Saturday, September 29, 2007
Rush-no-More CG, Sturgis, SD - Sept 3-5
As we drove into South Dakota from Devils Tower we stopped at the Info Center, and since they had a dump station Doug decided to utilize it while Willie was perusing tourist info inside. And darned if the dump station didn't start overflowing!! Three full sewer dumps in two months -- we hope this is a trend that does NOT continue.
This is a very nice quiet Passport America (half-price) cg located about 5 miles from Sturgis, home of the world's largest (over 500,000) motorcycle rally, held in early August. We, of course, timed our visit to miss it!! We wanted to be near enough to Rapid City to play some bridge but also be able to tour some of the attractions of the northern Black Hills. The Black Hills are a solid granite intrusion in western South Dakota and the last mountains before surrendering to the Great American Plains.
Our first outing was a scenic drive through the prairie land, past Bear Butte, a mountain of similar geological formation to Devils Tower, though nowhere near as large. Driving on, we passed Belle Fourche Reservoir and spotted a black tern, another lifer. We continued into the town of Belle Fourche, the town located closest to the geographic center of the 50 United States. 
The actual location was about 20 miles north of town, through rattlesnake-infested fields, so we were content with the commemorative plaque in town. Next we passed through the town of Spearfish, which has a really cool fountain of a fish with a spear through it, as well as an historic fish hatchery that seemed like a nice place to volunteer in the future.
The second northern Black Hills outing was the loop drive through lovely Spearfish Canyon, ending up in historic Deadwood & Lead (pronounced LEED). 
The scenery was spectacular, and we stopped for short hikes at several waterfalls. The town of Deadwood is everything you would expect it to be and didn't hold a lot of interest for us. The history is interesting, but the commercialism is overwhelming. We did visit the saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was shot and Doug got to participate in the skit re-enacting this lively event. He received a "token" for a free drink as payment, which was spent on a shot of Jack Daniels. We also saw a hokey gunfight (with a different Wild Bill) on the street. The more we see these western towns, the more we appreciate Tombstone, AZ.
Later that afternoon we met our friends Dave & Diane West for dinner in the town of Custer. After dinner we drove to Crazy Horse Monument, a tribute to American Indians of all tribes. 
When completed, the sculpture of Lakota (Sioux) chief Crazy Horse astride his horse will be 563 feet high & 641 feet long. As a comparison, the presidents on Mt Rushmore are each 60 feet high. Twice a year they have night blasts, and our visit coincided with one. Admission was 3 cans of food per person. This was quite a bargain compared to the regular price of $10 each! We arrived early enough to wander around the Visitor Center and see everything before going back to the truck for the laser-light show which is presented every night. Immediately after the show, 60 blasts of dynamite worked their way up from the bottom to around the face. Quite a show, and well worth the price of admission.
This is a very nice quiet Passport America (half-price) cg located about 5 miles from Sturgis, home of the world's largest (over 500,000) motorcycle rally, held in early August. We, of course, timed our visit to miss it!! We wanted to be near enough to Rapid City to play some bridge but also be able to tour some of the attractions of the northern Black Hills. The Black Hills are a solid granite intrusion in western South Dakota and the last mountains before surrendering to the Great American Plains.
Our first outing was a scenic drive through the prairie land, past Bear Butte, a mountain of similar geological formation to Devils Tower, though nowhere near as large. Driving on, we passed Belle Fourche Reservoir and spotted a black tern, another lifer. We continued into the town of Belle Fourche, the town located closest to the geographic center of the 50 United States. 
The actual location was about 20 miles north of town, through rattlesnake-infested fields, so we were content with the commemorative plaque in town. Next we passed through the town of Spearfish, which has a really cool fountain of a fish with a spear through it, as well as an historic fish hatchery that seemed like a nice place to volunteer in the future.
The second northern Black Hills outing was the loop drive through lovely Spearfish Canyon, ending up in historic Deadwood & Lead (pronounced LEED). 
The scenery was spectacular, and we stopped for short hikes at several waterfalls. The town of Deadwood is everything you would expect it to be and didn't hold a lot of interest for us. The history is interesting, but the commercialism is overwhelming. We did visit the saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was shot and Doug got to participate in the skit re-enacting this lively event. He received a "token" for a free drink as payment, which was spent on a shot of Jack Daniels. We also saw a hokey gunfight (with a different Wild Bill) on the street. The more we see these western towns, the more we appreciate Tombstone, AZ.
Later that afternoon we met our friends Dave & Diane West for dinner in the town of Custer. After dinner we drove to Crazy Horse Monument, a tribute to American Indians of all tribes. 
When completed, the sculpture of Lakota (Sioux) chief Crazy Horse astride his horse will be 563 feet high & 641 feet long. As a comparison, the presidents on Mt Rushmore are each 60 feet high. Twice a year they have night blasts, and our visit coincided with one. Admission was 3 cans of food per person. This was quite a bargain compared to the regular price of $10 each! We arrived early enough to wander around the Visitor Center and see everything before going back to the truck for the laser-light show which is presented every night. Immediately after the show, 60 blasts of dynamite worked their way up from the bottom to around the face. Quite a show, and well worth the price of admission.
# posted by Doug and Willie @ 1:30 PM 
