Harold Gets His Money's Worth Again!

Camping with my cousin Steve is always an adventure. Steve has toys, and he likes to use them. This time we found ourselves off-roading in the northern Black Hills. Gotta love a Jeep! 

My favorite photo of the day 

Earlier in the week, we went to the evening lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore. Then, we took the a day trip around the Mt. Rushmore and Custer State Park Wildlife Loop. Steve, his son, and his friend Larry rode mopeds and scooters the whole day, around 200 miles total from Spearfish. Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road are great for those, although encountering bison on one of those can be a bit, shall we say, disconcerting. We didn't take many photos along the way, but the roads and views are spectacular.

Everybody smile!

Needles Eye Tunnel

Bison traffic jam

We finished out the week with an afternoon trip to Devil's Tower. Now watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind is on my to-do list. 

You go cowgirl!

Where Are We Going Next?

Skid Steer School

Elizabeth’s cousin Steve decided to expand his RV dealership. He purchased the property next door.  It had an existing building that did not meet his needs. So, he made plans to tear it down. Lucky for me, we were in town for some time. I volunteered my time to assist him.

On a lunch break.

My primary tasking was to remove all the copper pipe and wire so Steve could recoup some of his cost for the scrap metals.

Riding Moon Buggy Mk III, Pulling out the wires

He also asked me to tear down some internal walls and to strip the inside of the perimeter (structural) walls to expedite the process. He was going to have the concrete in the building crushed to use as fill vice having to pay to have it hauled off. The best part for me was that he tossed me the keys to his skid steer loader to make my task go quicker.  

Ripping down the walls

Up to this point I had probably one hour of seat time on a skid steer.  I had five minutes in Yokosuka, Japan, when I managed the installation of a child’s playground.  Back in 2001, my father-in-law, Wade, brought his skid steer to our house to help landscape. I had about five minutes there as Wade was a master at driving his, and all I was doing was wasting time. My third seat time was when we visited Elizabeth’s cousin Warren in Ohio.  He was trying to wrap some large hay bales and moving between two machines. I thought I could expedite his process by running the skid steer.  Warren accepted my offer and was very patient with me.  He could rotate the bales and align them in a few seconds. It took me about two minutes to get the same job done. As that was just about the same time that the bale wrapping took, I was barely keeping up. 

Pulling cables with the 236D

Back to the building tear down...It is not often that someone tosses the keys to their EXPENSIVE motorized machine to me and tells me to “have fun” with it.  So while I was enrolled in Steve’s Self-Paced School of Heavy Equipment Operation I probably got 30 hours of seat time. So I would call myself a novice operator.  I was able to drive the unit without having to concentrate on how to move the joysticks, but I did have to think on how to use the thumb control that operated the jaws on the bucket.

Steve supervising the next stage.

I didn't get a photo of the trailer full of copper but Steve told me that he got about $6k for it!!! Copper prices are high. I see why people are motived to get it.

 

One flat building.

 If any of you want me to help wear out some of your heavy equipment just let me know!!!!!

Where Are We Going Next?

South Dakota I-90

In looking through some photos, I realized that I missed talking about our journey from Steinbring Motorcoach and our visit with Kevin and Tammy to Spearfish, SD, where we caught up with Steve and friends.

We stopped in Bismarck, ND and then down to Left Tailrace at Ft. Thompson. Both stops were along the Missouri River, and we enjoyed the beauty of the bluffs and the river.  We then backtracked to Sioux Falls in an effort to get the wheel alignment checked on our new coach. While that effort failed, we had a nice stopover lunch at Falls Park. And hey, there's that continual Muffler Man quest. 

Then it was on to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. The Corn Palace was closed last year because of covid and I was curious as to what a corn palace looked like. It was just the kind of quirky, free fun that we needed. Showcasing agriculture, the murals are made of different types of corn. The designs, which feature a unique theme each year, are really quite impressive when you think about it. 

Although we didn't stop this year, the rest area at Chamberlain is worth a stop. Sitting on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River, the rest stop is home to the Dignity Statue. I have yet to see the statue lit up at night. Perhaps someday we will. 

Of course, there's the famed Wall Drug. Granted, it's very touristy, but still worth a stop. Free water for everyone, free coffee and donut for veterans, and plenty of shopping for everyone.

Falls Park, Sioux Falls, SD

Mr. Bendo

Where Are We Going Next?

Spearfish Canyon with Family and Friends

Around six months ago my cousin Steve called, asking about sights to see in the Spearfish, SD, area. He and some friends were spending a week at Elkhorn Ridge Resort. We promptly invited ourselves along. We were going to be in South Dakota anyway. Why not enjoy some extra time with family? Plus, since we were based out of the southern Black Hills last year, the Spearfish and northern Black Hills were still relatively unexplored. We were super delighted when my sister, Kathy, and her family were able to join us for a couple of days. 

One of our first excursions was a scenic drive through Spearfish Canyon, circling back through Lead. We stopped at Bridal Veil Falls. It's alongside the road and easily accessible. The next stop was Roughlock Falls, where some of us took the mile long easy hike to view the falls. Then it was a stop at the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center. Situated on the half mile-wide, 1200 ft deep open cut, the visitor center exhibits cover the mine from gold mining days to its current underground science research days. 

That one full day that Kathy and family had here was the hottest day of the week. Even so, it was time for some Jiffy Pop (yes, they still make it!) and ice cream. 

Family at Roughlock Falls

Real bacon (not turkey bacon) over an open fire

Popping corn

Time to share

Blaine and Kathy plotting the next adventure

Ice cream - it's what's for breakfast
Bad Uncle

Where Are We Going Next?

Our New Home

Yeah! The big day finally arrived. Working with Steinbring Motorcoach was a pleasure. We loved their sense of humor in response to our "Have you seen this coach" poster we created while trolling the Newmar lot. They responded that the coach had been "found" in a remote Minnesota town not even on most maps. Ha! The "reward" involved a number of 000's. 

After spending the night onsite at Steinbring, we moved up the road to Barnesville, MN. That's where we caught up with Kevin and Tammy. Kevin and Harold met in Fire Control Technician Class A School at Naval Station Great Lakes in 1982 and have been brothers ever since. 

Have You Seen This Coach?

Packed Up and Ready to Move

Moving In

Great taste in Aloha wear

Kevin and Tammy

The below photos were taken by Mr. Steinbring - before we cluttered our home! 

Custom exterior colors - thanks Steve for the tip

Opus Interior Colors with Bermuda-stained maple cabinetry

That's the collection of owner's manuals sitting there

Ooohhh...lighted mirror

RV King size Sleep Number Bed

Love the accent lighting in the ribboned trim

Where Are We Going Next?