Lisa and I drove for 5.5 hours to get from Wellington, Colorado (10 miles north of Fort Collins) to Rapid City, South Dakota. The drive was very nice and peaceful. We chose the eastern route where we drove to Nebraska on Interstate 80 and then turned north towards Scott's Bluff, Nebraska. Lots and lots of open land and hardly any traffic at all.

The RV site at Rapid City is quite nice with 100 feet of space for the trailer and 30 feet of width. This RV park has been open for about one month and there are only six RVs here; mostly due to the Covid 19 virus.

We will be in Rapid City for two weeks to thoroughly see the area. We will have company next week as Bob and Charlotte Capp will be staying with us for a week beginning this coming Saturday. We look forward to seeing them and showing them what the Black Hills and Rapid City has to offer. They have traveled with us before and we have a great time seeing new areas.

We are also in Rapid City to establish South Dakota as our domicile. We already have South Dakota license plates for our vehicles and we will be getting drivers licenses too. Once we have the licenses, we can apply to vote in this state and make SD our state of residence. Taking up residence in South Dakota is a great opportunity while we are traveling around the country. The cost of living in South Dakota is low and the standard of living is high. We can save quite a bit of money in car registrations and there is not income tax in South Dakota. The state's sales tax is only 4% too. You only have to be in the state for one day out of every five years to be a resident. We will be here for two weeks.

We drove out to Ellsworth AFB today to see the base where I was stationed for six years early in my air force career. I saw the hospital where my children Amanda and William were born. I also saw the street where our family lived on base during that time period. Adams street is still there, but the house is entirely new; I guess you have to expect that after 48 years. We also drove the base to see what has changed; everything. Many new buildings and public areas. The base switched from B-52s to B-1s about twenty years ago and I think some money came to the base to upgrade the facilities.

We cleaned and prepped the RV for the arrival of Bob and Charlotte Capp. They are driving from Auburn, California on Friday to visit with us for a week to ten days. They drove from Auburn to Rawlins, Wyoming on the first day. On the second, Saturday they drove from Rawlins to Rapid City and arrived at about four in the afternoon. They cam on the northern route around the northern edge of the Black Hills and ran into some pretty significant thunderstorms in the Spearfish and Sturgis areas. They made it through though and it was great to see them. We visited on Saturday and got caught up with all the goings on with the Capps and they learned about our travels for the last month or so.

On Sunday, we had breakfast and then departed for Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Crazy Horse Memorial. It was a gorgeous day with blue skies and low winds as we arrive at Mt. Rushmore. When we arrived, we pulled a ticket from the machine and then parked the car. We had to take the ticket to the Visitor Center where we paid the fee to park. The normal $10 was reduced to $5 because I am old. Geriatric benefit!! There was no charge for the park since the center was not open due to the Corona virus. We notice that the crowds were fairly large even though the Visitors Center was not open due to the Corona virus. Also, about five percent of the people visiting were wearing masks. We also noticed that many people with out masks were asking other people to take their photos with cameras that they had not cleaned. Pretty loose approach to the Covid at Mt. Rushmore. The four presidents were right there in front of us with all their glory. I managed many photos and few videos so be sure to check the photo albums. We decided to take the Presidential Trail up to the face of the Monument. On this trail that climbs the right side of the park, you start at Borglum's Studio and then hike up the trail and 250 steps to just below the faces. Along the way there are several great locations to get great photos of the Presidents. We hiked the stairs and then made the return trip to the Visitor Center area. This memorial is always inspirational. The faces are so pronounced, big and well carve into the granite. Flags are on display around the facility and it just makes you proud to be an American. The facility is under construction as a new amphitheater is being built where you can view the Presidents and listen to speakers at the same time. It is going to be pretty cool when done.

After leaving Mount Rushmore, we drove to the Crazy Horse Memorial. This project has been under construction since the late 1940s when it was proposed. We paid $30 for a car full of people (four of us) and we drove up to the Museum. When we got out of the car to walk to the museum, we could not help but take several photos of the monument. The head is about 80% done and the arm and horses head have yet to be done. You can pay an additional $4 and take a but up to the base of the monument, but we chose to do that another time. The museum is awesome with lots of artifacts of the region and the time that the Indians roamed the area. There were lots of references to the Lakota Sioux, Kiowas, and the crow tribes. There were many more in the area. We wandered through the museum and then watched a video on the tribes and the construction project. There will, eventually, be a college campus, medical center, museum, airport, and many more residences there with the Monument itself. We were exploring the museum and heard an announcement concerning a "Native American Hoop Dancing" demonstration. We went out to watch. We learned a lot about the dances and how the hoops were used to replicate many of the animals or the region. You could actually visualize the creatures being protrayed. We have some pictures of the dancers in their costumes on the blog photo album and will also include some video of the actual dances as soon as I can upload them. Be sure to check out those sections of the blog. The main dancer is an instructor and she dance with about 25 hoops. It was really impressive. After the dancing, we took pictures of the 1/34th scale model of the monument. Then we toured the museum some more and then headed for the parking lot. We decided to head for a late lunch in the town of Hill City, South Dakota in the middle of the Black Hills. We found a restaurant name "Desperadoes" and the food was awesome. We left that place quite content and pleased with the entire day. We decided that we would journey back to Hill City tomorrow to ride bikes on the Mickelson Bicycle Trail. This is a rails to trails project that extends for over 100 miles from Lead-Deadwood to Edgemont in the southern Black Hills. It is a mountain bike trail that is relatively flat with climbs of no more than 4% grade.

On Monday, May 25th, we decided to go see Custer State Park and Wind Caves State Park. Since it was Memorial Day, we decided that we would start the day with a visit to the Black Hills National Cemetery just north of Rapid City. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the white gravestones against the green grass were breathtaking. We walked the grounds, said a group prayer for these brave soldiers who have fought to keep us free, and looked at the various names on the head stones. The day was very nice and the drive to Custer State Park was easy and delightful. As we entered the park, we note how beautiful the mountains and valleys were with green, green grass everywhere. Our goal was to see animals and enjoy the diverse scenery; we were not disappointed. In the park, we came across a herd of about 200 buffalo. They were casually grazing and resting in a meadow and did not seem to care about us at all. Some came very close to use even with their young. One bull rolled in the dirt just a few feet from out car making a cloud of dust. We say them scratching on trees, fences, and sign poles. Amazing creatures. As we continues on our drive, we came upon some pronghorn sheep resting in a meadow. The lone male was lying down not very far from us and offered a great photo opportunity while the females remained a little further off in the distance. As we drove a little further, we encountered a heard of about ten pronghorn sheep right on the road in front of us. They were not too skittish and provided excellent photos as the walked past us. We drove around another bend and found another herd of buffalo along the road with young. They did not mind us being there and seemed to be watching us as much as we were watching them. The small calves were so cute jumping and prancing about around their mothers. We then left Custer State Park and entered Wind Caves State Park. Unfortunately, the caves are closed right now due to the Covid virus. We did get to drive through the park and see some fantastic scenery. We also encountered several prairie dog villages and they all out-and-about with their new little babies. They were chirping away and making all sorts of sounds. Even though they are considered pests by most ranchers, we found them to be quite cute and playful. After we exited the Wind Cave State Park, we drove north for a picnic lunch near Hill City. We plan on starting our bicycle ride on the Mickelson Bike Trial from Hill City.

On Tuesday, We had some chores to do before we could go play. First of all, I had a dental appointment for a possible cavity that might be a nuisance on the trip. Turned out to not be a cavity on the tooth I expected, but the dentist found a possible cavity under a crown.

Well, there went the crown with a small filling underneath it and then a temporary crown put in place. This was not a fun activity, but it did get done and I was rescheduled for a new crown on the 29th. Lisa and I also had an appointment to get our South Dakota drivers licenses. We got our licenses and have registered to vote in South Dakota. So, effectively, we are now citizens of the state of South Dakota. We also have registered all of our vehicles in this state and will be putting the plates on the RV and truck tomorrow. This has resulted in Lisa and I being residents of a state that does not have an income tax, charges 6.5% for sales tax, and charges about 15% of the cost of registering vehicles in this state. They do not require smog checks here either. No smog stations.

The next day (Wednesday, May 27th, we decided to push the bike ride back a day because of the possibility of rain. Instead, we decided to travel to Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming to check it our. This volcanic site is pretty amazing to see and it is open to the public even though the Corona virus is a issue. The drive was about one hour and forty-five minutes one way, but it was well worth trip. We started in the sunlight, but the skies became overcast as we neared Sturgis. We traveled through Spearfish and then on to Devils Tower. The tower is made of igneous rock that formed about 50 million years ago about 1.5 miles underground. As the land around the igneous rock began to rise, the surrounding, softer rock began to erode. over the last 1.5 million years, the hard center of the igneous formation began to climb into the sky as the surrounding rock was washed away by the Spearfish River. There are three theories about how the peak formed and the experts are not sure which one is correct; they may never really know. The tower is 1267 feet tall and the top is at 5140 feet above sea level. Apparently, there is enough room on the top to place a football field. We saw numerous mountain climbers working their way up the sheer walls. They were climbing on virtually all sides except the side towards the parking lot. This tower is considered sacred by the local Indian tribes and, out of respect, certain parts of the tower are not climbed. In fact, there is no climbing at all during the month of June when the native Americans conduct religious activities at the tower. The tower was first climbed in 1897 and the wooden ladders used in the climb are still attached to the face of the tower. There are also lots of "prayer cloths" tied to trees and bushes around the monument. Out of respect, you leave them alone. It was great fun hiking the paved trail that goes all the way around the base of the tower. It is 1.3 miles long. You get to see the tower from each side and it is inspirational. When we arrived back at the parking area, we ate our picnic lunch and then began the journey back to Rapid City. We did have to stop in Belle Fourche for ice cream at the local Dairy Queen though.

Today, Thursday, May 28th, we reserved E-Bikes from Rabbitt Rentals in Hill City, South Dakota and drove there to begin our riding of the Mickelson Trail at 11:00 am. The Mickelson Trail is a "rails to trails" route from Deadwood, SD in the north to Edgemont, SD in the south. It is about 110 miles long and we planned to start in a northerly direction from Hill City; about in the middle of the route. It was cool (about 48 degrees) when we started, but the sun came out later with the temps rising to about 70 degrees. The Mickelson Trail is a gem. It is a rail-bed that has been compacted with decomposed granite and it is an excellent surface for mountain bikes. It is not a technical ride and the grade does not exceed four percent of grade. Since it is not too steep, entire families can ride this trail. The trail follows several rivers and beautiful valleys. This trail is a real gem for the people of the region and those who visit. We rode the E-Bikes for a total distance of 38 miles with 3,000 feet of vertical ascent. I must admit, if you have never ridden an Electronic Bike, you will be in for a cool surprise. We had three power modes to set and when we began to pedal, the bike assists you with additional power to the pedals. It it the ultimate form of "cheating" when you are riding a bike, but it is totally cool. The E-Bikes made riding the 38 miles and and climbing the grades quite easy. E-Bikes are a great device to extend the riding careers of many of us older riders. Even though the trail can be ridden with a regular mountain bike, older riders can keep up with younger riders by using E-Bikes. We were able to keep the bikes for five hours, so we rode until about 4:00 pm. We returned the bikes to the rental company with about five minutes to spare; perfect timing. After the ride, we traveled to a beautiful little park that the City of Hill City provides for the community for a picnic lunch. It was a great place to eat. After the picnic, we drove back to Rapid City and the Three Flags RV Park.

By Friday, we were looking for something to do in the area. Wayne had to go to the dentist to have his temporary crown remove and the permanent crown put in place. This was done by about 11:00 AM. Then we decided to walk the streets of Rapid City and see the "City of the Presidents" display. On nearly every corner, there were four bronze statues of Presidents of the United States. It was fun to walk along and see how many we could name and see why they had been sculpted in the ways that they were. After seeing about 75% of the Presidents, we decided to go to lunch at a very nice restaurant called "The Firehouse." We had a great meal at The Firehouse and then decided to go out to Ellsworth AFB, sign Bob and Charlotte onto the base and take a look around. Maybe we would even see a B-1B flying in the pattern. When we arrived at the base, we learned that, due to Covid 19, visitors were not being allowed on the installation. Bummer. So we had to head back to Rapid City and our RV park.

On Saturday, May 30th, we awoke without a clear plan on what to do for the day. It was overcast, and the temperatures were about 50 degrees. Following some research, Lisa recommended that we should take a hike along Little Elk Creek near Summerset, SD. This turned out to be a great idea. The hike is listed as "moderate" with 500 feet of elevation change. We recorded about 800 feet of climb by the end of the hike. We also walked 5.5 miles on the out-and-back route. The scenery along this creek is outstanding with rising sheer cliffs right along the trail and the river cascading down the mountain all along the route. This is a very beautiful hike with very little traffic even though it is a "multiple use" trail. We saw no horses or bikes, although there was clear evidence that horses had been on the trail recently. The temp was perfect for hiking. It really felt good to be out getting some exercise. In several places we had to climb over rocks along the trail. This turned out to be a great activity and we have Lisa to thank for finding this great trail only 15 minutes from our RV.

Since Bob and Charlotte were scheduled to leave on Sunday morning, we decided to go out for barbecue dinner to celebrate their visit. We tried calling JR's Barbecue which has a great reputation, but we waited to late and they were sold out for all their food for the evening. We then opted to go to Texas Roadhouse Barbecue as a substitute. It turned out to be a very suitable substitute. We had a great meal and the service and food was awesome. We had to report to a young positioned outside when we arrived. She took my phone number and said that she would text when a table was available. We were told to remain in our cars until we were called. The wait was about 20 minutes and off we went to eat. We were saddened to know that Bob and Charlotte had to leave in the morning, but we had a great week and ending it with such a great meal was the "icing on the cake."

On Sunday, Bob and Charlotte decided to stay with us for one more day. Lisa and I went for a two-hour tandem bicycle ride. It was pretty windy and made the ride pretty challenging when going uphill towards Rapid City into the wind. After the ride, we relaxed and enjoyed the day. Lisa and I also to the opportunity to go get haircuts: something that we really needed to do. We later went out with Bob and Charlotte for burgers and frosties at Wendy's. We were able to eat in the store since all local stores are opening up with about 50% capacity inside. The food was good and as we left the Wendy's it began to rain from a local thunderstorm. As we drove home, we saw a gorgeous rainbow to the east of town. Going to be a bummer seeing Bob and Charlotte head out tomorrow for Walla Walla, Washington.