I haven’t posted in a while because truth be told we are struggling to find our way in this new lifestyle. Every place we go we seem to have a reason why we don’t like it or why we have to move on. It is too hot, it is too cold, it is raining constantly, it is too humid, there are too many mosquitoes, it is flooded, muddy and stinky. Keep in mind we are sleeping in a van with no air conditioning, we do have heat but there is little escape from the elements. Also, there are still appointments in certain locations that cause us to drive long distances on certain days to get to a particular location. There is now a looming deadline in Indiana for some RV warrantee work. Indiana in August, really?? Not interested! I knew the Midwest was humid in the summer, but I did not think about how much it would affect us. When we are driving all the time, then sitting in some campground in the stinky mud, it is very depressing.
With all these long days of driving we are not getting enough of something very important to me – exercise! Back in Scottsdale I had my Jazzercise several days a week which I loved then hiking on the weekend, sometimes a hike during the week before work when the sun is up early. Tim is also missing his cycling. I am definitely missing my old life.
We will need to work on changing things up and figure this all out. We had the idea we could park the van in a place and be able to go for road bike rides, hikes, walk or take the bus into town for a craft brew. Sounds nice, but the reality is different. I will let you know how we attempt to rectify the situation in further posts.
Now to our ongoing travels. In South Dakota we stayed at Custer State Park where we did see some animals, which we are always looking for, however unlike the natural habitat setting you expect in a park, it was very reminiscent of the wild animal parks we toured as kids. They even told us we could feed the “wild” burros anything we wanted. We found them begging for food in the street and people were feeding them from the car windows. We gave them some carrots and they were very gentle taking the food. The babies looked scared standing in the street while their mom was begging for food. This was all very cute, but just did not set well with us. The park also has an annual roundup of bison in order to “cull” the herd. The spectacle is open to public viewing. I believe they auction off the ones they don’t want, Bison meat is popular here. Bison calves born in the park are branded with an “S” and the year they were born. This all seems like a very unnatural environment. Seems all wrong to me.
Since we were so close, we had to check out Mount Rushmore, picture at top of the post. My family visited the memorial over 50 years ago on a cross country camping trip in our VW camper from Connecticut to California and back. I was only a year old so I have no recollection of the trip but I have seen the pictures and heard the stories over the years. Camping was a staple throughout my childhood. We spent many a weekend on Cape Cod and there were a few longer trips to Maine and Virginia that stick out in my mind. I think Dad had a travel bug and camping was the only way we could afford it.
There is another mountain rock carving not far away that is much bigger than Mount Rushmore and is still in progress. It is a carving of Crazy Horse on a horse. You can see the head and the start of his arm but there is a long way to go. This memorial is not affiliated with any government project and is funded privately and by donations. The project has been ongoing since 1948, the original sculptor is dead and his children are continuing the work. The mission of the memorial goes beyond the immense rock carving. The mission is “to protect and preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of the North American Indians”. There is a museum there and they have plans for a university. It is a huge project.
I think I could have spent more time in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It was a small pocket of cool weather and pine trees, it seemed very nice, but we are moving on to get to our next stop, North Dakota.
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