Monday, July 3 – We had a very long day of driving, but it was worth every penny. When we left Livingston, MT, this morning we intended to stop about six hours down I-90 at the Gillette, WY, Walmart. Well, after getting fuel at the nearby Flying J and then grocery shopping at Walmart, we looked for a secure place to park in the Walmart lot. Unable to find a good spot, we decided to head down the road and stop at a Montana rest area for the night. Upon arriving we notice the “No Overnight Parking” sign so we continued East in search of a place to stop.
Upon entering South Dakota, we notice smoke up ahead.
As we got closer we heard a helicopter.
We couldn't image that was good news. As we got very close this is what we saw out of the driver-side window.
We heard on the radio that there were three grass fires in the area. They were all contained. That was very good news.
Continuing down the road, we checked quite a few places out but ended up driving the entire distance to Broken Arrow Campground and Horse Park in Custer, SD, our destination – we thought for Tuesday night. A total of about eight hours driving and 465 miles.....W-A-Y more than we have driven in a couple of years!
We tried to call Jerry, the owner of the campground, to see if we could arrive a day early, but were unable to reach him. We left several messages but were unfortunately out of cell phone coverage much of the day and were unable to make a connection. Upon arriving, he quickly set us up for one night in Site #21 for NO CHARGE! (His golfing today was the real cause of our inability to reach him, so he said, "Wait until tomorrow to start your week stay.") Now there's a great businessman that wants to please his customers. He wants us to move to a different site tomorrow with a view of the mountains. (That site is taken tonight).
This is an amazing campground. It's beautiful, with large gravel sites, gravel roads, picnic tables at each huge site, thick, green grass between each site, and a gorgeous view of the mountains to boot! And the best part is we are near Mount Rushmore and all the points of interest in the area.
Our new Site 24.
Looking right down our road.
Looking left.
Marsha thinks she is an Indian because she can say "How."
Even though there are several horse barns and corrals, we smell no horse.
They have four new full-service cabins that sleep four.
Due to the very dry weather and high fire warning, we are not permitted to use the fire pit or even a grill that uses charcoal. The only acceptable grill is a table top with a lid.
The weather forecast today includes…Areas of smoke. Please say a prayer for safety for all those in the fire's path.
We will be here a week (actually eight days) and have a great deal to see, so stop back and visit the Black Hills with us.
We wish all our USA readers a very Happy and safe Fourth of July.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!
