The End of Summer.......What? Snow! What you talkin' about Willis!

2 weeks ago our friend and fellow biker, Chris from Atlanta called to let us know he was going to be in the area for a couple of days. He was traveling by motorcycle from Atlanta, GA to Kallispell, MT to visit his daughter and wondered if we had a place he could rest his head for a night. Sure, stop on by was our immediate response. Chris is the kind of guy that has never met a stranger....if he stops at a gas station, he ends up in a 30 minute conversation with another customer about 'who knows what'! He arrived on Saturday about noon and after a quick stop to unload his bags we headed out on the motorcycles. We decided to take on Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Rd....and just for good luck we set up the GoPro camera to see how it would work on the bike. The ride was fun and the camera worked great. It takes great shots and gives you quite a perspective on how you ride. Later in the afternoon, the clouds moved in and we caught the tale end of a storm just as we were exiting Iron Mountain Rd, so we ducked into a bar-b-que joint in Keystone and checked out the videos we had just taken while we enjoyed something to eat. Sunday morning we made a quick trip to Crazy Horse and then checking the weather, Chris decided to head out towards Kallispell while there was a break in the forecasted storms. His stay was short, but fun.

Work has been interesting since Labor Day, as most of the families are staying home with children now back in school. But even with the cooler weather starting to make its presence known, we are seeing a large number of tour buses stopping by and unloading what many in the biz refer to as the "newlyweds and nearly deads". Also a lot of international visitors; just in one afternoon I drove groups from Poland, Russia, Holland, Italy and Australia/New Zealand. That can be a challenge when you are attempting to present a narrated tour around the base of Crazy Horse Mountain with 2 or 3 different group leaders translating your narration in as many languages.

Barb in stealth Mode.....

Last weekend fellow RVr's and co-workers at Lake Mead Bill & Barb pulled into our campground to stay for a couple of nights while on their was from Wisconsin to Lake Mead via Yellowstone. We had a great time with Bill & Barb as we took them through Crazy Horse, Custer Park, Mt Rushmore and the surrounding areas.

.....Stalking the Great Bison!

We even made a trip over to Hermosa for pizza at Lintz Brothers Pizza. We were sad to see them go, but know we will be spending more time with them this winter at Lake Mead.

Joan and I have been attempting to utilize our VIP cards before our time here in South Dakota runs out. As employees of Crazy Horse we got VIP cards that provide us with free or deeply discounted entrance to lots of area attractions. We've toured Thunder Mountain Mine, where we panned for gold; and visited 2 additional caves. Earlier in the year we toured Wind Cave National Park and took a tour through the cave system. During the last 2 weeks we also toured Jewel Cave National Monument and Wonderland Cave. All 3 cave systems offered different things to see on their tours and the price was hard to beat as the tours were free.....Thanks VIP!

Twice a year Crazy Horse hosts a Night Blast to celebrate the birthdays of both the Crazy Horse sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and his wife Ruth. September 6 is the sculptor's birthday as well as the anniversary of the death of Crazy Horse himself. We have a large crowd attend both of the night blasts and it's 'all hands on deck' to manage the crowds including transporting them from the overflow parking areas located 500 yards further away from the complex. I went in to work the evening shift and Joan stopped by just before the blast to watch the excitement. The night blast is more pyrotechnic in nature rather than a true blast or shot to remove rock from the mountain and people from all over southwest South Dakota drive in to watch.

Bradley, grandpa Tommy & Ryan

Shout Outs to 2 of our grandchildren:
Happy Birthday to Bradley















and Tristyn.....1 year old this week!















The weather it is a changin'........snow was forecast for last Thursday and the weather heads were right on target! It started snowing Wednesday evening and we woke up Thursday morning to 3-4 inches on the ground and temps in the high 20's.













It continued overcast and snowing all day Thursday while I was working and that was a first...the first time I've spent an entire day working and watching while it snowed!

Rudee, John & Joan

Friday was sunny and cold with temps in the low 20's in the morning and topping out around 35 for the day. We got some great snow pictures and tried our best to enjoy the snow while suffering through the cold temps.

Only 2 more weeks for us here in South Dakota as we will be headed for Lake Mead the end of September! The summer has flown by and we've had a great time.

That's It For Now. Stay Tuned. More to Come!

“Uh oh, guess what day it is. Guess what day it is. Huh? Anybody? Julie, hey, guess what day it is. Aw c’mon I know you can hear me. Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike, what day is it Mike? Wuuhahaha. Leslie, guess what today is.”

They say it's your birthday, well it's my birthday too, yeah.

They say it's your birthday, we're gonna have a good time!

Yes my little langoliers, it's my birthday. Now Joan says I'm 61. I just say I'm more mature and experiencd than I used to be! I kept wondering why Joan was constantly running over to the campground office every day for the last few days, when finally while Dave & Lydia were here she gave up the ghost and stated she had made an executive decision.....she was giving me my birthday present early. So I opened the newly delivered parcels and what to my wondering eyes should appear.....it was a GoPro camera! Alright. What an unexpected surprise.




Our friends Dave & Lydia arrived the Thursday after Sturgis ready to ride with Dave's 1996 Harley. It only has 95,000 miles so Dave figured it needed to be ridden just a little. Dave & Lydia started riding Friday morning and I joined them just after lunch. Friday we went looking for bison and it didn't take long. We drove up on a small herd of about 200 just outside of Wind Cave as they were crossing Hwy 87. Let's just say Lydia was very excited when several of the bison decided to walk along the edge of the road just 10' from where we had stopped.

We drove on through Custer State Park and turned onto Iron Mountain Road. Iron Mountain Road is made for motorcycles with 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, 3 tunnels and 3 pigtails all within a 17 mile stretch of road. About 3 miles in we came to a stop behind a couple of dozen cars and close to 1000 bison. It was a 2-fer day! There were bison on the left and bison on the right....bison in front of us and bison crossing the road from both sides. We spent about 15 minutes waiting for traffic to move, but that never happened. We did see a sightseeing jeep simply pull out and kind of slowly maneuver his way through the meandering herd. After a few more minutes of standing still, I decided to follow the jeep's lead, so I pulled out of my traffic lane and started slowly working my way forward through the herd...making sure I didn't crowd any mama's with small calfs or seem too aggressive approaching any of the bulls that showed an interest in the motorcycles. We 'plowed' our way through the herd passing all of the cars that were blocked and soon had the entire road to ourselves. A few miles further down the road we stopped at a scenic overlook, only to be approached by a woman who started thanking us for saving her. She stated she had been 'trapped' by the bison herd for quite some time and was afraid to move her car with so many bison roaming back and forth. Once we passed her, she simply pulled in behind us and followed us to safety. Ah shucks ma'am, it weren't nothin'.

Full Throttle Saloon

Over the remainder of the weekend, we visited Mt. Rushmore, Sturgis, Needles, Vanocker Canyon, Devils Tower and Spearfish Canyon.

Mt Rushmore

Devils Tower, Wyoming

Crazy Horse

Driving Around the Black Hills
You Just Never Know What
You Might See

You Also Learn a Lot About Your Friends

We had a great time. When we stopped in Sturgis we noticed quite a difference between the 'during' and 'after' event city.

During Sturgis

After Sturgis

Dave was telling me that he was starting to experience small problems with his bike....he had to wire up one of the exhaust pipes as he had discovered a small hole that had rusted out and he was afraid it might get worse while we were riding. Well the pipe never fell off, but the hole nearly tripled in size. His shocks were 'bottoming' out whenever he road 2-up and his front forks were looking much worse the wear from 18 years of riding in all types of weather. The paint on the bike was starting to wear and his speedometer cable broke the first day out. All things considered he was thinking about shopping for a newer bike. He took me up on an offer to ride my streetglide one morning and he couldn't stop smiling when we eventually stopped for breakfast. It's my opinion that a new bike is in Dave's near future. I'm glad I didn't tease him too much about his maintenance concerns because as we were riding one day I noticed my shifter pegs gently rocking back and forth.....for those of you that don't know, that is not a good thing as the shifter pegs should be firmly attached in order to shift gears. We pulled to the side to check things out and it turned out not to be too bad after all. Just a loose nut and we were back on the road in about 10 minutes.

When the weekend was over we had ridden a total of over 700 miles. What a great time. For any of you FOSJ riders. Keep us in mind next time your planning your vacations!

And as most all full time RVers know, there are almost always some sort of maintenance issues that need to be taken care of around the RV. On Thursday we had the lower doors of the refrigerator replaced under our warranty contract. They had begun to sag and the doors were rubbing against each other when opening/closing. Also we had been noticing that the foot pedal on the toilet was sticking, so I decided to check it out Saturday morning. I tried checking a couple of items, but to no avail. I ended up having to remove not only the toilet bowl, but the pedestal as well. And as I was disassembling the various parts of the pedestal I figured out what was wrong.....a broken spring attached to the foot pedal. Let's see.....it's 11am on Saturday....what are the odds I can find an RV shop with the part I need that will be open today...oh well, to the phones! First call, Dakota RV in Rapid City...."Well we don't sell the springs but we do have a kit that includes the spring. And we're open till 4pm today"....yipee! Off we go about 45 miles to Rapid, pick up the part, lunch at Outback, then on to Walmart for groceries before returning home. Reassembling the pedestal turned out to be a little trickier that taking it apart, but finally managed to get everything back together just before dark. A happy ending to a crappy job.

2 of my favorite ladies

This pic is for Tom Davis. Wish you could have been here.

Doug & Tristyn

Shout out to my oldest son Doug......birthday upcoming September 1. Happy Birthday son. Looking forward to seeing you and your family soon!










Well, that's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come!

Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Welcome Back

Yes my little langoliers, I'm back from the nasty little sinus infection I contracted a few weeks ago. Feeling better every day! For all of you back in central Florida...do you remember the connection to langoliers? And for all of you that were around in the mid-70's.....does the title of this blog ring a bell? Maybe you still remember Vinnie, Epstein and Horshack?

Joan and I have completed well over half of our assignment here in South Dakota and have just over 6 weeks left until it will be time to head south towards Lake Mead. We have really enjoyed our stint here at Crazy Horse and would recommend it to anyone who has not had the opportunity to visit the Black Hills of western South Dakota.

A few weeks ago the city of Custer celebrated Gold Discovery Days. Arts, crafts, car show and a parade which Joan and I decided to check out.









I guess you just never know what you might see at a parade like this.

Joan & Kevin

Over the last few weeks we've been on the bikes quite a bit. 2 weeks ago Joan's cousin from Ohio Kevin and 2 of his friends, Mike & Julie called to let us know they would be passing through town on their way to Wyoming. After 3 days of riding through the Great Plains, once they drove the 50 miles through the Black Hills to stop and see us, they decided to stay.....which they did for 3 days! We had a blast. We led them on a winding ride that included Wind Cave, Custer State Park, Iron Mountain Road, Keystone and Hill City.

Mike & Julie
Check out the stats under the
Iron Mountain Road sign

The next day Phil & Rudy took them riding to Pactola Lake and a few other locals including a pre-rally ride to Sturgis. I think we wore them out as poor ol' Kevin had to check in at the clinic for a quick pick-me-up before they could head out the next day. Don't worry Kevin.....it just a sign that your getting to where you're more mature and experienced than some of the others around you.



Last week was the official week of the Sturgis Black Hills Rally and Joan and I knew we had to make the passage at least once while we were here. Our days off were Monday and Saturday......hhmmmmmm...let's see.....should we go early in the week before it gets too crazy? Or should we wait and join in the insanity that ensues on the weekend? Decisions, decisions. We chose Monday. 57 miles between our campsite and the location of 1 of the most well known motorcycle rallies in the world. And there was never a break in the oncoming traffic.

I would have never guessed that the roads that far out of Sturgis would be so busy with motorcycle traffic. 2014 is the 74th Sturgis Rally and estimates for attendance included over 400,000 bikes. Next year, 2015 will be the 75th and sources are estimating that anniversary will bring out more than 1 million motorcycles. Let's just say that Joan and I are in agreement that we plan to be far away from that crowd. Sturgis was a lot like the Bike Weeks and Biketoberfests that we have seen in Florida with the vendors and the crowds. But the riding in and around the Black Hills is what makes it so special. Nothing like Florida at all. Remember the title of this blog? Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Welcome Back. That's what the state of South Dakota says every year to the motorcyclists that visit. The local Chamber of Commerce has published information that the Sturgis rally pumps over $800 million in revenue into South Dakota every year. Huge, just huge.


Our friends Dave and Lydia are leaving Florida with their Harley in the back of the truck this week headed to visit us! We expect them this Friday and are looking forward to showing them around. I'm already planning the routes we'll ride and some of the non-bike related activities we'd like to share with them. Hurry up you guys!




Stay Tuned. More to Come.

Guest Blogger

One of many roads we've ridden

Hi everyone! Joan here. You may wonder why I'm writing the blog instead of Steve. Well he's been a little under the weather this week; missing work for 3 days and eventually visiting the doctor last Thursday. Seems as though he has a viral sinus infection with lots of coughing and headaches. On top of that the doctor determined that the over-the-counter decongestants he had been taking were causing his blood pressure to spike. Now he's on a different med. Friday he went to work but was not able to narrate his normal bus tours as he continued to cough when he tried to talk for any length of time. He worked in the Welcome Center instead and now he's got the next 3 days off to heal.

Our Crazy Horse jobs are going well. Steve enjoys driving people around the mountain and to the top. I’ve ridden with him a couple of times and have learned quite a bit about the memorial. He does a good job with his narrative.  Working in the gift shop is a little more physical as I have to stand the entire time I’m there. I think this job is tougher than when we were cutting down trees in Oregon during our first workamping job. The fun part of the job is getting to meet people from all over the world. I love hearing their stories. The second best part of our job is that we only have to work four days which means we have three days to play!

Yesterday was time to get out of the house and do something. One of my favorite things to do is to drive the gravel forest roads. I drove and Steve came along for the ride. We took Deerfield Road west out of Hill City about 11 miles to the end of the pavement and continued onto the gravel road.  These roads are in great shape and easy enough for any vehicle to travel.  The scenery is spectacular and you wouldn’t believe all the wildflowers that are in bloom.  Of course I had to make several stops. I was trying to take a picture of each flower I saw.

After driving west for 2 ½ hours and crossing into Wyoming, we were still wandering along the gravel forest roads when we came upon a sign which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere (we didn't know it then but if we had continued another 6 miles we would have reached highway 85 just north of Newcastle). We couldn't see any buildings, but decided to explore anyway. We turned and drove maybe 100 yards when we saw a fairly new building with about a dozen ATV's and pickup trucks parked outside. We went inside and found a rather nifty restaurant.
Steve and I both had prime rib which was excellent. We’ll be back! When we left we decided to take the forest roads back home. Still recuperating from his sinus infection and with his tummy full, Steve slept most of the way back home. For entertainment I decided to count deer. I stopped counting after 75. Hoping to see elk was my primary reason for going back the way we came. They are very elusive and unfortunately I didn’t get to see any on this trip.

My friend, Terri, from Seattle flew in to town the 1st week in July and spent a week with us. We picked her up on Saturday in Rapid City and on Sunday she and I headed off to visit Devils Tower in Wyoming.  The drive from Custer is only about 100 miles but when you add in all the stops for pictures along the way it can take a while.

We decided to get off the interstate at the visitor center in Wyoming and take the northern route to Devils Tower. I should have remembered from earlier vacations that anyone who travels out west soon realizes that just because there is a point and a name on a map does not mean that there is a city or town there.  






Needing fuel, we figured we’d get it at the first town we came to. After all, the map showed one just a short drive away. Driving through the first town we were disappointed that all they had was a little store. Not to worry, there were several more towns along the way. 

In the meantime we we’re stopping every few minutes to take pictures. You really have to drive it for yourself. Absolutely beautiful! After arriving at the next town we began to see a pattern.  These “towns” were just spots in the road where a few houses were built. Terri was driving and I kept leaning over to look at the gas gauge and getting a little worried. Traffic was non- existent. Finally we drove into a town that had a post office, hotel and several stores. As we got to the end of town we could see the gas station. Yes! Terri pulled in and wouldn’t you know it.......they were closed on Sunday! 

With 40 miles left to reach the interstate and our hotel we decided to continue on.  We began to see Devils Tower off in the distant and stopped to take pictures. We had plenty of daylight so we decided to bypass the turnoff to the tower in favor of going to town for gas. I breathed a sigh of relief when we saw several “open” gas stations.  

We got our room, had dinner then drove back to Devils Tower. It worked out great as there were very few people in the park. We took even more pictures!

 Tuesday Steve and I went back to work and Terri used our car to sight see. Wednesday I had traded days off so Terri and I could spend the day together while Steve worked. I took Terri through the wildlife loop at Custer State Park where she could get up close and personal with the buffalo.

We watched 4^th of July fireworks from the rv park so we wouldn't have to fight the traffic coming and going from Custer. We had a great time with Terri and I’m hoping to see her again in October when I plan to fly to Seattle.

Another interesting place Steve and I visited recently was in Rapid City. It’s called Chapel in the Hills. It is an exact replica of the Borgund stave church in Norway. The original Borgund stavkirke was built around the year 1150 and is considered the most completely preserved stave church still standing in Norway. 

Several years ago I hosted 2 foreign exchange students from Norway. We've kept in touch over the years. The funny thing about seeing this is that my two exchange students, Janne-Marie and Jeanette are both visiting in the states with their young families. 

When I posted pictures on FB to show them where I was, their first response was that I must be visiting EPCOT! One day I hope to make it to Norway. They’ve promised to show me around.

They have big planters here in Wyoming!

I cannot say enough good things about South Dakota. It is absolutely beautiful! The scenery is fantastic in every direction. There is also a fragrance in the air that smells so sweet. You notice it everywhere here in the Black Hills or at least I do.  Wildlife and wildflowers surround us. I may sound like a broken record, but if you have not been here, you should add it to your list of places to visit.

That’s it for now. Steve got up at 3:15am this morning to take a special group to the top of Crazy Horse for a sunrise ceremony. He has been sleeping since he returned home about 9am. I hope he wakes up in time to go spotting with me tonight!

Won't be long and shell'll be on the road. LOOKOUT!

Ryan is big enough now to help poppop through the woods!

One last thing. Have to wish grandaughter, Emily a very Happy 16th Birthday and also a shout out out to grandson Ryan who is celebrating his birthday a few days after Emily.  We love you both very very much.  Be sure and watch the mail this week!