Travels with The Rayman

Let the birthday party begin.

On Memorial Day, I was born.  Never had to go to school on my birthday which was fun and yet disappointing at the same time because no one had a party for me at school.  But that was then and this is now.  Memorial Day was actually on my birthday this year…just like the old days.  So what?  Not much.  It was a fun filled day like so many before it.  We played golf in gale force winds and moi got a birdie on the last hole.  Had a great dinner and got a bit high.  The cake was good but a bit dry because I think I overcooked it.  Baking in the altitude requires a bit of finesse which apparently I lack.  We ate it anyway.

Today we were to play golf with JoAnne again but the weather was really disagreeable and the game was called off.  So, what did we do instead?  We packed a picnic and headed to Sand Creek where the Ice’s have a cabin in Wyoming.  OMG.  What a fabulous place.  Chuck’s parents lived there.  The cabin is on a creek as the name implies and it is a beauty.  Treed, babbling stream with lots of trout, and stunning views from every window.  I did not take pictures because of a respect for privacy and now I am challenged to describe the scene to my readers.  The “cabin” has dual paned windows, a great roof, and looks like a house.  It has been in the family since forever.  The land was purchased for like $200 way back when.  The thing is, this property is located in a private reserve.  The land is owned by members.  You must be approved before you can consummate a deal.  If you sell  your house, it’s not a real estate transaction.  Only the house can sold, the land can’t.  There are very few of these type of arrangements in the country.  At any rate, their house is in the place and the Sand Creek meanders all around the area.  It is nirvana.

The refrigerator that held the can of worms.

One other piece of trivia.  Annenberg of newspaper fame built a house here.  He was a protoge of Wm. Randolph Hearst.  Owned newspapers in the East.  The house is now owned by the gov’t as the Mister got caught evading taxes and went to prison for a time.  Now it is a fish hatchery school, sort of.  Classes are held.  The building (home) is absolutely beautiful.  Okay, that was from memory.  Here is the real story.  Just clink the link.

http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/NationalRegister/Site.aspx?ID=141

After lunch JoAnne and I sat in the living room sipping our CA wine and looking out the picture window at the creek.  The guys went on a tour of the house.  The next thing you know, Rayman bolts into the room and announces that Beau ate some rodent poison which he found under the bed.  Luckily, Rayman heard the crunch.  So, we all jumped in the car and headed back to Spearfish, SD.  It was about a 20 minute drive.  We called ahead and found a vet hospital that was open and staffed with a vet and told them we were on our way.  OMG.  That darn dog of ours.  He will eat anything.  And so we left him there for treatment.  However, the vet was at lunch so we killed some time by driving to the Spearfish Airfield which is named after Chuck’s grandfather to see if we could score a copy of the biography of his grandfather.  Great little airport.  Out of copies of the book.  They are on order as I understand it.  We then dropped off Rayman at the Dog House so he could go take care of Beau and JoAnne and Chuck and I returned to the cabin.

Inside the airport. Not your average place. The pics on the wall are of Chuck’s grandfather, Clyde Ice.

What a rack, as they say. Also at the airport.

Once at the cabin, JoAnne and I went fishing for trout right outside their house.  About 20 paces.  While fishing which I admittedly have not done since Patton was in the army, I managed to cast the worm that was impaled on the hook which was attached to the fishing line into a tree across the creek.  JoAnne and I tugged together on the line and it came whipping back across the creek and the hook lodged itself in my jacket.  And did I mention that worms in the can of worms that we bought in Beulah, Wy (just over the state line) were huge?  And we just tore them in half with our hands before braiding them onto the hook.  I got a nibble and lost a few worms as I flailed away casting and recasting the line and hook and worm.  Meanwhile, JoAnne caught two trout.  I was bummed.  I could see the trout.  They were even jumping.  But I think they sensed I was an inexperienced fisherwoman and just laughed at me as they ignored my big fat worms.  Those fish are smart.  Me, not so much.

But I digress.

Rayman picked up Beau with pills and instructions and a credit card receipt of $134.  JoAnne gave me her trout but not before she nonchalantly gutted said fish and threw the entrails over to the other side of the creek, declaring them critter food.  She is some dame, that’s all I can say.

It was past 5 p.m. and my derriere was cold from sitting on a small circle of cement (stepping stone size) amongst the weeds that line the creek.  I had tried crouching but my feet felt like they were falling asleep.  The wind was blowing a bit and the sky was not sunny all day.  Home, home, on the range.  So, we packed up and drove out of paradise back to Spearfish to find the Rayman at the Dog House with Beau and his medication (vitamin K).  We invited the Ice’s in for a glass of wine and Beau kept trying to hump things.  This is not his normal behavior.  The vitamin K must be an aphrodesiac (however it is spelled).  Who knew?  At least for dogs.

So that was our exciting day today.  We were to leave tomorrow but have decided to stay one more day just to be sure Beau is okay.  And then we will head out to parts unknown.  Or Sheridan, WY.  The taking in of the West will continue.

The state is quite beautiful.  We are currently at Chris’s Campground which is located at about 3900 feet above the sea.  Spring is a great time to visit because everything is green.  Flowers are blooming, those species that do that here in May/June.  We are experiencing weather not unlike home.  Mild.  One big difference.  Rain and hail.  Every day we have afternoon “showers” which are akin to hard rain back home.  Of course, being in the tin can, sound is amplfied.

The park is now full of families enjoying their 3 day weekend.  And the owners of the park have placed two calves and four baby goats in a pen and both Beau and myself love to visit them.  So cute.  And, the other kids like them too!!

Anyway.  South Dakota is a land of great beauty.  Yesterday we drove through Custer State Park for the price of a $20.  Not cheap but then they do things a bit differently here.  Property taxes are higher than California.  The sales tax is 8% and everything including food gets taxed.  There is no state income tax so all taxes serve to make up that shortfall, I’m guessing.

George’s good side, apparently.

But, I digress.

The park was beautiful.  Red stone rocks here and there and trees. (Did see dying trees here and the forest is being harvested aggressively unless they just cut down the dying trees.  Hard to say.)  We are presently in the Black Hills.  The name was picked by the Sioux and it was translated into english.  The Dakotans didn’t translate the name of Belle Fourche, though.  It’s still Bell Fourche.  Wonder why?  I have no earthly idea except maybe the french trappers that beat Lewis and Clark to the West had something to say about it.

Black Hill countryside with meandering stream.

This is a state that has coal and oil and they mean to use it.  We have yet to see one bit of solar and the state car is a big, gas hogging truck.  You can drive 80 on the freeways and many do but that’s okay but there is no traffic.  There are no wind turbines either.  An occasional old windmill (like you could build out of tinker toys when you were a kid) can be sighted and usually they are turning because the wind here is a force of nature, to be sure.  We are thinking that because it is a solidly red state, they have not warmed up the idea of conservation and new forms of energy.  JoAnne confirms this.

Buffalo family in Custer State Park.

Our friend, JoAnne, says there are two seasons in South Dakota.  Winter and road work seasons.  There is a great deal of construction going on here now.  They are tearing down a hill to widen the freeway with new off ramps.  The hill is now an eye sore.  Don’t know that story.  JoAnne has another great S.D. saying.  When people get married, their honeymoon starts in Hot Springs, SD and it ends up in Deadwood.   Just an aside.

The only way you know this is an election year is that we see lots of sign for local elections.  You know, Board of Supervisors, that kind of thing.  Haven’t seen Trump signs anywhere and that surprises us.  However, having said that, many people right here in the campground are flying their American flags.   And we’ve seen quite a few crosses on hills.  Lots of churches.

The highways are littered with billboards.  When you get out on the two lane roads you don’t see many.  But on the interstate, there are lots of them.  Like Los Angeles, I guess.

Man and bison.

The rain has about stopped but there is still thunder and presumably lightning near by.   No kids in the pool now.  All is quite on the Western Front.

Dakotans get their veggies from CA.  I bought romaine from Castroville for my Caesar’s salad.  How knows?  Maybe the strawberries are Santa Maria?  Saw some cherries.  They may be from WA.  Mostly the grasses are grown here.  Hay, alfalfa, that kind of thing.  South of the Black Hills, it takes 30 acres to support one cow.  It is dry and barren looking in the summer, we’re told.  That why all those homesteaders stopped homesteading.  If they didn’t have a water source, they were screwed.  The grasslands have reverted to, well, grasslands.

We saw the under construction Crazy Horse monument that this guy started back in 1947.  The head is done.  We will never see it completed.  The Indian artifacts in the museum at that site were quite interesting.  The owners pride themselves in doing it all without gov’t assistance.  Well, that has slowed everything to a snail’s pace.  We think they might want to rethink that business model otherwise, your grandchildren might not see it either.

Road kill has included a porcupine and many deer.  An occasional prairie dog.  The woman at the old homestead historic sight reported that prairie dog is good eating.  Probably help those people survive.   Sturgis, South Dakota is known for it’s motorcycle rallies every year so we checked the place out.  For the life of us, we don’t get the attraction to Sturgis.  It’s nothing special.  And our intrepid reporter, JoAnne, reports that police departments from all the neighboring states send their forces for that week because, well., maybe because those hog riders are a bit unruly now and then.  And a lot of the locals leave town.  It is a wild and crazy time.  Right now, Sturgis is deader than Deadwood.

So, that’s it in a nutshell.  Just some observations to report while it rains.  When the front passes, we will go the grocery store, get a few things to complete our grilled scallop dinner planned for tonight.  Oh, and speaking of tonight.  It doesn’t get dark until 9 p.m. and the sun comes up ridiculously early.

Today we were brought to our knees on the Spearfish Country Club golf course.  It wasn’t pretty.  However, we had a great time because we played with our friend, JoAnne Ice.  She is a member of this club and she not only got us on, but she had gift coupons that she used so we only had to pay for the golf cart.  And we needed a golf cart.  This course was, how shall I describe it, a lot of tough rough, with a little bit of fairway thrown in for good measure.  And it went up and down like a roller coaster.  And did I mention the wind?  The wind blew in from the north so it was cool and windy.  Rayman lost many balls.  It was a real test of golf and we failed.  However, a great time was had by all three of us.  So much fun to see JoAnne.  She spends half the year here and half the year in Los Osos.  Her husband, Chuck’s grandfather, settled here and this is where the family is well known.  The local airport is named after his grandfather, Clyde Ice.  And Chuck lent us a book about his grandfather which we both hope to read before we leave Spearfish.

Our hostess, JoAnne and the Rayman

The most exciting thing that happened on the golf course was the hawk that we saw swoop up a green racer snake and fly off with it in it’s talons.  And a blackbird or crow was in hot pursuit.  Figured the other bird  wanted the hawk to drop the snake but that did not happen.  Tried to get a picture but no luck there.  Too hard to work the phone when one is all excited.  And we were on about the 15th hole.  I looked at JoAnne and asked her if they have a lot of snakes here.  She told me that the pro shop tells people not to look for their balls in the high grass which is exactly what we spend the morning doing.  Yikes.  Lucky that flying snake was the only one we saw.

Yesterday we ran errands and drove down to Rapid City where we experienced a hail storm.  It was coming down so hard and fast that I spotted a gas station with a high overhang so I squeezed in-between the cars that were lined up at the pumps.  And I was not the only one that thought of that.  We all sat in our quickly fogging up cars until the hale stopped.  The thing about the weather here is that if you don’t like it, wait 5 minutes.  It will probably change.  Layers are an important fashion consideration.  While we were shopping for mundane things in Rapid City, my chicken mole was cooking away in the slow cooker.  Boy it smelled good when we got back.  As I was making some caesar dressing, I checked my phone and JoAnne and texted me.  The Ice’s invited us over the wine and pizza.  Well, we weren’t going to turn that opportunity down.  And so we stopped meal preparation and skedaddled over to their place (very close to where we are at Chris’s RV Campground) for a lovely evening.  It was so much fun to talk to someone other than each other.  We had a great time.  Not that the Rayman is boring.  There is never a dull moment with him.  As all my readers must know by now!!

Tomorrow we are getting up really early and heading to Mount Rushmore.  It’s about an hour away.  Then we’ll take in Custer’s State Park.

Main drag in Deadwood.

Oh, I forgot to mention that after golf, we collected Beau and drove to Deadwood, SD and Lead (pronounced with a soft a).  Deadwood has gambling and they have used much of the proceeds to refurbish all the old buildings.  The Visitor’s Center is located in the old railroad station and it was, in fact, the railroad that made the area.  They discovered golf here in the 1800 and the town was never the same.  The town sits in a V shaped valley with big hills rising up from the bottom of the V, so to speak.  Believe me when i tell you this is no place for senior citizens to live.  All the houses are perched on the sides of the hills and are two story, at a minimum.  Lots of stairs just to enter the front door of these places.  The town is a tourist trap but cute.  Lead is up the road from Deadwood (where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane lived (not together).  Wild Bill was shot in the head while playing cards in Deadwood.

Hole in the ground in Lead, SD

But I digress.

Lead has a huge hole in the ground and JoAnne reports that because of the mine, homes are starting to slip a bit.  Just too much dirt removal.  My idea is for all people in the state to send their trash to Lead and fill up the hole.  It’s an eyesore to my way thinking and it is perfect for burying garbage.  Heck, the hole is already dug!!

Today we visited a Minuteman control room that was buried about 4 floors down near the Badlands.  Rayman was very excited because he worked around missile silos when he was in the Air Force.  I, on the other hand, had no idea what to expect and so I went along to see 1.) what a silo was  2.  what the mission control underground bunker entailed.  We were extremely lucky to get a really great guide.  He had worked at this mission control station when he was in the air force about 25 or 30 years ago.  So, here’s his best joke.  What did the dyslexic, insomniac, atheist do last night?   Answer.  Stayed up all night wondering if there really was a dog.

But I digress.

We saw huge, thick doors, old control panels with rotary dials.  He explained all the procedures for launching an end-of-the-world attack with the Minuteman missles.  Nothing was left to chance and all orders were verified, coded, with backup manual key turning involved.  Quite an operation and it just told me that no way should Donal Trump be president.  He might not even know that the Minuteman missiles versions 1 and 2 have been decommissioned.  Only the Minuteman missile, version 3s are still aimed and ready to rain down nuclear warheads on enemies.  Further, the gravity of the situation during the cold war was really brought home to me as a visitor to this historical site.  It was a war of deterrence which worked.  However, on several occasions we almost went to war.  Instead we sat on the brink of annihilation.  Believe me when I tell you, folks, that I do not want a real estate tycoon more known for running beauty pageants (no, it is not international experience), and firing people on TV to be in charge of firing these missiles.  Just no way.   The other thing that I wonder about is why Republicans want to drown the government in the bathtub.  All those trillions of dollars in military this and that have given us an excellent military.  Think what we could do if we valued, say, education the same way.  Or rapid transit?  or climate change?  Why don’t we want to spend serious money on these ventures?   We can do it.  And we can pay for it.  Isn’t it worth it?  I wonder about all these things tonight.  Which may or may not be why travel is so interesting.  It gets you thinking.

And I learned that women now run the current iteration of the Minuteman missile program.  When they integrated the personnel, it was in the late 70s.  Now it’s a completely different situation, with women in charge.  The thing is that when you are down in the control room, you are there for like 3 days at a time.  You do not come out.  It is very labor intensive to come and go so movement is kept to a minimum.   You take turns sleeping with only person sleeping at any one time.  (there are three people in each shift).  It takes a special kind of person to be able to do this work.  He says they keep you busy but when you are not busy, you study for your Master’s degree.  I know I could not do it.  Way too confined.  I will say though, our guide, Jim, had a wonderful complexion.  From lack of sun exposure, I’m sure.

Let me see.  What else?  Oh, we visited a house on the prairie that was a homestead.  Mr. and Mrs. Brown homesteaded 160 acres just outside the entrance to the Badlands National Park.

With a dirt floor and built into the side of a hill, it gave one pause to think about making such a venture successful.  They did this because the government incented people to move West with the Homestead Act.  I knew all this but to see it an actual homestead was quite interesting.

After our visit to the Minuteman command center, we drove down the road to see one of the silos.  Looked right into it’s glass top and there it was.  The missile (goodness they look phallic) was still there sans the warhead.  Rayman reported that his silos were bigger.  Just saying.

After all this education, we drove back to Wall, South Dakota reading all the Wall Drug signs strewn along I-90.  There was nothing else to look at because there was, again, no traffic.  At this point the Rayman pointed out that the I-90 was build to accommodate all those missiles.  Still it is annoying to see almost no traffic on a four lane freeway.  Okay.  I’ll give it a rest.

We packed up the Dog House and headed to Spearfish.  We had seen everything we came to see and it was time to move on.

Spearfish is a lovely little town and we scored a wonderful spot for 8 days.  It has trees everywhere.  There are few people here as their season hasn’t gotten started yet.  If fact, as I type I’m listening to thunder and pitter patter of rain on the tin can we call home.  Thankfully, it is not cold (it’s snowing in Yellowstone right now) and I don’t care to experience that again.  Of course, unless we have to.   We are currently at 3970 feet about sea level.  Hopefully a cold front won’t follow the rain.

Last night I fixed shrimp and asparagus risotto.  It was wonderful.  So wonderful that when I took my shower, the Beaumeister helped himself to the leftovers that were cooling on the table.  Bad me.  So, this p.m. when we arrived here at Spearfish, we set up, cleaned the Dog House and decided we were really hungry.  Found a great Mexican fusion place, composed my own salad, Rayman composed his own taco (they made them as you watched), ordered a beer to split and chowed down.  Then if was off to Safeway for a few groceries and here we are safe and sound for the night.

Wooly’s bar.

Today was a 6 hour driving day.  Almost nothing to report.

The state and county roads and city roads, too, in Wyoming are wretched.  Their infrastructure needs to be restructured.  Just sayin.

We saw a dead coyote today.  Herds of antelope, so many that really, what’s the fuss all about?  Just kidding.  They are very cool, very deer like.  Beau had a rabbit hop out in front him on his walk this p.m. and he almost choked himself bolting after it.  He is one strong doggie, having almost knocked me off my feet.

Where are we now?  Hot Springs, South Dakota, in the very south western part of the state.  A Wooly mammoth was discovered here and so is now a reliable tourist treat.  We are eating out for the second time on this trip, at Wooly’s Steak and Grub restaurant tonight.  I’m too disinterested to cook after such a day of fighting wind on some crummy roads.

http://www.black-hills-trip-planner.com/Hot-Springs-South-Dakota.htmlv

But, don’t listen to me.  We are so blessed to be able to make this trip and are better for it, I think.  For instance, I’m not complaining about our CA roads anymore.  And the grasslands here are sizable, stretching on into the distance every direction.  Rayman asked a very good question today and I paraphrase, “With all this land, why in the world didn’t the U.S. Gov’t make good on it’s treaties with the Indians?  Why send them to reservations?  They could have been given large parcels and plenty of buffalo and lived in peace with us.”   Why, indeed.  When you witness the millions of acres that are bare except for grasses and chaparral, it does give one pause and cause to reflect.

In River of Doubt (here I go again), the book about Roosevelt of the Teddy type and his journey down an uncharted river in the Amazonian jungle, the author reported that wiping out of indigenous Indians took place in Brazil’s great jungle.  From over one million  to a little more than 200,000 Indians.  It is unfortunate for natives to be born in such good places.  Perhaps the Amazonian Indians that have survived can open casinos.  Just a thought.

See. Water in the river!!

I think those are the Black Hills from a great distance. I think.

The rivers.  I know I wax on about rivers but I am, after all, a river person.  Especially one with water in it.  Today, we crossed the North Platte.  A mighty river that is easy on the eyes.  But I think my favorite was the Old Woman Creek.  We went over it twice.  Don’t know how it got it’s name, but I really like the name.  Maybe it’s because I can relate on some level.

Now here is one for you.  With millions of acres of land in a very, very windy place, why do I see signs such as “Oil.  It keeps the lights on”.  Not one big wind turbine anywhere.  And then we come across the train with about 800 box cars of coal.  I nicknamed it “John CoalTrain”.  But really, people.  We haven’t seen hide nor hair of a solar anything up here.  What we have observed are a few scattered windmills.  Very old technology but highly effective, even today.  With all this wind, these people need wind turbines.  Not sure about the solar.

And finally, we just returned from a steak dinner at Wooly’s.  It was thin, flavorful, and fatty…like a ribeye should be (the flavor part).  We split it.  And Rayman took 1/4 of his home.  Jack Sprate syndrome, I call it.  I ate it all.  The funny thing was this.  Rayman consulted the map and because of it, we got lost!!!  First time this trip which I am sure is a new record.  Me?  I didn’t consult anything but I did read it was near the wooly mammoth exhibit and when I saw a sign for the exhibit, I suggested turning on to that street.  But, no.  He knew where he was going.  We eventually made it there with peels of laughter.  God, are we mellowing?

As I compose this travelogue, the wind is kicking up big time.  It is starting to rain.  The Dog House feels like it is swaying and we are in for the night.  If this storm causes us to perish, my life is complete.  I’ve been to Wall’s Drug in Wall, South Dakota.

We left our Hot Springs KOA campground this morning after enjoying steak and eggs on the picnic table by our RV.  Turning on to the highway, we noticed an absence of traffic.  I mean, no traffic.  A four lane freeway and no cars or trucks on it.  What the heck is going on?  As it turns out, there was almost no traffic until we reached Rapid City, South Dakota where we merged onto the I-90 freeway.  It didn’t have much traffic either.  That’s what 2 Senators will get you, I guess.

But I digress.

No.  I’m not going to digress.  I find it troubling that people in LA and SF have to endure hours in their car every week just to get to work.  These guys here wouldn’t know a traffic jam if it hit them in the butt.  Doesn’t seem right to me.

Okay.  Now I will digress.

It took us very little time to arrive in Wall.  Wall has the most famous drugstore in the entire country.  And they want you to know it.  All the way here today we saw Burma Shave type ads (except they Wall signs are very big) for Wall’s.  About every 300 yards there was another sign for Wall’s Drugs.  They advertised free ice water,  free donuts and coffee and newlyweds.  It has fresh baked pies and homemade ice cream according to the billboards.  Over and over.  They are impossible to ignore.  I quipped to the Rayman that if it isn’t at Wall’s, it doesn’t exist.  Just saying.

Rayman meets a new friend at Wall’s.

So, after we checked in to the former KOA campground which had certainly seen it’s better days, off to Wall’s we went.  Obviously their marketing is effective.  I’d estimate that half the population of South Dakota works at Wall’s.  It is huge.  And yet, we stumped them when we asked them if they had water treatment tablets.  Nope.  I wanted a pair of red cowboy boots that were short.  Didn’t have those either.  As a shopping diva on the internet, I guess I’ll have to look at Zappo’s for them.  That’s cheating though.  It was going to be my souvenir  Instead, I bought post card.  And the Rayman and I split a root beer float since it was 80 outside.  The weather was great today…almost too hot.  But not now.  The sky is black, the wind is still howling.  It is going to be like this until midnight.  Beau seems concerned.

After Wall’s, we drove into the Badlands.  Here are the pictures to prove it.

Volcanic ash makes up these outcroppings.

A young couple from Chicago snapped this pic of us.

George Clooney was at the park and took a picture of me!!

Julia Roberts was here too. She took this pic.

As we enter the Badlands, these rocky Mountain Big Horn sheep welcomed us to the park.  The babies were very sweet.

Obviously, mom was right on top of things.

These are the grasslands.  Millions of acres and they are green this time of the year.  Oddly enough, this area only receives about 16 inches of rain a year.

It was late afternoon and we arrived at the Visitor’s Center at 4:30.  Too late for the movie, we decided to drive out the other side of the park and return first thing in the morning.  Hopefully the unsettled weather will pass.  It will be cooler which is just fine for me.

Dinner tonight was meatloaf sandwiches and red wine.  Nothing fancy since we had steak and eggs this a.m. and 2 tiny Snickers and a half root beer float for lunch.  The sandwiches were great.  Made and froze the meatloaf at home before we left on this trip.

Incidentally, this is the furtherest east we will travel.  We’ve literally hit the Wall.