Made it to the Black Hills!

[smlranger]

Well, four days on the road and we arrived at Rafter J in Hill City today. So far, a wonderful trip with only one problem...my Hoppy powered tail light converter went nuts and I only have running lights and a 'constant-on' right stop light on the toad. No toad turn signals or brake lights. No one along the way has one so will try to get one in Rapid City tomorrow.

Weather mostly beautiful, rig running like a clock. Passed thru Mason City, IA too late Friday to do Winne factory and according to all the locals, it is closed on Saturday. Maybe next time. So far, cheapest fuel was in Mason City (Murphy Oil at Wally World $2.79)...most expensive in IL (TA truck stop $3.15).

[smlranger]

Well, four days on the road and we arrived at Rafter J in Hill City today. So far, a wonderful trip with only one problem...my Hoppy powered tail light converter went nuts and I only have running lights and a 'constant-on' right stop light on the toad. No toad turn signals or brake lights. No one along the way has one so will try to get one in Rapid City tomorrow.

Weather mostly beautiful, rig running like a clock. Passed thru Mason City, IA too late Friday to do Winne factory and according to all the locals, it is closed on Saturday. Maybe next time. So far, cheapest fuel was in Mason City (Murphy Oil at Wally World $2.79)...most expensive in IL (TA truck stop $3.15).

[glenda1908]

Hi Smlranger,

We were in Hill City in July. A nice little town. Can't remember the name of the little restaurant we had lunch at, but if you order a "footlong" hot dog, be prepared. It could feed four!

Glad you are having a pretty uneventful trip, but that makes things interesting...yea right!

Looks like fuel has gone down there since July. We were paying $3.00 and up most of the time.

Stay safe and enjoy the Black Hills

[rebelsbeach]

Gary and Julia, glad your trip was almost uneventful....it's the little things that keep you on your toes...

Diesel has dropped to 2.60 here in Virginia Beach....guess I could camp like the commercial and just drive across the street!!

[smlranger]

Glenda: We will check out Hill City tomorrow...we did stop at Wall Drug and had a 'Buffalo hot dog' which was big enough!

[John_Canfield]

We tried the 5 cent coffee at Wall drug and it was so horrible we threw it away after one sip

Best wishes for more pleasant miles!

[ichn2go]

Gary, etal,,,glad everything is going fine..Know you are haveing a wonderful time..
Wish I was there.

[AdrianLee]

Gary,

Youal stay safe and have lots of fun. Glad to hear things are going pretty good for youal.

[Bill C]

Sounds like you're having a good time. If you like aircraft, check out the museum at Ellsworth AFB. I was stationed there back in the 80s. You'll enjoy it. Have a great trip.

[smlranger]

Bill:

We will be doing that tomorrow. Me and the DW both like air museums...have visit
ed EAA in Oshkosh and want to do Ellsworth and eventually Wright-Patterson.

[Flintstones Adventurer]

Gary;
You really need to get up early in the morning to see the running of the horses at Rafter J. When I was there 2 years ago it always seemed to be around 6:30am. Our site was just two from the open field between the camping sections and they ran within 35 feet of our site! First morning kinda scared the wife right out of bed But the following mornings we made sure we were up to see them. What a beautiful site and sound.

Also, try to get to Crazy Horse monument. I believe you may be impressed with it.

Have fun, be safe, wish I was there with you guys.

[smlranger]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Flintstones Adventurer:
Gary;
You really need to get up early in the morning to see the running of the horses at Rafter J. When I was there 2 years ago it always seemed to be around 6:30am. Our site was just two from the open field between the camping sections and they ran within 35 feet of our site! First morning kinda scared the wife right out of bed But the following mornings we made sure we were up to see them. What a beautiful site and sound.

Also, try to get to Crazy Horse monument. I believe you may be impressed with it.

Have fun, be safe, wish I was there with you guys. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry, but guess all the horses are elsewhere this time of year. Haven't seen any here. There are two mules hanging out near our site which is next to the open field.

[campernut2]

We just returned from our first long trip, it was to the black hills also! We traveled through 1 mile of IL and then went through WI and then MN and then into Rapid City South Dakota. We stayed at the Happy RV resort campground. Very nice campground with nice views and very very clean bathrooms. I would highly recommend it. Rode the 1880's train from Keystone to Hillcity and back. That was a lot of fun. We could stay only a week but covered a lot of ground. Took my Dad with and we all had a blast. He loved the motorhome and thought that it was so neat that he could eat, go to bed and then bathroom and have his coffee all within a few steps.
Can't wait to go back. This was our first long trip and we had no issues with our Voyage 33v 2005. Toad used was a Liberty 06.

[rebelsbeach]

campernut,congrats on the first trip with your new coach...

We lost Dad last year but two years ago before his illness set in,we were fortunate to be able to take him to Florida in the Vectra for Christmas and he too LOVED riding "shotgun" and getting his granddaughter to wait on him as we traveled...

He said THAT was his kind of camping....

ENJOY your new rig!!