TRIP 2004 - PART 6
SIDNEY, BC TO PEI VIA THE US

by Bernie Klashinsky

20th September, 2004
This morning we went through an area called tri-state, and in about an hour we drove from Iowa, through a small part of Minnesota and into South Dakota. We have left the flat cornfields and in SD we have seen sunflowers and okra fields. The topography here is very much like around Medicine Hat, a lot of herds of buffalo which are ranch raised here, and of course cattle, hundreds of them.

21st September, 2004
It rained on and off all night, but at least the wind stopped. Left camp at 8:45 and immediately got into intermittent rain showers and some more wind. We were only on the road for a hour when we saw a sign stating that we were now in Mountain Time Zone, so we picked up an hour. It was 48F when we got up, and 52F when we hit the road. Today was long pants and jackets, the first since March. We arrived in Wall, SD around 10:30, the home of the infamous Wall Drugs. The one hour we gained would soon be lost plus some additional time by the designated shopping person in our crew. As soon as we entered this huge complex of shops, we were drawn to the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls. We said we shouldn’t but we did. We probably ate enough bread dough and sweet stuff to keep a family of four for a day, but they were sure good. Lots of interesting things to see here, stuffed animals, souvenirs of all sorts, some good looking food, and a chance to stroll around and take a break. We had two fueling stops today, paid $1.93 and $1.83. The first was our worst performance this whole trip, and it was the half a tank from our run yesterday and we got just 11.8 mpg. The second fill was not much better, just 12.8 mpg, and this was because of the wind we had again today. It will get better I hope. We are in a Coast to Coast Campground in Rapid City, SD and it is called Rushmore Shadows. We are about 10 miles south of Rapid City and 10 miles from Mount Rush-more. We have booked two days here, and have an option for a third day if the weather should improve. For today we have decided to simply park it and unwind. We have the small ceramic heater on as it is just 58F out, and no sign of getting warmer.

22nd September, 2004
We had light rains on and off all night, but it stopped in the early hours. Slept in, and we left at 9:00 to head for Mount Rushmore. The temperature this morning was just 42F. Our first stop was in Keystone, SD at the Gutzon Borglum Interpretative Centre. Paid $6.25 each with seniors and AAA discounts. This is a self guided tour with a personal recording device, and a 22 minute video. The video delves into the life of Borglum and his obsession in carving the mountain, and his labours during the years 1927 to 1941, until he died. Unfortunately he never saw his dream to completion and his sun finished it later. Drove from Keystone to the Mount Rushmore National Monument, and while the site is free, it does cost $8 to park your vehicle. The pass is good for a season. We got some great photos and took the president’s walk which goes from the Avenue of Flags along the base of the mountain, to the sculptor’s studio and then back. About noon the sun was coming out in spurts and the temperature actually got up to 61F today. The good news is that the forecast is for nicer weather for the next 3 to 5 days. After touring Rushmore we drove on to see the Chief Crazy Horse Monument. Even the locals told us that this place is not too popular. The Kiolwaski family have under-taken to carve the monument entirely without any federal monies, and the project has been dragging on for some 50 years. The locals pre-dict it will take another 50 years to complete. They wanted $9 for the tour, and we didn’t go as we felt it was a bit silly to pay that to see a monument which is not even finished. When we came back to the Rapid City area we went to tour the Black Hills Gold Manufacturing plant and had a nice tour of there operations and how they make their fabulous jewellery. My wife left with just one pair of ear rings, but all of their jewellery was pretty impressive, and reasonably priced. Came back to the campground and I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the inside of the truck and getting things ready for our departure in the morning.

23rd September, 2004
Woke to a temperature of 42F this morn-ing, and we were on the road at 7:15. We had about 20 miles to go from the campground, through part of Rapid City to get back on the I-90. Weather was nice, no wind, rain or snow. No sun either!!!Had one fuel stopped after we crossed into Wyoming, paid $1.85 and got 15.6 miles per gallon.We had two break stops this morning. Our run today was just 185 miles so we were taking it slow and easy.Our stop today was at Buffalo, Wyoming, and we are in the Indian Campground. This is a very clean and tidy campground, spotless laundry and wash rooms and they even have a modem connection. With our Good Sam discount we paid $27.85.The temperature at noon was 72F and it turned out to be a great day. The weather forecast had predicted this, and we are glad it came true.We are within sight of the Rockies and there is fresh snow on the peaks. We have an excellent view of the Big Horns, which are just east of the Grand Tetons in the Yellowstone area. The mountains remind us of home, and it makes us feel good to know that we are just a little over a 1,000 miles from home right now.

24th September, 2004
Left camp at 8:00, with a temperature of 56F. We fueled up at a station next to the campground, paid $1.85 for diesel and got 118 mpg, which was yesterday’s driving, very hilly. Had two stops in the morning, and another fuel up in Montana. Paid $1.95 and got 14.8 mpg. We crossed into Montana around 9:30, and the weather was nice and sunny, and we went through some very pretty scenery. Our run today was 218 miles and we are in Mountain Range RV Park in Colum-bus, MT, paid $21.19 with our Good Sam discount. We are very close to the interstate, but I think if we are tired we should have no problem sleeping.Got set up at 1:30 and the temperature was 84F. After lunch I got my step ladder and got busy and did a one bucket wash on both the truck and trailer, then it was time to sit in the sun and relax.My wife has done a check of our freezer and I have been told that we must have steak for the next three days. Sounds good to me.After supper I was reading the campground rules, and I was quite intrigued by rule #12. It said; “ rattle snakes have been known to like warm areas in the campground, watch out for them”.

25th September, 2004
We were planning on leaving early this morning, so I was up at 6:15, and the tempera-ture was just 38F. We left at 7:15.Started out with full sunshine, and the promise of a nice day.Had two fuel ups and paid $1.97 and $1.95 and got 13.8 mpg on both fills. All of our driving today was in some petty serious mountains.Our run today was 263 miles and we arrived at Indian River Campground in Deer TRIP 2004 - PART 6SIDNEY, BC TO PEI VIA THE US

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