Dreams DO come true

To finish the week we went back to the Elks Lodge where we had been told that the Sunday Brunch was “Spectacular”. And there endeth the first full month of our adventures.

Monday was a day out to the Badlands NP and a stop at Wall Drug on the way. 

If you’ve driven on I95 on the East Coast going to Florida you’ve no doubt seen the miles and miles of signs for “South of the Border”. Wall’s is the western version with signs that started in Wyoming!! Same kind of place too but smaller.

Badlands was nice with some extremely subtle colors if you looked for them.

Tuesday we decided to move from Tee Pee to the Elks Lodge for another week in Rapid City then we’ll head off for Yellowstone. One of our dreams has been to sit talking with fellow RV’ers and swap destinations and campgrounds. We finally did that on Sunday after brunch at the Elks and we’re looking forward to following up on the tips.

Almost as soon as our wheels stopped rolling the people we’d met on Sunday came up and we started chattering like old friends. Mike and Suzy with Lucy the dog were so welcoming, then the neighbors on the other side Lee and Marilyn stopped and said hi. Bob and Sandy too and then Marty, it was quite overwhelming. At the end of the day we spontaneously gathered for drinks, swapping news about our days, where we were going, where we’d been. The best places to camp, what to see and do in all the places we’d been. Barbara and I were living our dream. We all trooped over the Lodge and had dinner together.

Our new friends all headed out in different directions for the day. Devils Tower or the Badlands. while we went and got a new windshield in the Fiesta and spent a very good afternoon at the Journey Museum which leads you thru the history of the Black Hills from the beginnings of the planet to modern day. A very well laid out and well planned museum

Rapid City has a President on every corner! They really do, they are Bronze statues and you can get a good workout taking the “Presidents Walk” seeing them all.

One of the nice things abut being retired is that you don't have to be in a hurry to get anywhere. While we were exploring some back roads we saw a sign "RC Aero Event" I took this to be a Radio Controlled Airplane Fly In and we followed the sign to a field where gigantic sized model airplanes were flying aerobatic patterns that were amazing. A nice find!

In celebration of our 1 month n the road anniversary I posted an update to the “Shanty Shakers website back in San Diego. When we got back to the rig on Saturday there was a note from some fellow Shanty Shakers who are work camping in Spearfish about 50 miles down the road. Bill and Jeanne had seen our post and dropped by while shopping in the area but we missed them when they dropped by. We called them and on Sunday went to visit them.

Work Campers exchange their labor for free camping. In broad terms they work around 24 hours a week as a couple at a campground or historic area. They get a full hookup site for their RV and perhaps free electric, cable TV and propane depending on the job. The jobs can last the summer or the whole year. If you go to a national park a lot of the people working there are likely work campers doing things from driving the tour bus to serving at the counter in the gift store. Full Timers like it because they get to spend time with somebody other than their spouses!

Bill and Jeanne have been working at the Historic Fish Hatchery in Spearfish for the summer and really like the place. We walked around the place and it is a very interesting and picturesque place. 

After sitting talking about places and things all afternoon they took us to their favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. That dream came true TWICE this week.