So what have we been doing since Jewel Cave?

We have coffee by the fire most mornings and a couple times a week we have a  fire in the evenings.  I even roasted marshmallows one day.  Marshmallows are one thing I can’t resist, so when I roast them I have at least 5 or 6.  Thus the reason I don’t roast them very often.  We often see deer roaming in the park, along with wild turkeys and an abundance of birds.  I’m doing a lot of bird watching.

I do love marshmallows!

The park came alive over the Memorial Day weekend.  Our campground was almost full.  We met lots of people and that made me very happy.  People to talk to!  Almost all of them were from Gillette.  This is a park that locals frequent.  We haven’t had anyone visiting who came from further away  than Rapid City (2 hours).  No matter. It was fun visiting with them all.

On Tuesday, May 28, T & I and the park supervisor, Terry Lee, went over to Pinehaven to “R” Place for dinner.  It is one of the two bar & grills located there.  Everything was fried.  T had a hamburger, which he enjoyed even though it was over cooked.  I ate a catfish sandwich, rather I tried to eat a catfish sandwich.  It was one of the worst catfish anything I have ever had.  I couldn’t  finish it.  Alas, I don’t there there is a “good” place to eat around here, unless it is at home.

"R" Place Bar & Grill

Terry Lee, Park Supervisor, at "R" Place 

Yesterday, May 28, we hosted a “Post Memorial Day” potluck and all the volunteers that have arrived came as well as a few of the park staff.   I had such a great time entertaining and T loved the talking.   

There are two more volunteer couples coming in this week. We will host another potluck in a couple weeks so all the volunteers can get together.   Things have picked up a bit since the weather warmed up.

May 20, - Jewel Cave National Monument

My pretty little Red (Miata) is such a mess. Yesterday, May 19, she got a bath, the first since we arrived in April.  She was so shiny and bright.  Then today we took off and headed to Jewel Cave National Monument and after traveling 7 miles on a the gravel dirt road the poor thing is filthy. So horrible.

Poor little Red, so dirty!

The trip to the Caverns took 2 1/2 hours. There was lots of road construction and of course we're in Wyoming and South Dakota so there was rain. The actual distance to Jewel Cave was about ninety miles.

Jewel Cave is the third longest cave in the world at approximately 170 miles.  Though that number grows about 4 miles every year.  They have not explored the entire thing.    On the “Scenic tour”, which we took, one only sees about a half mile of the cave.  In June each year they open the “wild cave tours” and on that you get to crawl around in the cave and explore about 4 miles and it takes about 4 hours.   

Anyway on our tour we were down about 380 ft below surface and walked up and down 726 
steps.  We saw large geos, nail head spar, box work, and a few, very few stalactites.  Unfortunately, the lighting was such that I didn’t get a good shot of the nail head spar.  We enjoyed the tour of the cave.  It was quite interesting and quite different from Kartchner caverns.

I don't have any photos of the grounds, because much of it was under construction and the weather was rainy.

After touring the cave, naturally T was hungry. So we had to find someplace to eat. We drove over to Custer City and looked around. It is a quaint touristy little town. Most people who travel through the area use it as a stop off to see the national monuments in the area, of which there are at least four within a hundred miles.   T had his favorite sandwich at Subway.  Yes my husband likes his Subway sandwiches.  

I found this quaint little place called the Purple Pie and we went there and had blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream for desert.  I of course had to have a my picture with the owner, Bob Yehle. He and his wife come to Custer in the summer.  They run the Purple Pie until the season is over.   Then close up and go back to California for the winter.  The pie was great and it was fun visiting with the owner.  

Purple Pie

Bob Yehle, owner

Spring Finally Arrived!!!!

May 18- Spring finally arrived!  The temperature got up to 75 and the sun was shining almost all day.  What a wonderful day to be outdoors.

Devils Tower National Monument & Sundance WY

Devils Tower National Monument

Devils Tower National Monument - May 14

“. . .one of North America’s most recognizable natural features, dramatically rises 1267 feet above  the Bell Fourche River 27 miles northwest of Sundance, WY. President Theodore Roosevelt established Devils Tower as America’s first national Monument in 1906.”

Prairie Dogs

We walked the Tower Trail and then drove through the park and watched the prairie dogs for awhile.  Molly especially enjoyed this.

When we left Devils Tower we drove over to Sundance (Population 1182),  the place where the “Sundance Kid” got his name.  Not the place where the film festival is held.  “The Kid’s” real name was Harry Longabaugh.  He wasn’t born there and he didn’t die there.  He just spent eighteen months in the Sundance jail for stealing a horse, gun and saddle.

Sundance Kid statue in Sundance WY

T & I being the coffee lovers that we are, sought out a local coffee shop and found the Wild West Espresso.  What a neat place to spend an afternoon, drinking coffee and visiting with the locals.

Wild West Espresso - local coffee shop

Wyoming Update

We've been here now for two weeks.  During that time we've experienced quite a range of weather, mostly cold, rainy, windy and snowy.  Last weekend the sun was out, so we had six campers come out and join us.  At least we weren't alone.  The lake is quite beautiful when the sun is shining.

Hopefully I won't repeat myself but thought it time to update this with our actives over the past week or so.

Last week we drove over to Gillette to check it out.  It’s a city of about 30,000 people, having the typical chain stores, one local health food store, one theatre and several grocery stores.  So far we haven’t had anyone recommend any particular place in Gillette for dining.   We went over yesterday to buy groceries and get a haircut.  While there we visited the one and only Starbucks and I rewarded myself with a sugary Cinnamon Dolce’ Frab.  Though it was delicious, I haven’t had any sugar to speak of in over a month and I could not drink it all.  How sad.

The weather was snowy and raining, high was 36 with a wind chill of 28. 

Spearfish, SDOn my birthday drove over to Spearfish, about an hour away.  The weather was the nicest it had been since we arrived.  

“Spearfish is situated in the scenic valley of Spearfish Creek and at the mouth of Spearfish Canyon.  The town dates back to the 1870’s.” 

It is primarily a tourist town with a few small eclectic shops, many antique shops, a coffee shop and a couple of restaurants and of course outside of town there is a Wal Mart, hardware store and a Kmart. The area is beautiful and I know when it warms up people will be out hiking the surrounding mountains.

Bay Leaf Cafe

We dined at the Bay Leaf Cafe.  The cafe was originally the Queen City Hotel. I chose it because it had a great menu selection and many vegetarian items on the menu.  Our experience did not live up to the hype.  We may try it again just to see if some of the other items on the menu are any good.









We drove into Moorcroft on Tuesday and decided to take in the local museum, West Texas Trail Museum in Moorcroft.  It is basically the town’s local historical society.  I learned a bit about the history of Moorcroft.  

“It got its start from the cowboys herding cattle up the Texas Trail in 1866.  Eventually the Chicago Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q) Railroad laid tracks  and Moorcroft became the largest cattle shipping station in the country.”

There was a lot of information about local families through the years and old photos of the town.

Main Street Moorcroft 1920

Though the picture above was taken in the 1920’s, Main Street hasn’t changed much. There are a few more buildings and the street is paved, but otherwise it looks much the same today. 

Keyhole State Park, Moorcroft Wyoming

We arrived at Keyhole State Park late Friday afternoon, April 25th.  The weather was beautiful.  Temperatures in the upper 60's.  It was partly cloudy, but sun was shining through.  We were excited at the prospect of meeting new volunteers and getting to know other RVers.  We got our rig setup and were ready to explore the area.

Keyhole State Park

T & I will be responsible for the camp ground called Homestead.  There are 45 campsites and our responsibility will be to keep the campsites clean and the toilets supplied.  We've been here four days and have seen four campers.  In all fairness, the season hasn't begun, so people aren't out camping yet.  Add to that, the temperatures dropped into the 30's with winds of 20 to 40 mph and snow and rain.  No one in their right mind would be camping in this.  Now having said that, T and I are camping in this mess.  WHAT ARE WE THINKING?  Really, though, it isn't too bad.  I've made hearty soups every day and the weather forecast is predicting clear skys and warmer temperatures by the end of the week.

The nearest community is Pine Haven.  You can't call it a town.  There is a gas station/market and two restaurants and a golf course.  The next nearest town is Moorcroft, about eleven miles away.  Neither town has a stop light.  The "coffee shop" in Moorcroft is a Truck Stop.  Now being fair, the place is called Coffee Cup Fuel Stop and the coffee is good and there is a large "dining area" with free wifi.   There is a Post Office, a library, a bank, another gas station, a small market and a Museum.   There are two restaurants and a Subway in town.  We will of course try out both restaurants.

To go grocery shopping we will have to go to Gillette or Spearfish, both about an hour away in opposite directions.  Once the weather clears we will head out to see what these towns are about.

Sadly, we will be the only hosts here for at least two more weeks.  Stay tuned.

Colorado: Manitou Springs & Colorado Springs, USAF Academy

We left Las Vegas, NM and went to Colorado Springs.  We stayed at the USAF Academy FAMCamp.  There were quite a few RVers there, though  the weather hadn't warm up all that much.  

 We went over to Manitou Springs a couple of times. The town is famous for its hot springs and the fact that it sits at the base of Pikes Peak.  One day we walked around town had lunch at the European Cafe and I had borscht (beet soup) for the first time.  I found it to be surprisingly good.  The next day we went back, rode the Cog Railway to the top of Pikes Peak and when we got back down we had lunch at The Heart of Jerusalem Cafe, excellent Mediterranean food.

Manitou Springs

The Manitou Springs Incline, also known as the Manitou Incline or simply the Incline, is a popular hiking trail rising above Manitou Springs, Colorado, near Colorado Springs. The trail is the remains of a former 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge[1] funicular railway whose tracks washed out during a rock slide in 1990. The Incline is famous for its sweeping views and steep grade, as steep as 68% in places,[2] making it a fitness challenge for locals in the Colorado Springs area. The incline gains over 2,000 feet (610 m) of elevation in less than one mile.

Manitou Incline

They say there are something like 2024 steps to the top.  I was excited at the thought of walking to the top and I had planned to walk up it right after our Cog rail ride. The first look at the "incline" was a bit daunting, but I was game.   I walked up 200 steps and got to thinking, "I am not prepared for this.  I don't have any water, nor snacks to tide me over." So I returned to the bottom.  That sounded like a good excuse to me.  Maybe the next time I'm in the area, I'll give it a try.

Balancing Rock-Garden of the Gods (Glo beside rock)

Garden of the Gods

We also drove through the "Garden of the Gods." An amazing area of beautiful red rock formations.  It reminded me in some ways of Sedona, AZ.  If you are ever in the Colorado Springs area, you MUST see visit this park.  It holds a special place in my heart, because my sister, Marsha, and I visited here on a trip west in 1996.

Helen Hunt Jackson wrote of the park, "You wind among rocks of every conceivable and inconceivable shape and size... all bright red, all motionless and silent, with a strange look of having been just stopped and held back in the very climax of some supernatural catastrophe."^[6]

Pikes Peak

At the top of Pikes Peak the temperature was 20 degrees with a wind chill of 9 degrees.  To say the least we didn't spend a great deal of time outside.  The views were magnificent.  They say you can see for 300 miles.

USAF Academy Chapel

Ken & Sue Moloney

On our ride up to Pikes Peak we met a neat couple, Ken & Sue  Moloney.  We happened to meet up with them purely by accident the next day at the USAF Academy Chapel.  They are full-time RVers like us who used to live in Tempe, AZ for many years and Ken served some time in the Air Force.  We hope to see them again in our travels.














Weather was magnificent the whole time we were in Colorado; cool in the mornings warming up in the afternoons.  However the morning that we were leaving there was frost on the ground it was 29° outside.  Our water pipes were frozen.  Though it didn't take long to fix it,  I was thinking we need to get used to that for a little while anyway.  

We decided we needed to get on the road toward Moorcroft, WY, because the weather forecast had winter storms coming in and we wanted to be sure we were at our destination and off the roads before  the snow arrived.