catch up from Mitchell, SD

Friday we were in Rapid City, SD. We visited Mt Rushmore for a couple of hours. Lucy did her 5^th Jr Ranger program in record time.

 

When we came down the hill from Rushmore we swung into Bear Country, USA in the hope of seeing some buffalo that we didn’t see in Yellowstone.

While at Bear Country we encountered some issues with the engine quitting. It was very hot and the traffic was just creeping most of the 45 minutes but it wasn’t the engine overheating that was the issue but something was killing the engine. If we sat for a few minutes we could restart but there wasn’t enough to go up  the hills and we finally had to get towed by the Bear Country staff. They were very efficient at it based on lots of practice apparently. The head guy suggested the engine might be vapor locked based on the high heat. We let the RV sit while we visited the walk through portion of the park called Babyland. After the hour of sitting and cooling we were able to hit the road with no issues. We did some quick shopping at the local health food store in Rapid City and then hit the road.

 

1.   We had started seeing signs for Wall Drug www.WallDrug.com in WY. The Wall Drugs really picked up after we started east from Rapid City. While I had researched Wall Drug in advance the girls knew nothing about it. Since we had spent more time in Rapid City than planned by not getting on the road until midafternoon we had talked about making it a long day of driving to cover some miles. However the frequent and unique signs really pricked their curiosity and by the time we got to the exit they were really ready to stop. So stop we did for 2 hours! Wall Drug has grown to quite the fun tourist attraction since the 1930s. We shopped and shopped, ate dinner there, Lucy and I searched for “gems” in a “mine”, Lucy enjoyed the water squirts set to music and much more.

 

Once we got back on the road about 6p we were fed and ready to roll. We made great time and selected a campground in Pinkinton, SD right off I-90 for our stop for the night. Less than 4 miles short of the exit the engine started losing power! We limped the RV to the campground wishing the issue would be solved by cooling by morning. I consulted the Ford dealership in nearby Mitchell, SD who suggested vapor lock as well. We headed out east and about 10 minutes on I-90 and power loss again so we exited to Mitchell, the home of the famous Corn Palace.

As we pulled into Mitchell the RV continued to quit and found people swarming toward Main Street. The girls identified this as a parade looking crowd. We tried to navigate onto Main Street but it was blocked off so we parked the RV and went to watch the Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo parade and take a quick tour of the Corn Palace. The parade had nearly 120 entries including many horses and rodeo related entries as well as old cars, politicians, kids, Shriners, fire trucks, business, clowns and more. After the parade I consulted at least 6 mechanics looking for someone to work on the RV without success. I changed the fuel filter with no change as well. Finally the last garage agreed to look at the RV to evaluate the situation. They agreed to look at the RV firth thing on Monday morning. So we headed to a campground for the weekend again.

 

We attended the Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo with a ride from Tyler, the grandson of the campground owners. The rodeo was great fun. The rodeo is part of the professional rodeo circuit so the competitors were real cowboys competing at a high level.

 

Today was a somewhat low key day in the campground. We all slept in this morning. I actually slept until 9a which is a recent record for me. And nobody including me got out bed after 11a! Lucy headed straight for the pool to swim with some friends she made yesterday at the pool. after making breakfast I hung in the RV with Mollie who studied for her driving permit test. Lucy swam in the pool six times and Mollie four. The girls spent time with Tyler and his sisters on and off all day. I have actually been in the RV all day. I napped after lunch and decided to see if I could stay in the RV all day without losing my mind. Luckily I was successful J

 

We’ll be up early to get to the garage and hopefully get things fixed and back on the road.

Getting to St Louis is now in question due to our delay. Either way we will stop in Indianapolis to visit Lucy’s friends.

We’ll keep the blog updated on events tomorrow.

 

Keep us in your prayers, cross your fingers and toes. Thanks for your positive thoughts!

 

Jay