We also spotted an alien along the road - just kidding! It was a strange shadow cast by our RV!
We spent the night in LaGrange, Wyoming at the Rodeo Grounds. It was quiet and we had a good rest.
On Sunday morning, we went on to Fort Robinson where we spent one night. We had tickets for the Post Playhouse production of Honky Tonk Laundry. It was a fun show with only TWO young women in the cast. Great voices and good music.
It was overcast when we got up on Monday so it was perfect weather for a bike ride. It was about 9 miles round trip from the campground to Crawford, Nebraska and back. We took the trail on the way their and it was pretty rough and the road on the way back which was more hilly, but still easier.
There were lots of wildflowers (and weeds) but fun to see along the trail.
On the highway we had great views of the buttes.
After our ride we hit the road and headed north. Our next stop was Hot Springs, South Dakota where we visited the Pioneer Museum. The museum was originally built in 1893 as the Sandstone School on the Hill for all 12 grades. It served as the Hot Springs school until 1961 when it was acquired by the Fall River Historical Society and opened as a museum. Each floor and classroom was FILLED with items which were donated. It was fun to see!
We walked around the downtown area and took advantage of the sign on the bridge.
From Hot Springs we continued to Wind Cave National Park's Elk Mountain Campground. The sites are not great - narrow and run parallel to the roads and not at all level! Tobey took a short hike while Marcia, Phil and I stayed at camp.
It started raining about dinner time and continued through most of the night - accompanied with lightning and thunder! Fortunately, Tuesday morning was mostly dry as we took off to visit Custer State Park. We all piled into our RV and hit the winding road! From the time we left the campground to the Custer State Park Wildlife Loop drive and back, we were rewarded with beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife.
Yes, we had to wait for the bison to cross the road -- more than once!
I am glad we were not in that car! The bison on the right kept bumping his head against their front tire.
It rained off and on all morning - along with thunder and lightening!
The prairie dogs did not seem concerned.
We didn't see too many pronghorn, but there were a few.
We got to see (and even pet) the wild donkeys that were hanging out by the Bison Center and Corrals. This little baby was only five days old! It was still pretty wobbly and stayed right next to mom.
These two beauties were about two weeks old.
There was a HUGE tour bus there so there were lots of folks checking out the donkeys.
There was a HUGE tour bus there so there were lots of folks checking out the donkeys.
As we rounded the north side of the loop, there were more interesting rock formations.
We had a late lunch when we got back to Wind Cave headquarters. The cave is closed for repairs to the elevator so that was a bit disappointing. We thought we might head to Jewel Cave, but there were no reservations available until July 12! Oh well, another trip! We decided to start heading back toward Colorado and see where we would end up.
Pringle, South Dakota has one of the terminals for the Mickelson Trail, a "rails to trails" bike route which extends 109 miles from Deadwood to Edgemont. This was a HUGE pile of bikes - hopefully the riders fared better than these bikes.
We decided to go on to the Hot Springs trailhead and bike on to Edgemont which is about 16-1/2 miles. We parked, changed, and hit the trail. The weather had changed from rainy to hot and sunny!
The trail is "mostly" downhill so we all rode the first 9 miles together. Tobey and Phil turned around and rode back to the RVs and Marcia and I continued to Edgemont.
I was tired by the time we reached Edgemont, but I made it. Tobey had a much more difficult trek back UP the hills to the RV. I did "pet" a bison in Edgemont, but you can see he didn't pose much threat.
After the guys got to Edgemont, we loaded the bikes and headed on to Mule Creek Junction where we spent the night.
This morning we made our way to back to Fort Collins and have most things unloaded and put away. It was a great trip and tomorrow I will tackle the "grasshopper" coating which attacked our RV!
The trail is "mostly" downhill so we all rode the first 9 miles together. Tobey and Phil turned around and rode back to the RVs and Marcia and I continued to Edgemont.
I was tired by the time we reached Edgemont, but I made it. Tobey had a much more difficult trek back UP the hills to the RV. I did "pet" a bison in Edgemont, but you can see he didn't pose much threat.
After the guys got to Edgemont, we loaded the bikes and headed on to Mule Creek Junction where we spent the night.
This morning we made our way to back to Fort Collins and have most things unloaded and put away. It was a great trip and tomorrow I will tackle the "grasshopper" coating which attacked our RV!
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