Dang RV

Near the crossroads of I35 and 494 near Minneapolis, MN is the Mall of America, a HUGE mall with an actual amusement park indoors right in the middle of it and an Underground Aquarium worth seeing! It could take you days to go through the mall and all its uniques stores you won’t find elsewhere along . . . → Read More: Mall of America and Other Local Sites

I went to Wabasha this week to see the home of the movie, “Grumpy Old Men”. If you get into this area and want a great scenic drive, drive route 61 from Hastings to Wabasha along the Mississippi River and Pepin Lake. I found Slippery’s Bar in Wabasha as mentioned in the movie and there is . . . → Read More: Wabasha, MN

One last weekend to explore western South Dakota and I did my best. I should mention that the 3 things I have seen here more than any other place are a) motorcycles b) horses c) deer.

Yep, these folks are totally motorcycle and horse crazy here. It is only about 3 weeks until the huge Sturgis Motorcycle Rally when the entire world of motorcycles descend on this small town, but year round you will see more here than anywhere else. This is also the home of true cowboys it seems with rodeos, trail rides, and horse camps offered everywhere. If you like horseback riding, you will find a place to ride here with your horse or a rental.

Beware signs marked for deer crossings or deer next X miles. They are not kidding. There are deer along the road all over between Wyoming and South Dakota so be careful. Don’t be surprised if a jack rabbit or a bison cross your path too.

Anyway, on to Ellsworth Air Base and the South Dakota Aviation Museum just past Rapid City.  Being ex-Air Force myself, this was a treat for me and if you have kids, I highly recommend it.  Hey, it’s free! Outside the museum are bunches of planes and their stories. I snapped all the pictures I could but don’t ask me to name them. I know my B29, B52,T38, and Cessnas but that is about it. They didn’t have an F4 like I worked on. The museum inside was interesting and the gift shop was fabulous.

Continue reading Ellsworth Air Base, Wall, the Badlands

Another weekend and another full day of sightseeing here in the gorgeous hills of South Dakota. You may need a map to plan your day but the roads and sites are so well marked that you sure don’t need one to find them.

I started off with the Crazy Horse Memorial which is the Indian answer to Mount Rushmore since they have heroes too. This is actually a work in progress which has been for quite some time. In fact, the original scuptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, died and work is being continued by his wife and 7 of his 10 children using books of his detailed plans and measurements he made sure to leave behind. At this time, you can see the face of Crazy Horse and the beginning of his arm. There is a large museum or art and indian culture there along with a fine restaurant, beautiful veranda over looking a water pool, indian crafts for sale, models of the scupture, and bus tours to the base of the memorial to watch the workers.

The scupture shows Crazy Horse pointing and answering a question put to him, “My lands are where my dead lie buried.” After seeing the original Black Hills treaty broken and the failure of indian agents to provide the food, tents, blankets etc. that were promised them if they lived on a reservation, Crazy Horse never signed a treaty and refused to live on a reservation. He was stabbed in the back and killed by an American soldier under a flag of truce.

Continue reading 1880 Train, Crazy Horse, Needles, Custer

Why oh why do all the vehicles I buy have minds of their own? They are all different types yet they all seem to go where they want to go with me along for the ride. All my cars are Herbies. Once again I went out for a simple run to the local Post Office and ended up at a much more interesting place, Fort Meade, an army post built in 1878 and once home for a time to the 4th and 7th Cavalries.

Fort Meade has no high walls surrounding it like people expect. When it was built the commander felt hiding behind high walls was bad for morale and it was safer to be on constant alert instead. Many of the original buildings like headquarters which is now a museum, the post office, barracks, and stables are still there. Many are still in use. The post was decommissioned and has been turned into a VA hospital but still hosts an Officer Candidates School. It was recommisioned for a short time in 2003 then decommisioned again.

Most notable is the former commander of the fort and his wife are responsible for the Star Spangled Banner becoming our national anthem. They felt it was wrong for a 117 year old country to not have what all other countries have and began having it played at the fort every day and then spoke to the state governor about their vision of making it country-wide for the Army. It caught on apparently.

Continue reading Fort Meade, Sturgis SD