September 18, 2021 - Rapid City, SD to Fort Collins, CO

Well, when we left you last night it was about 9pm. The tow truck finally arrived at 10:45 pm to load us up for a trip into Rapid City. It was almost 8 hours after our first call for roadside service!

With all of the people that vacation in motorhomes in South Dakota you would think there would be more companies that have trailers to tow them in for service! They finally found a company in Ridgeview – 2 hours and 20 minutes away from where we were - that would come to help! There was some miscommunication between the insurance roadside folks and him because he didn’t bring a lowboy trailer. It was more difficult to load us onto his truck because of the weight and our motorcycle ramp. It took almost 45 minutes to get the RV onto the trailer and secured for our 75 mile drive to Rapid City.We rode in the tow truck as we “raced” down the interstate going between 30-50 mph depending on the hills! One of the other things we had to watch for was the clearance on overpasses. With the RV up so high, we needed almost 17 feet of clearance or the air conditioner would get ripped off the roof!

Tobey found the state’s website with clearance heights and we had to go up and over a few. There were three other times that Tobey held onto the tow truck door and leaned out as Ted was driving to see if we would clear. It was nerve wracking!

When we got to Rapid City, we had to find a parking lot with a slope near the Discount Tire where we could unload because the motorcycle ramp on the back of the RV drags with too much angle. It took over an hour to unload and we scraped a deep rut into the asphalt in the parking lot! Tobey is going to take the RV in to make sure the ramp is okay.Once off the truck we had to drive 1-1/2 miles with the flat and finally arrived at Discount Tire at 2:15 am today. Ted followed us there to make sure we made it and then was on his way home – around 4 hours away!

We slept in their parking lot (not long or well) and were up and ready when they opened at 8. Fortunately, it was a valve stem and they had us repaired and on our way by 9:15.

We had planned to spend yesterday and today “meandering” home and sightseeing on the way. We were too tired to do anything other than drive back home, stopping only for gas, lunch, and to change drivers back and forth.

We arrived home about 4pm and have most everything unloaded. Tobey and I both feel like we have jetlag, so it will be a VERY early bedtime for us tonight!

It is always an adventure when you travel with Tobey and Sue … fortunately, it did have a happy ending. The RV is good, we are safe, and we will give it a few days before we start thinking of our next trip!

September 17, 2021 - Sioux Falls to Rapid City, SD

Well, today has been a day … which followed a night that was wild!

We had checked the weather forecast before going to bed and it predicted thunderstorms between 11:30 pm – 1:30 am. The forecast was right and thunder and lightening started around 11:45 and RAIN! The forecast, however, didn’t say that the winds would feel like a tornado! Our little RV rocked so hard I was sure we were going to tip over. I got down from the bed and tried to sleep on the sofa for a while but it was still scary. By 1:30 it was over and I went back to bed! We slept in until 8 and finally got on the road around 9.

From Sioux Falls we headed west to Mitchell to see the Corn Palace. “What is a Corn Palace?” you ask. It is a building that was established originally in 1892 as a way to prove to the world that South Dakota had a healthy agricultural climate. A fall festival is held every year as a gathering place for residents and rural neighbors. The current building (the third) has a basketball court and stage and they host world-renowned entertainers. Every year the outside is decorated with a different theme and the murals are all made from corn, grains and native grasses. The murals are stripped every year at the end of August and new ones are completed by the first of October. The sign and corn cob sculpture were donated by the Mitchell Lions Club as their 100 years of Lions Centennial project.We enjoyed reading the displays inside telling all about the palace through the years. The pictures were great to see, as well. We even treated ourselves to a bag of popcorn before we left!

Our next stop was the Chamberlain rest stop for lunch. It was a beautiful stop with great views over the Missouri River. There is a museum there and this amazing sculpture “Dignity of the Earth and Sky.” We didn’t take the time to visit the museum, but enjoyed the view of the river. “Dignity” is a 50-foot tall stainless steel statue that honors South Dakota’s indigenous Lakota and Dakota peoples.The train trestle over the Missouri was really cool.You can see the museum building behind Tobey.So back on the road we were heading to the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. We watched their 25 minute film which told the story of the missile development and the Cold War with the Soviets. It was informative and well done. We spent a little time looking at the displays but wanted to head on so we could drive through the Badlands National Park and go to Wall Drug.We pulled out of the parking lot and the RV didn’t sound right. Well, it sounded right if you are okay with a flat tire on one of the rear duelly tires. We pulled over onto the shoulder and called our roadside service. That was at 3:00 this afternoon. Around 5:00 pm we drove about 3/4 mile to a gas station that said we could park in their lot so we would be off the road. Thank you, Conoco! We are about 75 miles from Rapid City and it has taken forever to get someone who can tow our RV on a trailer into Rapid City for a repair. The one mobile tire repair place could get to us tomorrow.

One the bright side, there is a prairie dog village and some cool buffalo statues next to the station. They are not the least bit afraid of people. We watched lots of folks feeding them so they came right up to you! I was more cautious than the other people!AND, we did have a beautiful sunset. As I am writing this, it is almost 9:00 pm and we are waiting for a tow truck. We finally got the confirmation that they were on the way! We hope we arrive in Rapid City before midnight!

September 16, 2021 - Randolph, NE to Sioux Falls, South Dakota

The word for the day was wind. From the time we started until well past the finish (even as I write this) the wind had been blowing strong all day. I mean 20-30 mph strong! They were blowing from the south/south east and of course, Tobey was riding mostly east so a cross wind all day.He left Randolph about 8am today ready to finish this ride.Again, today he got to experience all kinds of road conditions as well. Tobey was able to take some interesting shots of the scenery as he made his way across the last part of the state.Our lunch break was at Willis, Nebraska. Just east of there we both stopped to look at the “Sentinels of the Prairie” display.

The “sentinels” are a large collection of vintage windmills that existed from the 1880s through the late 1930s. Most of the old mills are from the Howard and Barvetta McLain collection of Carroll, Nebraska. They spent many hours searching the entire Midwest to find the iron parts. Many of the mills have parts from 4 to 5 different like mills. It was interesting to walk through all the different windmills and read all the informational signs about each one.

From here I headed into Sioux City to get gas and meet Tobey at the Louis and Clark Interpretive Center. My part on this section was pretty boring compared to his!

He had a beautiful view of the Missouri River before crossing the state line into Iowa.The bridge had a good “pedestrian” walk he was able to ride across. Past the bridge supports, you could see the “Welcome to Iowa” sign. He made it!!!Only a few more miles and we would meet up at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center located along the Missouri River. Today’s ride was 57.8 miles making a total of 483 miles in nine days!We spent a little time in the Interpretative Center before heading to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The folks here are patriotic – the bales are wrapped in red, white, and blue!Falls Park was our stop in Sioux Falls. We did the “express tour” because it was getting late.It is a beautiful park with many trails and informational signs about the history of the falls and mill. Even Lewis and Clark stopped here.We are camping in Sioux Falls tonight and will head west toward Colorado tomorrow.

It was an challenging ride across Nebraska. They have a way to go before the Cowboy Trail will be completed. From several folks we talked to, many of the farmers in the area were not happy about having the “rails to trails” system build in Nebraska. They assumed the railroad would turn the land back to them when it stopped running. Funding has come from several grants and the trails contract with the Game and Parks division for upkeep, but they only get so much money every year and it isn’t enough to adequately maintain the trail. Tobey and Phil enjoyed the ride but it was definitely challenging!

September 15, 2021 - Clearwater to Randolph, NE

Today was the last “official” day of the ride for Tobey and Phil. They were on their bikes and ready to go by about 7:15 this morning. It was chilly, but the sky was mostly clear. There was some fog in patches as we all made our was east.The trail was not good in many places – pot holes and loose gravel.They went back and forth between the trail and the highway, especially when the trail was marked with detour signs.Fortunately, they had a tailwind for a good portion of the morning.

Neligh had a mill museum on the trail that they stopped at.

 

Marcia and I missed it, but the guys spent some time looking around at the original 1880s equipment there. The grist mill here is a surviving reminder of the grist mills that once dotted much of Nebraska’s landscape. The displays provide information about the other water-powered mills throughout the Midwest.

We caught up with them in Oakdale for a short break before heading on to Meadow Grove. Unfortunately, Phil had another flat tire near Tilden. As they were doing the repair, a farmer went by them and said, “I hate when that happens!” Who says folks from Nebraska don’t have a good sense of humor?

While we were waiting for their arrival we walked all around the town. There was a cute little museum – closed, of course.and the Victory ParkI guess when you can’t decide what color to paint your house, you use them all!They were pretty cheerful when they arrived, in spite of the flat. Lunch and a short rest break here before the last leg to Norfolk.They had us wait here for more than an hour before heading into Norfolk. They were doing great, so no rest breaks. The wind started to shift and when they weren’t in wooded areas or had tall corn fields to the south, they were getting blasted by side winds from the south.

They were pretty happy to see this sign – almost to the end! Unfortunately, Phil’s tire wasn’t seated properly on the wheel so they had to stop again and make a few adjustments.Tobey leading the pace!We arrived at the Ta-Ha-Zouka Park in Norfolk, Nebraska at the end of the trail just before 2pm after riding 45 miles today. Together they rode about 391 miles.Phil and Marcia got everything loaded for their trip back to Colorado. We had such a good time with them! It is always fun when you travel with good friends.

Tobey is continuing on to the Nebraska/Iowa border, so after a short break he was ready to head north. He took off on Highway 81 north to Randolph which was 29 miles away. I waited almost an hour before starting off. He had a tailwind and the shoulder was good for the first 20 miles. He was really cruising! It was his little bit of Heaven for the day! Unfortunately, the road got worse and he had to turn east onto Highway 20 and had a cross wind again. He pulled into Randolph about 4:45 this afternoon after having ridden a total of 75 miles today. We spent some time at the library and met the director. She chatted with us and we played with her dog, Enzo, a cute Sheltie for a while.

We are parked by the city ballfield for the night and Tobey is planning to ride to the border tomorrow. The forecast is for really strong winds from the south, so we will see how it goes.