Ramada Inn Rapid City

... the most unique scenic byways we have travelled on.

Because of the recent storms, which dropped quite a bit of snow at the higher elevations, we were not able to complete the Norbeck Byway - it's a loop road. We were able to do short portions of either end of it. Because this byway skirts Custer State Park we decided to take ...

We have been here in Rapid City for a week now and have had a series of unseasonably cold, wet and windy days. We've ventured out to the Buffalo roundup, a day trip to Deadwood/Sturgis and the local pumpkin festival. But, we have spent more time at home riding out the storms and the wind than we have away from the coach.

The ...

We were up early today for the short drive from our campground out to Custer State Park. We had arrived in Rapid City in time for the annual buffalo roundup and we were looking forward to taking this event off our 'list'. We've included quite a few pictures that we took along with a few that a friend of a friend took. You will be able to ...

... s house around 4 p.m. She is very surprised to see us as she thought we were not arriving for several more days. We will stay here for a few days, go up to the mountains to camp and then return by July 1 for her birthday.

June 27, 2009

Papa Ron and his brother’s are together this morning working on something in “haRVey” so Eleanor (Papa Ron’s Mom) and I are enjoying visiting as it has been a couple of years since we ...

... miles to the Mt. Rushmore and/or Crazy Horse Monuments, so as we started to make plans, we heard about a recommended full-day bus tour of the area, so we signed up and did the tour on Friday. After checking in and a pancake breakfast, we got on the bus with our driver/guide Dan. He was pretty knowledgeable and a good driver, which later became very important.

First stop was at ...

... alligators, crocodiles etc, is a snake show. This is in a very small setting, which means you get up close and personal with these creatures, but in a relaxed environment, which allows lots of time for Questions and casual discussion (and in our case, photo opportunity). Too close for Tara however, who spent the first half of the show outside! I must admit, snakes aren't the first creatures I would warm too ...

... Johnson. It was the best hotel I've been in since we were back at Hotel Metro in Milwaukee. Great price too. Highly recommended! Nice people too! The front desk lady was German and pronounced 'Rumpf' for us. She told us it actually means, "trunk". Not "butt", people. The rest of the night was spent in our fabulous hotel room. We caught up on an episode of Intervention, and swam at the indoor pool. It was a great night to relax and reflect. On to Wyoming in the morning!!!

... land around it. Unfortunately the Visitor Centre isn't open during the winter so we could only gleam the basic of information from the interpretive trail around the base of the tower itself. It was once believed that the tower was the remains of the inside of a volcanic cinder cone which over the millenina has eroded. More recent theories are that the tower itself was previously underground and as a result of its incredibly dense nature, has escaped ...

... gte prærielandskab - fantastisk. Endelig nåede vi den storslåede natur, som vi nok har savnet en lille bitte smule. Staten her kalder de "Big sky country" og vi forstår hvorfor...... så meget prærie, så stor himmel og så meget ingenting - facinerende. Vi kørte til Badlands National Park og så imponerende klippeformationer og fantastisk smukt landskab.Vi har kørt igennem "Praire Dog Town"; en ...

... attractive to those who had been traveling across dirt roads across endless prairies. A buffalo hotdog and coke and we were on our way to Rapid City where we found Sheels which had plenty of outdoor equipment and we managed to get a good 4-man tent for $170 (now we just need to find 4 men). By now the skies had turned black and there was some lightening in the sky....we found the KOA (normally very good campsites) and it was awful. Rapid ...