Chadron, Nebraska

 In keeping with our intent to visit small, out of the way places, we find ourselves in a small Nebraska town of just over 5,000 souls. Surrounded by prairie grasslands, Chadron was established in 1884 as a railroad town near the site of the Bordeaux Trading Post, where trading for furs and hides was a brisk business between the American Fur Company and native Sioux, Lakota, and Cheyenne peoples.

We’re still recovering from the excitement preparing Deadwood, Sturgis, and Spearfish for Bike Week, and Chadron is providing a quiet one night stop. Eagles Rest RV Park is home for mostly longtime residents with a half dozen or so available sites. When we checked in we were told to just drive through and find a site we like. So we did,

The trip from Deadwood was uneventful, but fascinating in its own way. Leaving the Black Hills, we set sail on Highway 79, south out of Rapid City. Past Custer State Park, the road to Mt Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. Highway 79 skirted the east side of the Black Hills, and is enveloped by the praire.

The vistas remained the same as we crossed into Nebraska.

So, as we tuck in for a relaxing afternoon and evening along a dirt road called Stockade Rd, we reflect on the cool, clear, and noisy mountain air of Deadwood.

Deadwood, South Dakota

 We have visited the Deadwood, Sturgis, and Spearfish area a time or two in past years, but have not spent much time here. This time we’ll give it a better look.

After a short ride from Wall, we ducked into the Creekside Campground, six miles south of Deadwood, site number 3.

US Highway 385 is the preferred route to Deadwood from the east, but is essentially closed at SD44 for reconstruction, so we had to go a bit north on Interstate 90 to Sturgis, SD, and backtrack to the campground. Not a big deal. Just a few miles longer. There are several rv parks in this area and all of them cater to offroad vehicle enthusiasts. There are miles of logging roads snaking through the woods. This is in addition, of course, to the thousands of motorcycles that own the road hereabouts. We’re here the week prior to the famous Sturgis motorcycle rally, and hope to escape before things get scary,

Our first full day in Deadwood was, unfortunately, spent driving an hour plus back to Rapid City. A combination of haircuts, pedicures, grocery shopping, and propane tank refills took most of the day, but we reacquainted ouselves with “the city” and got the errands taken care of! On the way into RC, we passed a small sign locating what we believe to be a church retreat camp. It’s been surprising to see the many places with this name as we travel around the country!

Our plans for a the next day out have been foiled.

A combination of rain and power outages has kept us from enjoying a day trip to downtown Deadwood. Well, the Days of 76 parade and festivities as well as preparations for the semifinal PRCA Rodeo this weekend also had something to do with it. 

The rain came down like a cow…never mind…

Donna took advantage of intermittent power to run a few loads of laundry while Sasha and I cleaned house and did some Donna directed dinner prep. It’s been a quiet day…in Lake Deadwood…apologies to Lake Woebegone.

Eventually we found a nice day, weather wise, to explore the area. The skies have very hazy and smokey, evidently due to Canadian wildfires, but we haven’t let that stop us, and after an experimental breakfast on the Blackstone, we left Creekside, heading north on US 385. 

Turning west on the CanAm Highway, US 85, took us through the mining town of Lead, pronounced “leed”, and on to Cheyenne Crossing, where we turned north onto US 14A, the Spearfish Canyon scenic highway.

The canyon lived up to its reputation, providing dozens of awesome views.

Nearing Spearfish, the canyon impressed us again.

And brought us into the bustling town of Spearfish, population north of 12,000. Established at the base of the Black Hills, along Spearfish Creek, it was a main supply point for miners who flooded the area in 1876.

Spearfish Creek is internationally known for being a fly fisherman’s nirvana. Small pools, rippling riffles, and short waterfalls make for a challenging fishing experience.

Lunch at the Millstone, a shared Monte Cristo sandwich and a couple of visits to a very nice salad bar satisfied our hunger pangs, and a quick look at downtown gave us pause as to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally preparations.

On the CanAm Highway again, it was back to Deadwood, completing a circle daytrip. It’s been a nice day!

Our last day in Deadwood began with bright sunshine and warm temperatures. A perfect day to investigate downtown. The Days of 76 celebration was complete and all the rodeo cowboys were ridin’ away, so we figured that a quiet tour of some touristy western shops and maybe a nice lunch would be a great thing to do.

Well, maybe not…

It would seem that most of the motorcyclists that have been passing the rv park we’ve been staying at decided to enjoy the afternoon downtown as well!

To console ourselves, we drifted a half mile or so west and found an out of the way casino that contained a highly rated restaurant.

When we entered, we arbitrarily turned to a corridor on the right, leading us in the direction of …a couple of hundred slot machines. Fancy that! Well, since we’re already here…

A half hour later we were enjoying a steak and a burger in thr Flyt Steakhouse, on the complete opposite side of the casino.

Courtesy of Cadillac Jack’s slot machines!

We were back at the trailer when a sudden thunderstorm popped up, leaving us with a beautiful sky to remember Deadwood!

It’s been great being in the mountains, smelling pine forests and enjoying the sound of hundreds of unmuffled motorcycles, but we must be off. Heading south on the CanAm Highway on the morrow.

Wall, South Dakota

 A lazy morning in Chamberlain, with a second cup of coffee, got us into a bit of a fix. We woke to clear skies that rapidly became cloudy, and heavy rain began just as we prepared to leave.

 

Check out time at the park was 11, but since the rain was still coming down in silver dollar sized drops, we made the decision to stay a bit longer! Just after 12:30 the rain began to lessen, so we took the opportunity and hooked up the trailer and took off!

Going west on Interstate 90, we encountered some more of Mother Nature’s grumbling…

One hundred and fifty six miles of wide open prairie brought us to the famous town of Wall, South Dakota, a town of just over 700 residents and two thousand visitors. Wall began as a railroad town, but soon developed into a shipping and commerce center for local farms. As interest in the neighboring badlands developed, so also did travel through the area. In the days before universal air conditioning, hot temperatures were a concern for people and automobiles alike, and Ted Hustead recognized that an offer of a cold glass of water would encourge passersby to stop and rest and perhaps buy something at his drugstore. Today, Wall Drug is a sprawling tourist attraction drawing two million visitors a year. Teds grandson Rick runs the business today, and keeps the thousands of billboards advertising Wall Drug in tip top condition.

There are several rv opportunities in Wall, and we chose Sleepy Hollow campground as our temporary home.

The rv park is neither sleepy, or in a hollow, but it does have over 70 camping sites, and it seems that they all are full, mostly with overnight guests. We’ve settled in for the night, anticipating tomorrow.

The main attraction in town is, of course, Wall Drug. Many of the two million annual visitors were on hand today, but we braved the crowds and the 85 degree heat and strolled through Wall Drug and the tee shirt shops surrounding it.

At the corner of Sixth and Glenn we found Dahl Chainsaw Art, with the iconic Jack-a-lope that every local has seen in the dark of night.

Having pretty much seen downtown, we headed east, but had to get a photo of the 80 foot tall dinosaur that greets westbound traffic at the edge of town,

A few miles east and north, the little town of Quinn was vibrating with anticipation of the Badlands Observatory opening tonight, the night of the Buck Moon. Just kidding…we saw four people while we were in Quinn, and they were all in the same truck…

Back at camp we watched a beautiful sunset while Sasha explored the dog park. It was interesting and incredible at the same time.

The South Dakota Badlands National Park entrance is just a few miles south of Wall, so we decided to take a drive and check out the western loop of the Badlands Highway. Our first section was south toward the small town of Interior, SD, population 65.

The fantastic forms left at the end of the last ice age were partially obscured by hazy skies and high clouds, so the colors didn’t “pop” as they would normally, but were amazing nonetheless.

A “Popcorn” shower jumped up as we approached Interior and more of those silver dollar rain drops smacked us.

Restaurant possibilities are few and far between in Interior, so it was easy to choose the highest rated place in town, Katie’s Kantina.

This food truck is known for tacos and nachos and did not disappoint!

We enjoyed our lunch (with Sasha) in our truck as the rain poured down. A photo of the front of Katie’s truck focused on raindrops rather than the menu.

Leaving Interior, we decided to take the long way home via SD 44, heading toward Scenic, SD.

On the way west, we encountered a huge praire dog town,

a huge herd of buffalo,

and a huge OHV area along an abandoned railroad right of way.

Scenic is supposed to have a population of about 58, but what we saw, sandwiched in between Bombing Range Rd and Main St, was not the home of anyone.

After that disappointment, we turned north on 160/161st St toward New Underwood and Interstate 90, passing vast farms and cattle ranches.

And so, 156 miles later, we got home to 89 degree temperatures and a full rv park. 

The Eastern section of the Badlands Loop road bails off of I90 onto SD 240, heading south toward the town of Interior. In doing so, the road parallels and then crosses the Badlands.

This east side of the Badlands is known as The Wall, in that it presented a significant barrier to early pioneers and travelers.

The road is only eleven miles long, from the Interstate and Interior, but there is a wealth of beautiful formations and colors to be seen.

Just as we thought we couldn’t absorb any more, we turned a corner.

Along the western edge of this incredible area, the Bureau of Land Management has set aside an area for “Boondock” camping. The services are non existent, the road is rutted and bumpy, but for those lucky enough to secure a semi level spot along the rim for their rv, the view is overwhelming and the stars bright!

We’ve just about finished with Wall, South Dakota, and as interesting as the area is, we need to move on. We have a little cleaning to do, and some errands to run, then off we go to our last stop in South Dakota.