On Saturday we moved from Americas Mailbox campground to Ellsworth Air Force Base FamCamp. We traveled a whopping 3 miles (east on I-90) after topping off the diesel tank at Flying J which is right next to Americas Mailbox on exit 61. As I mentioned in my last post – the campground loops at the FamCamp were full but they have room at their “overflow” lot for $10. The “overflow” lot is located separate from the FamCamp. It’s a few miles at the back of the base and has 30 Amp electric but no water or sewer. That works for us, especially at that price.
Main gate at Ellsworth AFB, Box Elder SD.Bomber next to the main gate at Ellsworth AFB. It’s in the Air & Space Museum next door.Water tower on Ellsworth AFB, Box Elder, SD.
Here we are parked in a row with the other rigs at the “overflow” lot on the back side of Ellsworth AFB.
We hung around the Air Force Base (AFB) on Saturday and visited the Post Exchange (PX), or Base Exchange (BX) as it’s called on an AFB.
On Sunday, we jumped into the Silverado and headed north on I-90…
Box Elder water tower (our new “hometown”).
we turned west at Sturgis on 14A until we reached the town of Deadwood, SD some 50 miles later…
Click HERE and HERE for more info on the historic town of Deadwood.
We spent the whole day just wandering around town checking things out on this lazy Sunday.
Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Stilla, Kaan, and little Coach on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Site of Saloon where Wild Bill was shot on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Main Street in Deadwood, SD.
We enjoyed dinner in a courtyard with live entertainment.
Stilla and Coach at a inner courtyard bar/grill on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Trolley on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Stilla, Kaan, and little Coach enjoying ice cream cones on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.
We also visited a miniature railroad set up in the basement of one of the shops. Kaan really enjoyed watching the train go around.
Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.
Click HERE for more info on this miniature railroad.
Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.Miniature Railroad in a basement on Main Street in Deadwood, SD.
If you’re ever in Deadwood, be sure to check out this attraction. You have to appreciate all the work that goes into these… and best of all it’s practically free. Donations are accepted and it costs $1 to make the train start moving.
Deadwood was nice, and we only left $40 at the slot machines 🙂 Unfortunately, we missed the daily gunfight that takes place on the main street because it was Sunday – the only day of the week they don’t do the show.
We left Deadwood and took the scenic route towards Lead. Then we took 385 through the Black Hills to get to 44, and then through downtown Rapid City until we got back on I-90 for the remaining 5 mile drive to Ellsworth AFB again. About 75 miles for the return trip, (125 miles for the day).
We’re still touring around with my Dad and stepmom Elaine. So we left the Silverado at the Heartland RV Park and I chauffeured my Dad’s Jeep as we toured the south end of the park in search of buffalo. Grandson Kaan had never seen a real buffalo. Our first stop was at this Wildlife Center / Ranger Station…
where we asked the friendly ranger for the best place to see some buffalo…
He told us about a 8 mile dirt road loop just outside the ranger station parking lot. He said we’d be sure to catch sight of about 400 head of buffalo there. And he was spot on – after a couple miles we saw…
After driving ever-so-slowly past the buffalo and taking what seemed like hundreds of pictures, we got back on the main road (WIldlife Loop Rd) and soon found ourselves blocked by a herd of wild burros…
Then we drove up Mt. Coolidge to view the fire tower. At 6,023 feet Mount Coolidge is the highest point in the central part of Custer State Park.
Elaine and Stilla on the Mt. Coolidge Fire Tower, Custer State Park, SD.
And now – I couldn’t resist the opportunity to put in a couple of old pictures from 2006 – which is the last time Stilla and I were here in the Black Hills. We attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally:
And here’s an even older picture that I dug up from 1996, same bike, same Stilla – parked with a view of Mount Rushmore in the background.
Stilla on the Heritage in the Black HIlls, SD circa 1996-97
We tried to get the same picture in 2006, but now the road has guard-rails and the tall trees now hide Mount Rushmore from view – same bike, same Stilla, same spot…
Stilla on the Heritage in the Black Hills, SD. 2006
After our scenic tour through ‘memory lane’ and Custer State Park – we finally ended up at the Crazy Horse Memorial and paid a $28 parking fee for our carload. The visitors center is free and consists of a museum, gift shop, restaurant, theater, sculptors workshop, gallery, etc., We watched the documentary film in the theater, toured the welcome center, and visited the restaurant. Great place to visit if you haven’t been. Click HERE for more info from my friend wikipedia, or HERE for the official website.
Here are the pictures (below) that I selected of our day at the Crazy Horse Memorial:
Stilla and Coach in front of the Welcome Center at Crazy Horse Monument.Stilla, Kaan, Dad, Elaine at Crazy Horse Monument.
When we got back to the campground, we met up with our FCRV friends Biff & Linda again who had been entertaining some old friends of their own for the day on a tour through Custer State Park. We all drove over to a local Pizza joint for some evening food and conversation.
And that’s all for our Sunday.
On Monday, we packed up and headed over to the Badlands. We took 79 north out of Hermosa and then I-90 east. I took the lead, while my Dad followed in his rig. We stopped at Wall Drug for lunch. Now if you’ve never been to Wall Drug, you’re missing out on a pretty cool tourist trap. Click HERE for their official website or HERE for more info on the roadsideamerica.com site.
We were able to find a parking spot easily, but as soon as we did, 4 or 5 other rigs rolled in beside us. We left the generator running so we could leave little dog “Coach” in the Coach with the AC on.
Stilla, Elaine, Dad in the Wall Drug parking lot.
Wall Drug main street:
Yup, got a couple T-Shirts here at the Harley shop:
And here are some more pictures (below) in and around Wall Drug:
Our grandson Kaan got to pet a buffalo…
and ride a real Jackalope…
Huge billboard (postcard) at Wall Drug
Inside Wall Drug:
Kaan played at the water park for a short while…
he played long enough to get soaking wet… but the hot sun dried him out quickly…
and here he is – trying to dry off his t-shirt…
They even have a T-Rex here. We waited for feeding time (every 15 minutes) but couldn’t get Kaan to get very close…
My Dad and Elaine at Wall Drug, Wall, SD.
After our stop at Wall Drug, we continued east on I-90 past the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands until we got to 240. Then we went south to get to the east entrance of the Badlands National Park. The entrance fee was free with my disabled veteran access pass. I think it’s normally $15.
Kaan didn’t waste any time climbing up the hills at the first pull-off in the Badlands National Park.
My Dad, Elaine, and Stilla stayed in the shade while I tried to keep up with Kaan…
The view after climbing the first set of hills:
And the view back to the parking area:
The park has some ongoing road repairs that reduced the road to one lane. It was a little rough and tight in places with our Coaches on a 10% grade.
We drove back out the south side entrance of the park towards the town of Interior and found our campground – the Badlands Interior Campground. After we paid for two nights ($50), we got set up at our sites and jumped back into Dad’s Jeep to tour a portion of the park again and check out the Visitors Center…
Kaan ran all the way up this hill next to the Visitors Center…
Nice boardwalk leading to a grand overlook…
The evening shadows made the view even more spectacular…
How would you like to walk out on this ridge? It clearly looks like people have been doing it…
Back at our campground (Badlands Interior Campground) we chilled out with the AC on and only walked around the park for a short time. It’s been in the 90’s all day. We had leftover Pizza from our dinner the day before and I worked on this blog post.
Here’s our view this morning (Tuesday) from the campground:
And our spot:
Not bad, eh?
On Tuesday – we plan on driving the entire loop through the Badlands National Park. We have to make the most out of our last day with my Dad and Elaine, they plan on heading back to Colorado Springs on Wednesday.
Check back to see if we fall off any cliffs or into one of these giant cracks in the ground 🙂
