossils that were found on private land and would allow us to make jewelry from them for legal sale, (we can find them ourselves and collect them, but we cannot sell them, however our children can sell them as part of an estate sale, stupid).

Driving to Tepee Canyon we noticed the mining that had taken place since our last visit. Because the agate nodules are in-situ, people were able to lay claim and mine the hard rock. Because it is open pit mining they don’t have to reclaim their mess!

We walked along the same road way hillside where we have found agates for the past forty years and still found a few good pieces. Driving to a closed road. We parked along the highway and after lunch hiked in.

Not seeing any claims markers, we climbed the hill side to take a closer look at the previous mining.

A year ago, we had watched a movie on fortification agates, which included some footage on digging techniques. You could see where huge slabs had been mined and unearthed and left in overburden piles as the miners had uncovered the agate bearing layers. You could also see where people had dug nodules and then cracked them on large slabs, leaving then as they did not contain any agate.

All of this had taken place after the arson set Jasper Fire of 2000, as it had uncovered the agate layers and a mini agate rush had taken place. We wondered if the convicted arsonist is still in prison, (she got twenty years)?

Returning to the truck we drove back to Custer. A fatal motorcycle accident had just occurred, just before we arrived, and the victim still lay alongside the road, (please wear a helmet). A State Trooper and Park Police were already there so we said a prayer for the person as we drove by.

Our last stop of the day took us past the Crazy Horse monument. We have passed by this ongoing carving for forty years, (I took students on field trips for thirty years as I taught high school and college geology classes,) and we could see changes since the last time we were here. The detail of the hand and arm is being formed along with some roughing out of the horses’ head.

Our last stop was at one of our favorite rock shop, The Rock Shed, in Keystone. Renita and I found some much needed ruby in fuchite and gold and blue tiger iron. Now we have a lifetime supply and of course we won’t have to buy anymore, lol).

Today we are heading west with our goal being Casper, Wyoming. The wind is supposed to pick up today and so we are getting an early start. Now that we are back in the area we lived for thirty years we feel like we have arrived home. If all goes well, we will be in our summer home by this weekend!  Clear skies.

Rapid City, Friends, Teepee Canyon Agates, and Golf

From York we drove to Ogallala, Nebraska. It was an easy drive and we stopped in time for a quick trip to the Petrified Wood Art Museum and Gallery. The main reason for the stop was to study the unique music boxes made from blocks cut and shaped from petrified wood. I tried to make one this winter and as most projects it left a lot to be desired.
The next morning we hooked up for a long days drive to Rapid City, South Dakota. There we would meet up with our friends Bob and Nancy Bentley who had retired this year and moved to Rapid City. I taught with Bob in our Science Department and Nancy had just retired from her position as a Junior High Counselor.

Last year we had made the trip to the Black Hills hoping to hunt for the rare Teepee Canyon agate. Unfortunately a late spring winter storm dashed our plans shutting down the area and covering the rocks with a heavy snow.
This year warm weather allowed us to head out for Teepee Canyon and Bob and Nancy joined us for a day of agate hunting. The hardest thing about agate hunting is that most people have no idea what they are looking for but after a few hours Bob and Nancy both found great agates!

The next day Bob and I went golfing at a course right next to their new apartment and Bob gave me some much appreciated lessons. He was a golf coach at our high school, and had three teams that won state championships. Taking on a harder task he taught me how to play golf and he gave me pointers as we walked eighteen holes, (your hitting the ball straight but you are aiming to the right).

I didn't set the course on fire but I did have three pars and I was pretty happy with that as I haven't picked up a golf club since last July. When I took up golf  Bob told me to just have fun and try to play bogey golf. The idea is to enjoy each day and to smile when I hit a nice tree, and I hit several.
We also spent several days looking for clothes for our daughters August wedding, but to no avail.

The wedding theme is for a nineteen twenties wedding and I don't like the zoot suit gangster look. I also don't want a flimsy Halloween costume so the search continues. I will probably be forced to buy something online, hoping it will fit my expanded waist.
We had a great time in the Black Hills and now Star Valley beckons so today we are going to hook up and drive to Casper, Wyoming. There we plan on spending several days as winds of forty plus miles per hour are forecast and I don't drive in such conditions. Thursday the winds should abate and then we are going to try to make it to our summer base camp/home. Clear skies

Safely in Star Valley

The sun warmed things up and the snow quickly melted, leaving the roads dry. Hooking up we left Rapid City and drove two hundred and sixty miles to Casper, Wyoming where we stayed the night.
The next morning we decided to push it and so we crossed the Wind River Mountains at South Pass.
From there we descended into the Red Desert and our route paralleled the Oregon Trail. Oregon Butte, Eden Valley, (and ts famous fish and petrified wood beds), passed quickly. Both are places we hope to prospect this summer.
Crossing the Green, we turned north and saw a herd of wild horses. They were in their usual haunts and we were glad to see that the wild horse roundup didn't catch them all. Fontenelle and then Kemmerer where the fish beds again beckoned. Perhaps we will dig again for fish this year. Renita was driving now and so I rested and watched the landscape go by.

The wind picked up and I returned to the drivers seat. Renita spotted the first pair of sand hill cranes. They are in their breeding colors, a bright brownish red, so different from the somber grey color we are used to in southern Texas.
Reaching the Salt Pass, elevation 7600', we stopped for a moment to check our brakes before heading down to Smoot and Afton and Grover/. No one was manning the check station for watercraft, (we had already been checked at Sundance Wyoming), but still we stopped to make sure we were following the law.

Thayne was just a little further down the road and turning east we reached our summer base camp, Star Valley RV Resort, where we have purchased a lot. There is lot of snow just above us and it will be awhile before we fish the Grey River and push off our kayaks to float the Salt River.The days drive was three hundred and ninety miles, a huge day for us but now we can rest as we have no plans but to sit and enjoy the area till September.
Right now a strong low pressure area is bringing rain and snow at higher elevations. The snow has descended to seven thousand feet but we are at sixty two hundred so its just rain. Today looks like a good day to work on some of the stone and fossils we have purchased, a craft day!
Clear skies

Snowing really Messes Up the Rock Hounding, Rapid City South Dakota

Its Mothers Day and Renita got a special gift from Mother Nature, A massive snow storm in Rapid City! As its the first time we have been caught in a snow storm since we have been full time rvers, I thought i would share our preparations for being snowed in!
Now most people would stock up on groceries, but being rockhounders we took off for a day of searching for Teepee Canyon Agates, after all that was the main reason we came here in the first place.

The day was full of rain and so we limited ourselves to the rock shops as we really didn't want to tromp and wade through mud. After seeing the prices I have decided that the one piece we have for sale is priced way to cheap!
Still we were able to purchase several small pieces, think rings, and we were also able to purchase a piece of Fairburn agate. Another purchase that was unique to the Black Hills were four ammonites/cephlopods from the Pierre Shale, all from private land and all therefore able to be fashioned into jewelry and legally sold.

We did drive by Mount Rushmore but stopped at turnouts for photos. Having been here many times before we didn't want to pay the eleven dollars for parking our truck. Privatizing Mount Rushmore's parking lot is something that really grinds me.
As the day passed we started to notice deer out grazing. Although that's a sure sign of a major storm nearing, the radar was still free from snow and we continued our quest. Of all the rock shops we visited The Rock Shed in Keystone was our clear favorite.

We did finally get back to our fifth wheel and did do some preparations. The two main things we did were to slide in all three slides and to unhook the water supply as its going to get below freezing. We also purchased a catalytic heater in case the electricity went out for an extended period of time.
So we are dry and warm and watching the drifts build up outside. Molly isn't sure what to think and is hopping through the snow when we take her out for a walk. Its been a while since she saw snow! Everyone here is thankful for the moisture so snow is always good here! Still we are wishing for clear skies!

From Grand Isle to Rapid City South Dakota, A quick Run Across Tornado Alley

We delayed our departure from Grand Isle, Louisiana as another huge storm brought heavy rains, high winds and local flooding. Leaving the next day we had to drive through fresh water as the water table here has risen from the deluge,
Our first day was a long day as we drove three hundred miles to Beaumont, Texas. The next morning we headed to the Escapee Park in Livingston, Texas. There we did laundry and stayed an extra day to celebrate Renita's birthday.

After a two night stay it was time to cross tornado alley. A break in the storms appeared and so we did four three hundred mile legs in a row. The first night we ended up in Ardmore, Oklahoma, day two in Dodge City, Kansas, the third day found us parking in Ogallala, Nebraska, and the fourth day we ended up in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Here we had a nice day and then the temperatures have dropped. Snow is forecast for the upper elevation on Mothers Day, so we are resting here for a week before crossing Wyoming and ending up in Star Valley at our summer base camp.
Hopefully we will have a break in the weather here as we want to go rock hounding at some of our favorite places. The forecasts don't look good but we really love the Black Hills and Rapid City so its always a good place to sit and recuperate from the long haul. Clear skies

Resting and Recuperating In Rapid City

We left Kansas and headed into Nebraska with another three hundred and forty mile day. Renita was starting to feel like she was getting a scratchy throat and we both hoped she wasn’t coming down with something. At least the wind died down and we had an uneventful drive.

The next morning we only had three hundred and twenty eight miles left till we reached Rapid City and so we headed north through Nebraska. As we passed through Chadron we both remembered when our son graduated from there and how nice the college was for him.

Shortly after entering South Dakota, Renita suddenly exclaimed, OMG, as she noticed snow banks! Later we learned that the park we stay at near Rapid had forty four inches of snow and the people there were stuck for two weeks before they finally were able to leave.

Sticking to our goal we passed numerous places to rock hound and even passed Bobs Rock Shop near Hermosa. Believe it or not we actually have all the rocks we need, for now anyway. Renita was feeling worse and so we decided to rest for a bit in Rapid City before our years first boon dock adventure at Keyhole State Park.

I tried to set up my doctor’s appointment and couldn’t get in till next Tuesday so we set in for a week of rest and repairs on the fifth wheel. It always seems like there is something to fix, but it’s kind of like when we had a stick and brick house, the honey do list was also never ending.

 

So before you know it we have been here for almost a week, and that’s ok, as the doctor’s visit is a must to get new prescriptions. One of the difficulties of living on the road is the necessity of making yearly doctor’s visits, and you do like to be a little consistent with our health concerns.

Anyway tomorrow we head to Wyoming, for the rest of the summer. We have already heard from our Texas friend Mark who is going to meet us in Star Valley for a week in late May of rock hounding!  So another year of prospecting begins, maybe we will even find something valuable. It doesn’t really matter either way as it’s the time spent looking that is the most fun. Clear skies.

Waiting out the Cold in Rapid City

We continued our northward sprint by driving three legs from Oklahoma to Kansas, next to Nebraska, and finally a leg to Rapid City, South Dakota. The first two legs were really pretty boring as we drove past wheat fields and oil wells and that was pretty much it. The third leg became scenic as we drove into the pine trees north of Chadron, Nebraska and as we skirted the Black Hills.
Of course we had to stop at the Cabelas in Sidney and there I bought a new fly rod and reel. Now I had been using one I got from my Grandpa Huber, so long ago, and it still works and catches fish but it is an old automatic and is extremely awkward when casting and reeling in. I had already decided to buy the best reel I could find and so now I am a proud owner of a Ross reel and matching fly rod(I sold a gold necklace that I had bought years ago). I hope to break it in in Wyoming before we head across the border and I have even located my trout flies.
Arriving at Rapid, we enjoyed two nice days and then the bottom dropped out of the thermometer. Temps dipped to the thirties at night and the wind howled as rain buffeted our fifth wheel. At least it wasn't snow and it did snow in Custer South, Dakota and the Bighorns of Wyoming. So we were at a good place, Three Flags Rv Park, where it cost eighteen bucks a night,(Passport America), for full hookups with thirty amp power.

On the way up I had noticed that the storage cover, wooden. had broken and so I decided to make a new cover for our heavy and awkward generator. By having it in the back of the pickup it allows us to easily connect to the fifth wheel. As we do a lot of boondocking and dry camping we can charge our battery banks and run the furnace as needed,(and its running right now off the batteries).
We also felt we needed to replace our tires, before our trip to Alaska, and so we went to a Michelein dealer who had the tires I wanted, XPS Ribs. They only cost, ahem, fourteen hundred and fifty dollars but our old tires were damaged from the suspension collapse and we wanted the best. Even though it meant we would have to forgo buying more rocks it was a necessary purchase, so now we have new tires that should last quite a while!
So now we have reached Wyoming and are dry camping. Three buck white tails approached our back window and an owl paid a visit last night so all is well. Our next order of business is for us to do our yearly doctor visits, getting our prescriptions renewed and seeing the kids. Clear skies

Heading to a Family Reunion

Renita's family is having a reunion in Northern Minnesota and so we left the Red Desert and headed east and north, bound for Ely, Minnesota. The first night we traveled across the Wind River mountains and spent the night back at Boysen State Park, the Tuff Creek Campground.
It was quite a different place as the lake is now full from all the runoff and most of the campground is  flooded. We were still able to back into a spot and we could see where the lake is going down, so we felt safe, except for the mosquito swarm.
I waded along the shore to a place where I had caught walleyes during a tournament, years ago. Armed with my favorite crankbait I cast into a swarm of minnows and hooked and lost a fish on the first cast. Two more casts and I landed a nice eating size walleye.
With visions of fresh walleye for dinner I continued casting and soon caught a second. Not that big but enough to make a meal for us and so I waded back to our fifth wheel where Renita waited with the camera. It isn't often that we can camp for a night and catch dinner, not as often as we would like so the day was extra special.
The next morning we left Boysen and drove through Wind River Canyon, and if you haven't driven through there its a road worth taking. We traveled through Thermopolis and crossed the Big Horns driving to Keyhole State Park where we got the same spot we had camped in June.
Another morning and back on the road again but this time a shorter drive to Rapid City where we got a spot at Three Flags Rv. Now I don't usually talk about rv parks but this is our first rv park with full hookups since June fifth, we have spent that much time boondocking in the Red Desert.
I stood there for a while before I remembered we could hook up a hose for water instead of hauling it to our fifth wheel. We are living high on the hog for a couple of days before heading further east to more boondocking! Clear skies

Teepee Canyon Agate, Somewhere in the Black Hills Of South Dakota..

We left Minneapolis and headed west for the Black Hills of South Dakota.  The first night we boon docked at Cabelas, where I only spent 124 bucks while camping for free and then we journeyed further west to Rapid City. It's one of our favorite places and its also a great place to rock hound, among which is the rare and expensive Teepee Canyon Agate.
Now the Teepee Canyon itself was named by George Custer who, while exploring the Black Hills the year before his massacre, named the canyon because it was filled teepees. There aren't any teepees there anymore but a small house marks the valley, which is just west of Jewel Cave National Monument.
I had led field trips of students there for the past thirty years but I had never really done anything with the agate, only gave it away. We hadn't yet learned any lapidary and the thought of all the agate I gave away made me want more but this time to work and wire wrap.

As we neared the hillside we passed through the huge area devastated by an arsonist and it was pretty apparent that the area would be mostly prairie for a long time. Parking I grabbed my pick, a bucket and our new crack hammer and headed up the slope. Renita opted to work the bottom scree and  it made sense as I had often found nice material there in the past
The hillside itself was man made as the road was widened and the area you see me in the picture is the area where the agate is contained in hard chert nodules. The nodules themselves are embedded in a thick and hard layer of limestone in the Minnelusa Formation. One way to mine the agate is by driving pry bars into the stone and slowly working the rock out to get at the nodules.
You would think that after all this work they would take the nodules home and saw them but many break the nodules with their hammers, destroying the agate and sending pieces flying. I was looking for the pieces.

Quickly my bucket filled up as I found cabochon sized pieces of the beautiful agate as well as large nodules that had been discarded but still deserved to be sawed. Renita watched me as I slipped and almost fell over backward down the sharp rocks but luckily I only cut one leg.
Being more careful I slowly moved the bucket down the hillside. I showed Renita my pieces and she led me to her five piles of possibilities. Looking at them carefully I added many to the bucket, hmm more rock for the fifth wheel, lots more rock. Our field season is just beginning and already we have added about two months worth of rough to saw into slabs. Is it possible to have too much rock?
Tracing our way back to Rapid City we stopped at several rock shops where more rock begged me to buy it but I actually resisted the temptation as I do have some control, not much but some. Perhaps I can ship some rock to our friend Mark and we can share the rock after he cuts it. Clear skies