"Somewhere in the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota"

As 2021 was coming to a close, I decided I should finally get around to documenting the last trips we took in Gibby. I have been seriously sidetracked by the tragic loss of our tenants (see previous blog post from Aug 15), the selling of the lake house MiraLago (blog post from Nov 3), and the subsequent house-hunting in Montreal (future post!). 

So, back in August, we left the always entertaining Camp Lewis family get-together in Colorado and headed Northeast to the Black Hills of South Dakota. I have never been to South Dakota before, so this was another chance for some new adventures. 

We pulled into the parking lot of the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, which is located on the southern edge of the Black Hills National Forest, just as a huge, very threatening thunderstorm developed.   

We scrambled inside and sought refuge from the storm, and ended up in an incredible place! This site is an active paleontological dig site, boasting the largest concentration of mammoth remains IN THE WORLD!

 

They have currently uncovered 58 Columbian mammoths and three woolly mammoths, the first time these two species have been found together. This site is estimated to be 140,000 years old.  The mammoths became trapped and unfortunately died in a spring-fed pond.  Their bones were discovered by chance in 1974, during the excavation for a housing development. Local citizens ensured that the site was preserved, and today it is a world-renown research center for Pleistocene studies. In addition to the mammoths, they also uncovered remains of a giant short-faced bear, camel, llama, prairie dogs, wolf, fish, and numerous other plant and invertebrate fossils.

If you are ever in this area, I highly recommend stopping in to see these sights.  I am not sure the pictures do it justice.  

By the time we emerged from the exhibit area, the rain had passed – perfect timing!  We managed to find a campground that was far enough away from all the bikers that were headed to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, further north. 

The next day we went to Wind Cave National Park, bright and early!  Dave wanted to be sure to get tickets to one of the cave tours before they were all taken. This cavern is a deeply spiritual place to at least 20 different native nations. It is said that the first humans and bison emerged from the spirit lodge deep below the earth from this entrance. Many tribes still utilize the park for traditional ceremonies. At the natural entrance to the cave, you can see whether the cave is breathing in or blowing out. The wind is caused by a difference in barometric pressure between the cave and outside, as high-pressure air moves into areas of lower pressure.  Hence the name, Wind Cave 😊   

 

Wind Cave contains some of the most extensive mazes of boxwork in the world. Boxwork is formed when dissolved calcium carbonate crystallizes in cracks in surrounding rock. The surrounding rock then erodes away and leaves the box-like calcite crystals. I have to admit that caving is not really “my” thing, but I don't mind checking it out since Dave is really into it. This one was not one of my favorites, but at least I did not have to crawl through any bat dung or touch any spiders. 

Out of the cave and back at the van, while refreshing our drinks and mapping out our next stop, we were approached by a fellow tourist.  He was actually admiring our RV.  And this is what happens next when two RV peeps meet in a random parking lot.  We were cautioning him to reinforce the hitch on the back bumper of his RAM van when hauling bikes! 

The next stop was a short hike up to a panoramic view at a spot called Rankin Ridge Trail.  

From there, we had a fun experience viewing colonies of prairie dogs. Those little rascals are really cute – popping up their little heads all over the place. 

We took a long drive through the park and saw some beautiful scenery and various wildlife.

Next, we were off to the famous site of Mount Rushmore, another place I had never seen before. Fortunately, all the bikers we encountered were very well-behaved.

Fun Facts about Mount Rushmore:

I did not know (or maybe I had just forgotten?) that there is a secret chamber tucked inside Lincoln’s frontal lobe that is inaccessible to the public. This vault area was designed by the monument's sculptor, Gutzon Borglum. 

Mount Rushmore was named for the New York lawyer Charles E. Rushmore, who traveled to the Black Hills in 1885 to inspect mining claims in the region.

Borglum's original design of the presidents went down to their waists, but time constraints and funding issues only allowed for their heads to be sculpted.

 

A short drive (well, it seemed short to me since Dave did most of the driving) from Mount Rushmore is an amazing place called Badlands National Park.  It has the most dramatic landscapes with gorgeous, colored, layered rock formations, steep canyons, and towering spires. 

It was quite warm the day we were there, 

so we took the Badlands Loop Road and drove, instead of hiked, through all the scenic spots, stopping a lot to take pictures. Again, I would definitely recommend checking out the scenery in this part of the U.S.  

We had planned to boondock and enjoy the view, but due to my level of wimpy-ness and the extreme temperatures, I convinced Dave to book a campsite so we could run fans (and AC) as needed.  

It turns out our campground was a two-minute walk from the famous Wall Drug Store. Now that is some kinda drug store!  You will just have to go there yourself to get the full experience as words cannot adequately describe the bizarre range of products they carry. 

The next day we headed east, across South Dakota, with Minneapolis as our goal.  Along the way, we crossed the Missouri River on the Lewis and Clark Memorial Bridge, near Chamberlain, South Dakota, and stopped at the rest area there. Here is a photo of the 50-foot high stainless steel sculpture of an Indigenous woman receiving a star quilt, entitled Dignity of Earth and Sky, which is a beautiful gift to the people of South Dakota. In the words of the sculptor, Dale Claude Lamphere, it "stands as an enduring symbol of shared beliefs that all here are sacred and in a sacred place." 

We got to our campground in Minneapolis and began searching for a clinic to get our PCR tests for re-entry into Canada. Sadly, this is now an “event” that must be scheduled into any vacation - annoying, but we were able to schedule appointments with minimal hassles.  

The next morning, we got up early again (we seem to do that a lot, even when on vacation). I guess there is always the excitement of what is in store for the day.  We tend to cram in as much as possible during the day when traveling, and then we relax at night. 

Once we were swabbed for our COVID tests, we headed to Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis.  We walked to Minnehaha Falls, a key feature of the park, and admired the view. 

Dave convinced me to go back to the van and get our bikes. I am glad he did, as we did a lovely bike ride around Lake Nokomis, admiring flowers, beaches, the lake itself, and a charming section of town with cute houses. 

Upon returning to the van, we received the news of the sudden and tragic deaths of the wonderful couple who had been renting our lake house in Austin for the past 10 years. I must say that it cast a shadow over the rest of the trip. We had intended to see the George Floyd Memorial that afternoon but were too emotionally exhausted to even think about tackling another traumatic event. Instead, we forced ourselves to have a picnic lunch by a lake and then opted for a walk through the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The sculptures were very cool!  

It was an extremely hot day, so we took some time to find a beach area, and just hung out and relaxed and cooled off. It is no wonder that Minnesota is called the Land of 10,000 Lakes. There really were lakes everywhere! 

We had a quiet dinner back at our campground and decided to drive a little further the next day and get across the border and get closer to home.  Unfortunately, that meant most of David’s birthday was spent driving.  We did find a very yummy to-go pizza spot in Sault Ste. Marie that evening but the birthday carrot cake was just “meh.”  We built a campfire at our campground that night and sat outside, and enjoyed the sounds and smells of nature.

Another day of driving landed us at Mew Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario.  I will certainly come back to this park when I have more time.  It was a huge place. The bike trail looked inviting, but the rain talked me out of it.  Biking in the rain is one of my least favorite things to do.  It totally ruins the ambiance of admiring the view; you know what I mean?

Fast forward to September where we took Gibby out for an apple picking adventure with a group of friends. One does not need to travel far to find plenty of apple orchards near Montreal. 

It was a perfect day for apple picking – great weather, great apples, and great company!  We stocked up with enough apples for apple crisp, apple butter, and apple cake!  

After apple picking and a lovely picnic, we ventured off to explore the nearby town of Oka.  

Our first stop was at the Magasin de l’Abbaye d’Oka (The Abbey Store of Oka) where cheese is the primary focus. The history of Oka cheese started in 1893 when master cheesemaker Brother Alphonse Juin settled in the community of Deux-Montagnes (Two Mountains). Oka cheese quickly became a Quebec favorite, a type of cheddar with its own creamy taste and semi-firm texture. We loaded up on cheese - I don’t think I have ever met a cheese I did not like. I even like stinky cheeses!   

We did not find a lot of things going on in Oka, so we meandered through part of town and found ourselves at the ferry landing that goes from Oka to Hudson. We dodged a few rain showers and found some pretty paintings on display. 

We ended the day with a walk around our campground. Lucking out, we secured a spot next to some quiet neighbours. 

This lovely (double) rainbow was a nice touch at the end of the day. Something about a rainbow always feels special! 

Another tough decision we made in 2021 was to sell Gibby. We had some amazing trips in that RV and I loved every one of them. However, I have a hard time justifying the expense of a vehicle that we only used a small portion of the year. It made me sad to put it away for the winter. Owning this type of RV is a much different dynamic here in Montreal than it was in Austin where we used it year-round. So, Gibby has moved on and now has a new owner, and we will always have our wonderful memories!     

Welcome to 2022!  I am ready for some more adventures. Every new day can offer some type of challenge. We actually have some more big changes ahead, so be sure to check out my future blog posts! 

Please stay safe out there! Thanks for stopping by to catch up on my blog.