Rushmore Shadows RV Park - Rapid City, SD
Sunday, July 29 - Our journey has us departing Lionshead RV Resort in West Yellowstone, Montana. We drove back across the Rocky Mountain range north on SR 191 . The scenic drive is awesome and a different perspective as the sun was reflecting on the rock formations and illuminating their colors. We are headed to Billings, Montana for service on the RV. After 2.5 hour wait, they couldn't find the filter for our RV and charged us for service anyway.
Arrived around noon at Yellowstone River RV Park & Campground, Billings, Montana. Nice park, but full to the brim due to Sturgis annual event starting August 3. We saw two couples in the valley camping in tents and they had Goldwings and a tow. Every biker we met recently was heading for Sturgis. The temperature gage showed 106 in the shade, so our evening walk around the park at 8pm was still warm and the breeze was actually hot. We saw deer around the outside fence of the park. Just a one-night stay. Moved on to Gillette to spend the night in a non-descript park off the interstate.
Tuesday, July 31 - We left High Plains RV Park in Gillette, Wyoming around 8:30 am. Wyoming is a great plateau broken up by several mountain ranges. The basic elevation of this plateau is 5,000 feet above sea level. We only have 150 miles to get to our next destination, Rushmore Shadows Resort in Rapid City, SD. Located in the heart of the beautiful Black Hills at 4,300 ft. elevation. The drive was all I-90 and, at times, very boring landscape until we reached Sundance. The resort of Sundance is not to be confused with the town of Sundance, Wyoming, the location from where the Sundance Kid received his name.
Along our drive, we saw many trains with over 50 cars filled with coal. They are Wyoming Coal Trains filled with thick, easily strippable seams of low-sulfur coal. The coal has made Wyoming the nation’s #1 coal producer. Burning Wyoming coal is plainly the cheapest option, and meets air quality emission standards for many electric utilities. The railroads’ substantial investment in coal transportation demonstrates their belief in the long-term viability of Wyoming’s coal industry. Ray spoke to a rancher at our last stop who has 350 head of cattle. The state of Wyoming requires a rancher to have 22 acres for every one cow on his ranch. It takes 14 cowboys to run these cows. They no longer use helicopters or ATV’s. The rancher’s neighbor has 22,p000 head of cattle and bunkhouses scattered over his acreage housing the cowboys that keep watch on the herds. The terrain changed to red rock pillars scattered about the rolling hills. All the grass fields have been cut and bundled for winter food. Each bale is about 750 pounds.
Rapid City is nestled on the eastern foothills of the Black Hills and shines as the hub of this legendary region’s vacation activities. Built in the 1880's to intercept and re-supply miners on their way to the gold fields. Today, this community of 60,000 is the cultural and commercial headquarters for a trade area that includes four states and 120,000 sq. miles. It is the nucleus for the Black Hills visitor industry. ”The name “Black Hills” comes from the Lakota words Paha Sapa, which means “hills that are black.” Seen from a distance, these pine-covered hills, rising several thousand feet above surrounding prairie, appear black.
Wednesday, August 01 - We met with an agent to explain the Midwest Outdoor Resort (Coast to Coast & Resorts of Distinction). We were very interested until we reached the bottom line. We can’t see getting involved with another major membership like Thousand Trails, although their locations in the east coast interested us. There are certain positives, but to lay out $4000+/- after all the discounts they were willing to give us, it is still entirely too much and we can't justify the expense.
There are bikers everywhere due to the Sturgis Rally next week and our drive today saw so many more at every twist and turn of the road. After lunch, we drove to Mount Rushmore National Memorial at 5,251 elevation.
Arrived around noon at Yellowstone River RV Park & Campground, Billings, Montana. Nice park, but full to the brim due to Sturgis annual event starting August 3. We saw two couples in the valley camping in tents and they had Goldwings and a tow. Every biker we met recently was heading for Sturgis. The temperature gage showed 106 in the shade, so our evening walk around the park at 8pm was still warm and the breeze was actually hot. We saw deer around the outside fence of the park. Just a one-night stay. Moved on to Gillette to spend the night in a non-descript park off the interstate.
Tuesday, July 31 - We left High Plains RV Park in Gillette, Wyoming around 8:30 am. Wyoming is a great plateau broken up by several mountain ranges. The basic elevation of this plateau is 5,000 feet above sea level. We only have 150 miles to get to our next destination, Rushmore Shadows Resort in Rapid City, SD. Located in the heart of the beautiful Black Hills at 4,300 ft. elevation. The drive was all I-90 and, at times, very boring landscape until we reached Sundance. The resort of Sundance is not to be confused with the town of Sundance, Wyoming, the location from where the Sundance Kid received his name.
Along our drive, we saw many trains with over 50 cars filled with coal. They are Wyoming Coal Trains filled with thick, easily strippable seams of low-sulfur coal. The coal has made Wyoming the nation’s #1 coal producer. Burning Wyoming coal is plainly the cheapest option, and meets air quality emission standards for many electric utilities. The railroads’ substantial investment in coal transportation demonstrates their belief in the long-term viability of Wyoming’s coal industry. Ray spoke to a rancher at our last stop who has 350 head of cattle. The state of Wyoming requires a rancher to have 22 acres for every one cow on his ranch. It takes 14 cowboys to run these cows. They no longer use helicopters or ATV’s. The rancher’s neighbor has 22,p000 head of cattle and bunkhouses scattered over his acreage housing the cowboys that keep watch on the herds. The terrain changed to red rock pillars scattered about the rolling hills. All the grass fields have been cut and bundled for winter food. Each bale is about 750 pounds.
Rapid City is nestled on the eastern foothills of the Black Hills and shines as the hub of this legendary region’s vacation activities. Built in the 1880's to intercept and re-supply miners on their way to the gold fields. Today, this community of 60,000 is the cultural and commercial headquarters for a trade area that includes four states and 120,000 sq. miles. It is the nucleus for the Black Hills visitor industry. ”The name “Black Hills” comes from the Lakota words Paha Sapa, which means “hills that are black.” Seen from a distance, these pine-covered hills, rising several thousand feet above surrounding prairie, appear black.
Wednesday, August 01 - We met with an agent to explain the Midwest Outdoor Resort (Coast to Coast & Resorts of Distinction). We were very interested until we reached the bottom line. We can’t see getting involved with another major membership like Thousand Trails, although their locations in the east coast interested us. There are certain positives, but to lay out $4000+/- after all the discounts they were willing to give us, it is still entirely too much and we can't justify the expense.
There are bikers everywhere due to the Sturgis Rally next week and our drive today saw so many more at every twist and turn of the road. After lunch, we drove to Mount Rushmore National Memorial at 5,251 elevation.
The monument on Harney Peak is 7,242 feet, the highest point between the 
Rockies and the Swiss Alps. Mt. Rushmore is often referred to as America’s Shrine of Demorcracy. Over 25 million visitors in 2006. Mount Rushmore – Sculpture took 14 years starting in 1927 and ending 1941. The actual time spent working was a total of 6 ½ years. Gutzon Borglum preferred carving the presidents so that the sculpture would be of national significance. The four presidents represent 150 years of American History. Federal funds and the death of Gutzon stopped the carving and remains as it is today. Total cost was a million dollars. The full sculpture is 185 ft. across and 150 ft. tall. The four presidents represented are: Washington; Jefferson; Lincoln; and Theodore Roosevelt. Ninety percent of the mountain carving was done using dynamite. It took a crew of approximately 400 workers led by sculptor Gutzon Borglum and carved the faces.
I walked up to the primary viewpoint at Mount Rushmore to get some pictures. Thousands of people but yet it was very subdued, even the bikers were in awe of this great masterpiece. Ray stayed below with Mitzy as they are very strict about dogs walking near the monument. The Grandview Terrace provides an unobstructed view.
The Black Hills are incredible and we thought we had seen it all. Summer daytime temperatures average around 80 degrees or higher but it was nice at the monument with a breeze blowing. The Needles Highway (SD 87) includes picturesque lakes, towering granite formations and picture-perfect tunnels. Plus there’s tight hairpin curves, spiral “pig-tail” bridges, mile-high overlooks and the wildlife ranges of Norbeck Wildife preserve. . .
Rockies and the Swiss Alps. Mt. Rushmore is often referred to as America’s Shrine of Demorcracy. Over 25 million visitors in 2006. Mount Rushmore – Sculpture took 14 years starting in 1927 and ending 1941. The actual time spent working was a total of 6 ½ years. Gutzon Borglum preferred carving the presidents so that the sculpture would be of national significance. The four presidents represent 150 years of American History. Federal funds and the death of Gutzon stopped the carving and remains as it is today. Total cost was a million dollars. The full sculpture is 185 ft. across and 150 ft. tall. The four presidents represented are: Washington; Jefferson; Lincoln; and Theodore Roosevelt. Ninety percent of the mountain carving was done using dynamite. It took a crew of approximately 400 workers led by sculptor Gutzon Borglum and carved the faces.I walked up to the primary viewpoint at Mount Rushmore to get some pictures. Thousands of people but yet it was very subdued, even the bikers were in awe of this great masterpiece. Ray stayed below with Mitzy as they are very strict about dogs walking near the monument. The Grandview Terrace provides an unobstructed view.
The Black Hills are incredible and we thought we had seen it all. Summer daytime temperatures average around 80 degrees or higher but it was nice at the monument with a breeze blowing. The Needles Highway (SD 87) includes picturesque lakes, towering granite formations and picture-perfect tunnels. Plus there’s tight hairpin curves, spiral “pig-tail” bridges, mile-high overlooks and the wildlife ranges of Norbeck Wildife preserve. . .
We almost collided with a biker that decided to take a piece of our road on a curve and Ray had to go off the road and there are no guard rails and the road is very narrow. It was after
3 pm when we left Mount Rushmore and we decided it was too late in the day to take the loop called Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park. The park is just south of Mount Rushmore and 71,000 acres. has over 1,000 head of Bison and we were fortunate to see one scratching his hide on a tree. Other than that sighting, wildlife was not seen.
History of South Dakota: First inhabitants lived more than 9,000 years ago. Most of these nomadic tribes migrated with the massive herds of bison that roamed the grasslands of the Great Plains. Of course, Sitting Bull was medicine man and leader of the Sioux through turbulent times when the white man started encroaching on their land. Hunting bison, or tatanka, and processing the meat, hide, and bones were tasks for the entire tribe. Trappers and mountain men had been trading with native tribes for decades when Thomas Jefferson became the nation’s third president. His policy of westward expansion led to the 1803 purchase of the 828,000-square-mile Louisiana Territory from Napoleon of France for three cents an acre. The land deal included most of what would become South Dakota. Lewis and Clark journals frequently refer to the wide-open spaces and black herds of bison they viewed from vantage points along the Missouri River. There is so much history in what occurred over the years, mainly the homesteaders and sodbusters, the land treaties, and Gold Rush untimately led to the Battles and Losses of June 25, 1876 in the valleyof the Little Bighorn River, when Sitting Bull and his 4,000 warriors were encamped when Custer and his troops mounted their infamous attack. Hopelessly outnumbered, Custer and his entire force of more than 200 soldiers were killed. The Massacre at Wounded Knee has a solitary stone memorial marking the site of the tragic story. 
Thursday, August 02 - Got a late start, but drove to Sturgis to see what all the commotion was about. Highway 14A was a great road and very scenic. Sturgis is home to the premier motorcycling event known around the world as the Sturgis Mororcycle Rally celebrating its 67th year. The crowd number estimated for 2006 is 456,498. It is the largest tourism event in South Dakota. Each August the population of 7,000 welcomes half-a -million motorcycle enthusiasts. Over 800 temporary businesses set up vending—everything from tattoos and body piercing and exquisite jewelry and, of course, leather everywhere! Don’t know what we expected, but it was the same as Leesburg, or Daytona to us.
Bikes everywhere and no one 
was acting crazy, as it was only noon. The bikes came in all sizes, shapes, models, and colors, just as the people that were riding them. Vendors were everywhere but didn’t see where we could park and grab a bite to eat, so we drove over to Deadwood, 
population 1,380. We found one Pizza Hut in town and no other fast food possibilities unless you gamble. We did not have the time to see this historic Wild West town as we should. Colorful personalities and now famous names like Hickok, Bullock, Canary, Seeargengen, and Adams created their own legends and fortunes down the Deadwood Gulch. In 1989, legalized gaming was introduced to Deadwood creating a new “gold rush”. The casinos are everywhere. Can you believe from the beginning of legalized gaming in 1989 through 2006, nearly $9.5 BILLION was wagered at the tables and slots in Deadwood. As staggering as that number is, over $8.5 Billion of that was paid back to 
bettors (90.8%) over the same period of time.
On our return, we saw a herd of Elk
grazing or just sitting it out enjoying the weather. They are a beautiful animal and looked very unconcerned with the traffic noise or seeing us gawking and taking their picture.
We received two free tickets from the Park for listening to their presentation. Fort Hays “Dances With Wolves” film set and Chuckwagon Supper & Show. We thought it would be lame, but the six-member band was very enjoyable.
Friday, August 3 - Rain started during the night and it is overcast and appears to be an all-day grey-sky kind of day, so we decided not to see the Crazy Horse Memorial. Too much to do so we move on Saturday towards the Badlands.
Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski moved to what is now known as Crazy Horse Memorial on May 3, 1947. Tremendous changes both visible and cultural have occurred because of the man and his mountain carving in the sixty years that have now passed. Korczak and Lakota chief Henry Standing Bear picked the mountain 60 years ago to honor the great heroes of the Lakota people. Although Korczak died in 1982, his work has never stopped due to the steadfast commitment of his family and the Memorial’s multitude of friends and benefactors. It is the world’s largest mountain carving. When completed, the three-dimensional carving depicting Lakota leader Crazy Horse astride his horse, will measure 641 ft. long and 563 ft. high. The horse’s head is 220-feet long. Ruth Ziolkoowski leads the work on her late husband’s project.
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Thursday, August 02 - Got a late start, but drove to Sturgis to see what all the commotion was about. Highway 14A was a great road and very scenic. Sturgis is home to the premier motorcycling event known around the world as the Sturgis Mororcycle Rally celebrating its 67th year. The crowd number estimated for 2006 is 456,498. It is the largest tourism event in South Dakota. Each August the population of 7,000 welcomes half-a -million motorcycle enthusiasts. Over 800 temporary businesses set up vending—everything from tattoos and body piercing and exquisite jewelry and, of course, leather everywhere! Don’t know what we expected, but it was the same as Leesburg, or Daytona to us.
Bikes everywhere and no one 
was acting crazy, as it was only noon. The bikes came in all sizes, shapes, models, and colors, just as the people that were riding them. Vendors were everywhere but didn’t see where we could park and grab a bite to eat, so we drove over to Deadwood, 
population 1,380. We found one Pizza Hut in town and no other fast food possibilities unless you gamble. We did not have the time to see this historic Wild West town as we should. Colorful personalities and now famous names like Hickok, Bullock, Canary, Seeargengen, and Adams created their own legends and fortunes down the Deadwood Gulch. In 1989, legalized gaming was introduced to Deadwood creating a new “gold rush”. The casinos are everywhere. Can you believe from the beginning of legalized gaming in 1989 through 2006, nearly $9.5 BILLION was wagered at the tables and slots in Deadwood. As staggering as that number is, over $8.5 Billion of that was paid back to 
bettors (90.8%) over the same period of time.On our return, we saw a herd of Elk
grazing or just sitting it out enjoying the weather. They are a beautiful animal and looked very unconcerned with the traffic noise or seeing us gawking and taking their picture.We received two free tickets from the Park for listening to their presentation. Fort Hays “Dances With Wolves” film set and Chuckwagon Supper & Show. We thought it would be lame, but the six-member band was very enjoyable.
Friday, August 3 - Rain started during the night and it is overcast and appears to be an all-day grey-sky kind of day, so we decided not to see the Crazy Horse Memorial. Too much to do so we move on Saturday towards the Badlands.
Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski moved to what is now known as Crazy Horse Memorial on May 3, 1947. Tremendous changes both visible and cultural have occurred because of the man and his mountain carving in the sixty years that have now passed. Korczak and Lakota chief Henry Standing Bear picked the mountain 60 years ago to honor the great heroes of the Lakota people. Although Korczak died in 1982, his work has never stopped due to the steadfast commitment of his family and the Memorial’s multitude of friends and benefactors. It is the world’s largest mountain carving. When completed, the three-dimensional carving depicting Lakota leader Crazy Horse astride his horse, will measure 641 ft. long and 563 ft. high. The horse’s head is 220-feet long. Ruth Ziolkoowski leads the work on her late husband’s project.
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SD - Rapid City / 7/29-8/2/07
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