We've wanted to spend time in Custer State Park, but can't fit in our big rig, so we've talked about maybe doing some tent camping.  We got an easy set up tent and other things, mostly on sale at ACE True Value and made reservations at Bismarck Lake in the Black Hills National Forest for two nights.

We managed to get set up easily and had a great time with a few exceptions.

1. Don't get a campsite where you have to carry everything uphill.  It's exhausting.
2. Invest in a good quality air mattress.  Otherwise you may have to leave at 1:30 in the morning to go home to bed because you're in so much pain.  And now you're a camping lightweight.
3. Make sure you don't set up your tent on a downward slope.  Makes for a sliding night.
4. Making friends with the chipmunks and squirrels will guarantee entertainment.

So admittedly, Sage and I slept at home after the first night, but Chacho was a great little junior Mountain Man.  He had a great time with Daddy.  And the rest of the time, we all had a great time. Dave caught a lake trout, cooked it and ate it.

We enjoyed it and will do it again.  With a better mattress.

Today was a busy day.  We went to Crazy Horse by way of Needles Hwy and Sylvan Lake.  Once again, Custer State Park managed to amaze me.  As soon as we turned in to the park, we saw a buffalo - all by himself.  I couldn't help but wonder if it was the same old guy that walked up the road by himself a couple of days ago.

The scenery kept changing every mile we drove.  From craggy rocks to alpine tundra to sweeping meadows to alpine lakes, my breath couldn't catch up to my eyes.  As Tony Bennett sang, "I left my heart"......in South Dakota.  Wait, he didn't sing that, but I think I will when we leave here.  This state has called my heart in a way I've not felt since I left Germany.

Enough of the sappy stuff.  When we left the scenery behind, we ended up at the Crazy Horse Memorial.  I'll have to admit that I didn't know that much about it before we came, except that it wasn't done.  Seeing the unfinished memorial was just a beginning of our education today.  The furkids came with us and because we put them in the stroller, we were able to take them everywhere, even the introductory movie that explained the concept behind this memorial.  I can't explain the concept better than the materials we were handed so:  "The Mission of Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation is to protect and preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of all North American Indians."

"Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski (1908-2982) was born in Boston and endured a difficult upbringing.  He became a self-taught and renowned sculptor, gaining recognition at the 1939 World's Fair, which attracted the attention  of Chief Standing Bear who invited Korczak to the Black Hills to carve Crazy Horse.  Korczak accepted and his family has continued his dream even today."

"The Native Americans chose Lakota Leader, Crazy Horse, as the subject for the project.  Korczak wrote "Crazy Horse has never been known to have signed a treaty or touched a pen.  Crazy Horse, as far as the scale model is concerned, is to be carved not so much as a lineal likeness, but more as a memorial to the the spirit of Crazy Horse - to his people.  With his left hand gesturing forward in answer to the derisive question asked by a white man, 'where are your lands now?'  He replied, 'My lands are where my dead lie buried.'"

Crazy Horse Memorial continues to be sustained through admissions and donations.  It is not federally or state funded.

The exhibits were amazing.  They were not only dedicated to Crazy Horse and his Lakota peoples, but to all Indian Nations.  Each nation has their own unique style and ways of living and we were able to see that today under one roof.  The art, clothing, toys and other artifacts were simply astounding.  The use of colors in a natural manner was a sight to see.

As we pushed through the entire exhibit and the ever-important gift shop, we headed out to hear a Lakota woman talk about her people while her daughter sang and danced.  Just at that time, we had a huge thunderstorm roll through and had to miss it.  But it was truly an experience we'll never forget.

So, what's ahead?  We still have about a week left on our state park pass, so we'll continue to make use of it.  Next week we'll try something totally new - tent camping.  South Dakota has really left us wanting to be able to spend more time in a natural setting, which can be hard to do in a 43 foot motorhome.  Most state and national parks don't have the space to fit us, so we can't stay in the parks - we have to go to a commercial campground.  But we really want to experience the natural beauty all around us, so we came up with the bright idea of getting a smallish tent and tent camp for a couple of nights.  That will happen next week.  I'm sure that blog post will be entertaining!

We also still want to go to Spearfish and Deadwood, as well as the Grand Finale of Mt. Rushmore.  I would also like to see the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, if we have time and Dave, of course, wants to do more fishing.  We'll figure out what we'll do later.

I'll apologize in advance for the staggering number of photos attached to this blog post, but I truly couldn't pare them down.

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What's that old saying?  A bad fishing beats a good day working?  We operated on the same concept yesterday.  We went fishing in Stockade Lake and Center Lake in the Park and didn't catch a single thing except a lot of relaxation and wonder at the beauty of this park.

Fishing sure made us hungry so we stopped at the Lodge and had lunch at the Grill.  We sat outside and enjoyed the lake views and Dave had his favorite cheese curds, this time fried in a pretzel breading.  They were really good.  He also tried Poutine for the first time and fell in love.  What is Poutine, you ask?  He did.  Poutine is a dish originating from the Canadian province of Quebec, that consists of French fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy.  This version also had bacon and two or three different kinds of cheese.  yes, I heard his arteries crying out, but he so enjoyed it.

By the time we got home, he was ready for a nap and Sage and I sat outside for a while and just relaxed.

​If we hadn't said it enough, we really love South Dakota.

We waited until later in the afternoon to go around the Wildlife Loop, thinking that dusk would allow us to see more animals, and we were right!  Our last count was : Wildhorn, Prairie Dog, Turkey, lots of Buffalo (three herds) and burros. One of the herds was down at the creek, taking their evening bath. What was even more incredible were the views.  From craggy mountains to grassy meadows, each turn of the road provided another beautiful view.

South Dakota and Custer State Park have called to me and my soul.  It's probably the first place we've been to that I would even consider living in.  Probably until winter.  I checked the average temperatures and July and August are the only two months that have never seen snow.

We stopped at a few of the campgrounds in the park and they were absolutely beautiful.  We know we can't get the rig in here because it's too big, but we're actually thinking of getting a tent and spending a night or two, roughing it out here in this beautiful place.

One of the campgrounds had a small lake and lots of big rocks to sit on and watch the sun go down over the lake.  Most of the campgrounds were in a forest-like setting and were extremely well maintained.  One campground did have power, but the turns would have been too tight for the rig.  Who knows, we may get a tent.  Wonder what the furkids would think?

Warning ahead:  There are lots and I mean lots of pictures in this post.  Sorry, but I couldn't narrow them down.  It's just too beautiful.

We left Dickinson, ND yesterday on our way to Custer, Sd.  For some reason, it took us through Wyoming.  Not that we're complaining.  The views were spectacular.  We went from prairie lands back to alpine woodlands back to prairie lands and somewhere in between.

We saw lots of deer and just managed to miss a fawn.  We saw a herd of buffalos, sheep and on Hwy 16 to Custer, we were high enough to see a sign that said Big Horn Sheep crossing next three miles.  Since we were going down hill on a steep grade and on my side was a very long drop off, I didn't really look for big horn sheep.

We passed through an area in Wyoming where the speed limit was 80.  Didn't think I'd ever seen that before.

Sorry the quality of the pictures are not great.  Most were taken through a dirty windshield.  Speaking of which, when we got here, we'd never seen our truck as dirty as it was.

But we made it to Custer and have fallen in love with it.  I told Dave I could live here...until he showed me the average temperatures.  We actually had the heat on when we got here yesterday.  It was a balmy 58 degrees.

We spent the day walking through the extremely charming little frontier town of Medora, which sits right outside the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt NP.  When we drove through it the other day to get into the park, I knew I would have to come back and do some strolling through town.  It's also home to the ND Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Here is Medora's history, named for the wife of it's unlucky founder:
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Today, Medora is a haven for tourists and visitors to the TRNP.  Streets are lined up like the old frontier days and house souvenirs and gifts of every imaginable kind.  If you have lots of money, you can go to one of the local restaurants and have a steak - for $43.  No, it's not organic, Kobe or even Buffalo.  Just a simple ribeye.  We limited ourselves to ice cream, which was delicious!  We both had different kinds of berries and it was some of the best we'd ever had - outside of Rome's gelato, of course.
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Our visit to the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame was an interesting one.  It not only honored cowboys, but also the First People, the native Americans who inhabited this land before settlers started their new lives in this foreign land.  And, I didn't know this, but Sitting Bull is a member of the Hall of Fame.

What a wonderful day we had!  When we first started planning this summer's journey, I had serious hesitations about driving all the way across North Dakota just to visit the park, but I'm so glad we did.  The landscape was incredible and the wildlife will not be forgotten.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park covers 70,400 acres of the North Dakota Badlands.  In the South Unit is a 36-mile scenic loop through the Badlands.  The drive featured so many different views, as well as great wildlife.

"Roosevelt first came to the North Dakota badlands to hunt bison in September 1883. During that first short trip, he got his bison and fell in love with the rugged lifestyle and the "perfect freedom" of the West. He invested $14,000 in the Maltese Cross Ranch, which was already being managed by Sylvane Ferris and Bill Merrifield seven miles south of Medora. That winter, Ferris and Merrifield built the Maltese Cross Cabin. After the death of both his wife and his mother on February 14, 1884, Teddy Roosevelt returned to his North Dakota ranch seeking solitude and time to heal. That summer, he started his second ranch, the Elkhorn Ranch, 35 miles north of Medora, which he hired two Maine woodsmen, Bill Sewall and Wilmot Lam, to operate. Teddy Roosevelt took great interest in his ranches and in hunting in the West, detailing his experiences in pieces published in eastern newspapers and magazines. He wrote three major works on his life in the West: Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman and The Wilderness Hunter. His adventures in "the strenuous life" outdoors and the loss of his cattle in the starvation winter in 1886-1887 were influential in Theodore Roosevelt's pursuit of conservation policies as President of the United States."  His love of the Badlands in North Dakota never faded. 

​Our drive there was a great preview of what was to come:

The scenery was incredible all the way through the scenic drive.  From green hills to landscaping more reminiscent of another planet, every turn gave us something new to admire.

One of my favorite parts was seeing all the prairie dog villages.  Those little creatures remind me so much of meerkats.  What great little goodwill ambassadors!

We turned a corner and ran into the giant ambassadors of the Park - the buffalo!  I'm used to bear jams, but we got right into a buffalo jam.  We were lucky to be at the front and see the entire herd go from one side of the road to the other.  They also love to lay on their backs and rub into the dirt, just like Chacho does.  Speaking of Chacho, he had a blast sitting on Daddy's lap and looking at the buffalo from the safety of the front seat.

Another part of the differing scenery...

We crossed the entire state of North Dakota, heading west on I-94 from Fargo to Dickinson and it felt like we moved to a different planet.  We went from the mountainous alpine region to the rolling plains of corn and incredible fields of sunflowers.  

And here are a few random pictures around our Campground in Dickinson:

In our two years on the road now, we've learned that it's a good idea to schedule some days every 4-6 weeks with no plans.  This allows you either R&R days, or, what usually happens, maintenance and repair days.

This is what happened these last few days in Bemidji.  When we left Voyageurs Park, our coach steps would not go in.  Luckily, a good samaritan was kind enough to push them in for us so we could drive.  The steps had been acting up, so we knew that something would have to be done.  That something was now.  Thanks to Amazon Prime and a very handy hubby, we ordered a new motor for the steps.  It came in today and Dave has already replaced the motor and the steps work great.

The windshield washer hose on the truck was leaking, so Dave took care of that.  Yesterday, we went on a road trip through Bemidji and the air conditioner stopped working and just blew hot air.  This had happened before and I was dying in the heat yesterday.  Dave stopped and fixed it.

In the meantime, I've been doing laundry, making potato salad and rearranging some things.  And on a happy note, when I went to WalMart for potatoes, I saw the vase and straw flowers I've been wanting for a certain cubbyhole.  To make it even better, the vase looks like a ceramic vase, but it's only resin, so it's lightweight and will stay in place.  Score!

The last thing we've worked on is a hydraulic leak on the rig in the back.  Dave fixed the leak, but I need to go back to WalMart to replace the hydraulic fluid we've lost

All in all, the rig chose the perfect time to need repair work and we'll be ready to head out on Monday to Dickinson, ND to see Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  It's hard to believe that we only have a month left before we start our winter journey.

About ten years ago, I went to the Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge, and was fortunate to be able to sit i on a seminar, led by renowned wildlife Photographer, Bill Lea.  The seminar was about bears and it led me to a life long love affair with them.  One of the things that Bill talked about in his seminar was a bear sanctuary he helped found in Minnesota.  I remember thinking, then, that I would love to go someday and see this Sanctuary.

Fast forward a decade and I'm in Orr, Minnesota for a week, when I heard about the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary.  Here is the summary of this Sanctuary: "Many years ago, a humble Minnesota logger made a decision that would greatly affect black bears and the attitudes people have towards this often-misunderstood animal. It was then that Vince Shute chose to stop shooting the bears that broke into his cabins. He tried a more peaceful approach and the strategy worked – no more break-ins. Vince claimed, “the bears aren’t mean, just hungry!” Thus, began Vince’s long and celebrated life with black bears in a tiny corner of the north woods near Orr, Minnesota.
Generations of black bears still visit his former homestead, now designated as The Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary. The American Bear Association, a non-profit organization, was formed to manage the sanctuary in order to promote a better understanding of the black bear through education, observation and experience. Vince Shute’s final wish has become a reality – peaceful coexistence between humans and bears. All of the bears are free-roaming; they come and go at will through clover meadows, cool cedar swamps and pine forest."

So, yesterday evening, I spent three hours at the Sanctuary with about fifty bears.  While talking to one of the staff, I found out, quite by accident, that this was the renowned bear sanctuary co-founded by Bill Lea.  He was due to be there last night and was delayed and we had to leave this morning, so i didn't get a chance to thank him for not only inspiring my life long love for bears, but also providing this sanctuary, not only for visitors, but also for researchers.

It's a small, small world.  So, if you love bears and want to see them, come to Orr, MN and spent some time on a platform, just like in Katmai, Alaska and see them.

Be warned:  Lots of bear pictures ahead.