Trip to South Dakota - new pics Montana, Washington, Oregon

[martha24]

Right now we are in Box Elder (next to Ellsworth Air Force Base), South Dakota.
Finally I down loaded some pictures. Here are some & more our in our album.
We left California on Sun. July 29th & made a fairly fast drive of it in 2 1/2 days. The first day we drove 520 miles on I15 to Beaver, Utah. Needless to say going though Las Vegas & general area was VERY hot. We were going though Las Vegas at 10:30 in the morning before it got really, really hot.
Our first pics we took at our over night stop in Beaver. When we got to the KOA there place was practically empty.


Day two we traveled closer to 600 miles to Casper Wyoming.
Along the route we took, one of the more interesting historical monuments is Independence Rock in Wyoming. It definitely stands out from the rest of the area as there aren't any other rock formations anything like it. At the base, it is signed by many of the pioneers that traveled that way.
Not my picture

The second night we spent the night in Casper, Wyoming. It seemed like all there were was either big motor homes or 5th wheels other than us of course. Naturally we gave a few tours along the way & a few people were really excited to see our TD having only seen teardrops on one of the TV programs.


Almost right next to us on a grassy spot were two wild rabbits. Could have done without the mosquitoes though that came out as soon as the sun started to go down.

From there it was just a half a days drive to our son's just past Rapid City, SD.
Parked at our son's place.

So far we haven't gone far or wide in the area. It has been in the low 90s which is warm for us. Thank goodness the mobile home has air conditioning. In the next day or so we should make it over to Sturgis.
David has helped our son, Vincent, put his new fancy double liquid cooled computer together & is helping him fix a few things on his Chevy S10 truck. I've been cooking some home cooked meals for Vincent & his roommate. Both are in the Air Force & Vincent just got back from the desert. I've also had the time to kick back & relax and do some reading.
Will post more pictures as time goes. We should start to head home in about a week & will have a more relaxed drive home hopefully with a northern route.
Martha

[SamR]

Looks like a nice trip. Thanks for sharing.

[clkelley564]

Enjoyed the pics!! Looks like a fun time!!

[Esteban]

Martha and David,

I enjoyed your pictures and commentary. Nice to see your that teardrop is working out well for visiting Vincent and your camping and traveling pleasure. I bet he and his roomie are loving family warmth and your home cooked meals.

[Miriam C.]

Great pictures Martha. Nice to hear you are having fun... All that cooking, you and the meals

Take lots more pictures please....Uh, about Sturgis pictures---well you know.

[Classic Finn]

Martha

Very nice pics you posted... I just love that tear as well... Sure looks Sweet..

Sounds like your enjoying every minute..

Classic Finn

[Darren]

Hope you're having fun. Any plans to go to Deadwood? I've been to SD a few times for vacation and Deadwood was always the highlight for me.

[LittleCritter]

Thanks for sharing. Pictures are so worth more than a thousand words.

[martha24]

Thanks,
SamR, Carol & Rick, Steve, Miriam, Heikki, Victor & Critter

Steve, I would say that both young men are enjoying the home cooking, though it is definitely a challenge cooking in a minimally supplied kitchen.
I'm lucky Vincent's roommate has as many pans as he does, though I did buy one at the BX.

Miriam, I'm posting some of my new pictures mainly of Sturgis & there's more in my album. Hope to get a fair amount of pics on our way home too.

Victor, we drove through Deadwood almost 2 years ago toward the end of Sept. generally off season for this area. I think 50 to 75% of the people were all in Deadwood. It was a total zoo with no place easy place to park. Other than the few blocks of the "old town" what is there other than a bunch of casinos? We're not into casinos.

So here are a sample of the new pics that we took today. Some are of the edge of the Black Hills going from Rapid City to Sturgis. Much of the Black Hills area is very beautiful though we probably won't make the drive this time. Along the Interstate 90 there were plenty of campgrounds that were packed. The rest of the pics are of Sturgis. There were block after block of parked motorcycles down the middle of the streets & plenty of motorcycles being driven too. Sturgis is basically a very small town. It was an amazing sight between all the motorcycles & motorcycle riders.
Here's a few pics looking toward the Black Hills



One of the campgrounds.

Here are some pictures of Sturgis with more in the album.
Going into Sturgis




That was enough crowds & heat for one day.
Martha

[elmo]

That looks familiar ...I waited until the sun went down before I went into town.

[Guy]

Dear Martha,

It looked like fun. How was the camping section at the BX? I had not even thought about looking at the exchange or commissary.

[martha24]

Dear Martha,

It looked like fun. How was the camping section at the BX? I had not even thought about looking at the exchange or commissary.

Guy,
I saw the section passing by, it was full. My son says to stay there during Sturgis it has to be booked months in advance. Though it is a good deal at $5 a day.
Fortunately we can stay at my son's mobile home & there is room to park the TD right next to it. Just use the TD as the bed for the night.
Martha

[Mary K]

Great Pictures Martha!!

I like the Bunny Wabbits, and the BIKES!!! Arr Arrr ARrr....
I'm glad you had a good time.

Thanks for sharing.

Mk

[martha24]

Yesterday we stopped to take some pictures of the planes at the South Dakota Air & Space Museum right before the main entrance to Ellsworth Air Base.

Our last visit here 2 years ago our son, Vincent, got permission to take us on the actual flight line where he works which was very interesting. We got to see a couple of B1 bombers up close. Needless to say we could take hardly any pictures. We also made a complete visit to the Air & Space Museum which is interesting as well.
I thought it would be nice to post a few planes from the museum.

I was very lucky because just as I was taking pictures I heard a B1 taking off. Almost everyday I hear them take off for routine practice runs but I'm not in the right place with camera.

Air Museum

The sign is just in front of the B1 bomber, with a person standing there it gives you an idea of how huge it is.
B1 Bomber


The B1 bomber at the museum is painted as they are at Ellsworth. There are other B1s in Texas but they are painted different.

The B52 is definitely an impressive plane.

Main entrance to Ellsworth Air Base

Base housing & tower that can be seen from distance

There are more pics of planes in my album.
We will be heading out on Monday to home via Montana, Idaho, Washington & Oregon with a stop in Redding to visit family & then home.
I hope to be able to get pictures along the way as I've never been to any of those states except a little of Oregon.
Martha

[Miriam C.]

Gosh Martha, you are lucky they didn't take your camera. Great pictures!