The coach started first time this morning, as we were confident it would. Like everyone else, it needs a good nights rest after traveling over 400 miles.
Off we went, 170 miles from our weigh station rest stop to Rapid City, South Dakota.
The journey was some of the bleakest, prettiest we have seen. Miles and miles of prairie, interspersed with rolling fields of wheat. The prairie had millions of cows of all shapes and sizes, some were even the same grey as the scrub, so they were camouflaged!!
There was quite a strong cross wind blowing, with lots of tumbleweeds flying across the road.
And, at several places, in no sensible place or pattern, there were miles of triangular shaped fences. We thought they might be snow barriers, but they started and stopped for no apparent reason.
They reckon up here there are more cows than people, by a factor of about four to one. Well, there are more deer than cows, so that’s a lot of deer, dear.
We saw pronghorns, mule deer, partridges, hawks and chippymonks.
The prairie, we found out, is actually known as high plains, as in High Plains Drifter, starring Clint the Eastwood.
We went past a place called The Center of the Nation, but had absolutely no idea what it meant.
Marlipops came up trumps yet again with our campsite. It is called Three Flags, and is ½ mile off exit 51 on Interstate 90, and is perfect.
We are right in the foothills of The Black Hills, South Dakota.
Marlipops is fed up of me imitating Doris Day…”Take me back to the Black Hills”
She said she wished they would take me somewhere!!
Anyway, we have booked in here for two nights.
We got here around 11.30, hooked up everything, then off in the peril to see Crazy Horse.
A tribute to the original Indians of the nation is being built, along the lines of Mount Rushmore, and is a statue of Crazy Horse, on a horse. The only trouble is that it is nowhere near finished, the sculptor died 20 years ago, they keep running out of money, so it may never get finished.
See pic.
Next, we went for a steam train ride through the hills, from Hill City, see we are famous, to Keystone, where the kops are, and back again.
It is a 10 mile ride over tracks laid by gold and other stuff miners, over 100 years ago.
There are a gazillion fallow deer, and trillions of wild turkeys, both running around together, none of them seem to be fazed by the train.
The Black Hills are different from the Rockies, they seem closer together, and have Ponderosa Pine everywhere, which seem to grow straight out of the rocks.
The ride takes us over the same road 14 times, and I’m sure we saw the same car 14 times.
In my next job, I am going to be a train waver.
The folks whose houses are near the tracks come running out every time the train goes by, and stand there like windmills, their arms flailing around.
Apparently they do this all summer long.
Why do people have to wave at trains and boats for that matter?
Get a life!!!
Then, on to Mount Rushmore.
Before we got there, we saw another rainbow, as well as a weird cloud pattern. No rainbows for years, then two in a few days. Just like English buses.
Also, there were a couple of mountain goats eating the decorative shrubs off the median wall, in the parking lot.
The sculpted mountain is impressive, but not as big as we thought, maybe coz we were not right underneath it.
After it got dark, they did a big screen show, about the birth of the nation, etc, then sang the national anthem, and lit up the sculpture, very gradually.
It was done very slowly, and just white light, not lasers or any glitzy stuff which would have ruined the dignity of the place. Full marks for tastefulness. Well done and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
A worthwhile trip, and a lot fitted in to the day.
Wildlife watch today: Pronghorn antelope, partridge, mule deer, hawks, sheeps, dux, various cows, fallow deer, turkeys, and chippymonk things.
We also saw some yellow bellied birds, but we have not identified them yet. Watch this space.
