On 8/13 we left Door County and headed west across Wisconsin and Minesota and most of South Dakota to Hot Springs KOA. This campground is close to Wind Caves NP, Custer State Park, and Mount Rushmore.
8/13 we stayed at KOA Oakdale. This campground was near the highway and a little noisey but well kept and the people were very nice. It is an easy stop if your going this route. Rate it a 7.5. The only issue was that we couldn't get sattellite and their cable was not working. We actually had to talk to each other that night.
8/14 we stayed in Welcome Mn. I was concerned about this campground because I had called several times and had not been able to get through and when I finally booked they didn't take a deposit or send a confirming email. It did get a 5 star rating on my Allstays app so I went for it. The bottom line is that this is a transient campground. It is no frills but very well maintained and easy in and out. One of the best boogie sites we have been in. We felt very welcome in Welcome. It is a 5 Star stop. Rate it a 10.
8/15 was day three of our boogie West, we stopped in Oacoma, SD which is just across the river from Chamberlain, SD where Saint Joseph Indian School is. We visited the school once again and went to the gift shop. This campground is a 8.5. Nice sites but a little dusty and near the highway. This is our second stop here.
On 8/16 we dropped down to the bottom of SD and took US Highway 18 across the state. The ride was very beautiful and I enjoyed it all. My goal here was to drop into Nebraska near Pine Ridge, SD go to Whiteclay, Nebraska. This is our last trip across the US and Nebraska was the one state that wasn't going to be filled on my map. We went the one mile into Neb. then turned around and headed to Hot Springs. If your interesed read the history of Whiteclay it's very interesting.
Hot Springs KOA is a nice campground in the pine trees right off US79. This location is about twenty minutes from Wind Caves NP and less that an hour from Mount Rushmore. We did the tour yesterday hitting Wind Caves NP first then, lunch at an Inn in Custer State Park, then on to Mt Rushmore. It was a very nice day, we saw lots of wild life and some very beautiful country. The unfortunate part was that the main elevator at Wind Caves is under repair so we were not able to go in the caves due to safety concerns. We took a Ranger guided tour of the surface area which gave us the history of the cave and a look at the beautiful prairie. Lunch for me was a massive serving of Buffalo Stew at the Buffalo Inn.
We moved on to MT Rushmore National Monument. This was our second time here and the parking and crowd management changed very much. I feel very patriotic when I see those giant faces on the cliff. The story behind the building of this monument is also very fasinating. All in all it was a great day. This is a beautiful part of the country but of course I've never been here in the winter.
Today is a catch up day. Shopping, wash, and getting ready to boogie to Glacier NP. We leave tomorrow to boogie three days to Glacier. Montana here we come.
Enjoy the pictures we certainly enjoyed taking them. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!
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