The Panhandling Donkey

Sometimes when I exit I-75 in Gainesville, there's a person looking for handouts from the motorists waiting for the light to change at the bottom of the ramp. On the Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park, we came across this donkey who walked right up to the driver-side window, obviously recognizing a couple of out-of-town tourists who might just be gullible enough to fall for such an obvious ploy for some picnic lunch leftovers. We may be some thin-blooded flatlanders, but we didn't just roll into town on the tomato truck!! No handouts from us. Besides, he was making an ass of himself.

Threading the Needle (or How to Get a Big Truck Through a Small Hole)

One of the highlights of driving the Needles Highway in Custer State Park is passing through several narrow tunnels carved out of the Black Hills. The first one we encountered had a posted width of 8 feet, 4 inches. The width of my dual rear-wheel truck....8 feet. We did have the option of turning around. But, of course, that wouldn't have been any fun. So, with 2 inches to spare on each side of the truck and a park ranger holding up traffic in case I had to back out of the tunnel, in I went. Very slowly. And out I emerged without any new scratches on the truck. The other tunnel we came to had a width of a whopping 9 feet, so I went through that one steering with only one finger while fiddling with the radio.

My approach to Tunnel 6 on the Needles Highway.

In this photo, I am wondering if leaving blue paint on the tunnel walls is against park rules.

There Might Be a Missile Under That Bison Patty

For those of you who remember when the USA and the USSR were engaged in the Cold War, South Dakota played a key role in our ability to respond to a nuclear attack. Under the peaceful meadows just outside Badlands National Park lie more than 150 Minuteman missile silos. The Minuteman program was developed in the 1950s and each missile could travel over the North Pole and arrive at a target (presumably the USSR) in 30 minutes, delivering the explosive equivalent of 1 million tons of dynamite. Today, the National Park Service conducts tours through a former missile control center. There were 15 such centers in South Dakota, each capable of launching 10 missiles. So, we know where the control center was. But as to exactly where the missiles are.... well, they're somewhere out there among the bison and prairie dogs.

The grasslands as they looked this week.

The Minuteman control room as it looked in the 1960s.

Domino's-inspired artwork on the blast door of the control center.

Killer Marketing Idea -- Free Ice Water!!

Maybe not today, but back in 1931 in the town of Wall, South Dakota, a struggling pharmacist and his wife were just about to give up on making a go of it in this out-of-the-way hole in the wall (pun intended). But, with the creation of Mt. Rushmore just down the road, the wife convinces the husband to give it one more summer, thinking all those tourists needed a place to stop after a long day of travel. So, with the help of some strategically placed signs offering free ice water, the crowds started showing up at Wall Drug and the rest is history. Today, upwards of 20,000 people visit Wall Drug on busy summer days and the little drug store now features a mall, restaurants, two live cowboy orchestras, art galleries, and a western entertainment center. Oh, and they still give away free ice water -- 5,000 glasses every day during the summer.

Badlands

Ever since we arrived in Badlands National Park, South Dakota, I've been humming the Boss's "Badlands" from the Darkness on the Edge of Town album. The park was created in 1978, "Badlands" was released in 1978. Coincidence? Hmmm. Erosion is the lead player in this park. Wind, rain, and snow carry away thousands of tons of sedimentary deposits every year, leaving behind the colorful spires and formations. The area is surrounded by the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, so the rough peaks are a vivid contrast to the gentle waves of green prairie grass that stretch to the horizon. Some good hiking here, but you need to keep your eyes open for wildlife -- especially of the slithering variety.

The House of Sod

In the 1860s, the federal government came up with a plan to encourage settlement of the West by offering free land to settlers who were willing to stake a claim. Each family was offered 50 acres and received a deed to the land after 5 years of "proving it up." Many of the settlers were European immigrants who read about the offer in their homelands and came to America to strike it rich as land barons. They got the land they wanted, but with the land came a hard life of survival on the Great Plains. Because they could be constructed with little cost and with available resources, sod houses became a popular dwelling type among the settlers. We visited a sod house in Gothenburg, Nebraska, a community founded by Swedish immigrants. Up to nine people lived in this house, which consisted of two rooms and an outhouse. The black and white photo shows a typical sod house from the 1880s.

Wells to Windmills

We stayed overnight in Russell, Kansas, hometown of Senator Bob Dole. Russell was a booming oil town at one time and you can still see some working wells dotting the landscape in the area. The well pictured here was just outside the entrance to our campground. There is also strong visible evidence that the economy here is transitioning from oil-based to more wind-power based. We passed numerous wind turbine farms as we made our way west on I-70. I think it's a great place to put a windmill since the wind seems to be blowing all the time out here on the plains. The other photo here is of a wind turbine blade being trucked through Elwood, Nebraska, shortly after we left Russell. It must have been a couple of hundred feet long.

Our Welcome to Tornado Alley

We entered tornado alley today. And, while we have not quite made it to Kansas, our first few minutes in Oklahoma were somewhat of the white knuckle variety. Just a mile after we crossed into Oklahoma from Arkansas, the skies opened up and a tornado warning for our immediate vicinity was broadcast over the radio. Luckily, we were only a mile from the state visitor center so we were able to get off the road and dash into the building for safety. We watched the wind and torrential rain for about 45 minutes before it let up enough for us to get back on the road. No official tornado was sighted but if Oklahoma is like this, we can't imagine what lies ahead for us in Kansas.

An Afternoon at the Spa

During it's heyday in the 1920s, Hot Springs had 10 working bath houses and drew thousands of visitors by train seeking the healing effects of the hot mineral water. Today, there are only two active bath houses, and only one offering traditional bath. We had the traditional bath at the Buckstaff bath house which included a hot tub soak, sitz bath, steam chamber, needle shower, massage, and Lufa scrub. A thoroughly relaxing experience that we highly recommend if you are ever in the area.

Mississippi crossing

We drove across the I-55 bridge at Memphis Monday morning. Man, the river is still raging. The water was up to the roadway for miles on the Arkansas side. A lot of exits going a few hundred feet then disappearing under the muddy water. It's still up to the power lines in many spots. We are in historic Hot Springs, Arkansas , where the city provides free fill ups of the thermal spring water from several stations along the main street. Just bring a jug.

Starting the Trip With a Bang

And not just as a matter of speech. A real, live, "what the hell was that?" bang. Fourteen miles up I-75 from Gainesville, the rear passenger-side tire on the trailer shredded to pieces. Luckily, I was able to quickly steer the rig to the side of the road without doing any damage to the rim. About an hour later, the roadside assistance truck arrived -- Town Tire from Gainesville. The guy was friendly enough, asked us where were from. I think he expected us to say that we were from some far away locale. When we told him "Gainesville," he laughed and said "Didn't get very far, huh?" We did make it to our planned overnight in Mobile, AL, without any further incidents, and other than some cosmetic damage to the trailer, everything seems to be working fine. They say you haven't earned your RV stripes until you've experienced your first blowout. Hopefully, we won't earn any more stripes on this trip.

The Waters Have Finally (De)Parted

Here's a photo of I-40 in Arkansas between Memphis and Little Rock. Taken last weekend, it shows the overflowing White River that caused one of the country's busiest commercial links to close. It also happens to be on our route to our first camp spot -- Hot Springs National Park. For westbound travelers like us, the detour around the flooded section turned what normally is a drive of just over an hour into a 6-8 hour ordeal. Thankfully, the weather has been dry over the past few days and the White River is finally receeding. Arkansas DOT re-opened I-40 yesterday, so our original route is still intact, as long as they don't have any significant rain between now and Monday.

Check in on us this summer

Well, we've finally taken the leap to blogging rather than sending multiple e-mails during our annual summer RV trip. Of course, it all depends on what kind of internet connection we have as we make our way to some pretty remote parts of the country. But, we'll do our best to keep you posted on our whereabouts and slap a photo or two in there to prove we are actually on the road and not blogging from our living room.