Found a wonderful RV campground with huge sites and open fields for Moe to run in right out side of Hill City, SD. We are now after Labor Weekend and got a 40 percent savings off from their standard rates. Planned to post up here for 3 nights but ended up staying 5 just because we loved the area and because I needed a grieving day after Jeff flew home on the 10th. He was an absolute joy to have along and we miss him so much. His enthusiasm and his willingness to help with the heavy stuff, as well as serving us pancakes and Eggs Benedict in bed .... will be missed for the rest of the trip. But I am glad he was able to join us for the time he did and now he is ready to get on with the next steps in his life. But Jeffy .... so you know ... we miss you every day. And yes, I am packing the car right.
We all went to visit Mt Rushmore the first day, once during the day and then back to the lighting ceremony in the evening. Lexi was hilarious, holloring out .... "Look guys ... its that Dude" when she was the first to catch the profile of Washington as we approached the top. The lighting ceremony was remarkable and a privilege for us to be a part of honoring our veterans in such a way. Very moving for both kids. Our neighbor Bob from California, at the RV park, is a Vietnam war vet, and we were able to convince him to join us for the lighting ceremony on September 11, 2010. He had tears in his eyes after the ceremony and told us it was the first time he had truly been welcomed home. I am so glad we got to be a part of that for him. Probably 250 vets went down on stage that night.
I made the reservations for Jeff to fly home the evening of the 8th for the 9th, or so I thought until the next morning, early, when I went to print him his boarding pass, only to find out his flight was on the 10th. Since we were up early, and its Jeff's favorite time of day, we decided to head out early morning through the Needles Highway Loop where the road is literally cut through the cliffs. It was amazing to see in the early morning light.
That evening we headed to the Badlands so Jeff could see them before he left the next morning. We brought Moe with us, which turned out to be a very good idea. Hit the Badlands about an hour before sunset and the colors where beautiful. Strange area though ... makes you wonder if you are still on planet earth. We had never seen anything like it. The trip home was quite eventful. Huge lightening storms over the entire sky with almost continuous strikes and heavy heavy rain. Went from 70 mph to 25 mph when it hit. Just crawled along the freeway, thinking that was safe than stopping, and we finally drove through it. Figured we had us all in the car, including Moe, so anything that happened to the RV would just be "stuff". But when we got back, it didn't look like the storm had hit camp.
Jeff left on an early morning flight the next day and after a few tears, we decided to just stay a few more days and relax. Lexi really wanted to go to Mt Rushmore to celebrate the anniversary of 9/11 and honor our vets again. We enjoyed it even more the second time around.
The taste treat of the week was fresh home made pie from the Purple Pie Place in Custer, SD. Bought an apple the first day and actually drove back for a peach the next day. They were unbelievably good.
Here's a few pics of our time in the Rushmore Area. I am going to be figuring out how to post a link to a Picassa Web album that will have the rest of the pictures.
No comments:
Post a Comment