Custer State Park, Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore

Well, this area of South Dakota got our respect and attention!  The southwest portion of the State had a lot to offer and we really enjoyed our time there.  We think Custer State Park rivals many National Parks.  Full of nature at its’ best, interesting landscape, wild animals, and great camp sites.  The Park also has numerous lodges and cabins, as well as restaurants and stores, nice accommodations for visitors who are not camping.  The town of Custer is very nice with several hotels, restaurants and a grocery store which we were in need of. 

Needles Highway

Sylvan Lake

We enjoyed the “Needles” area of  the “Black Hills”, just inside Custer State Park.  Scenic drives through interesting rock formations, including some one lane tunnels forged through the rock.  The “eye of the needle” was a highlight in this area.

Needles Eye Tunnel

Eye of the Needle

Then there is the well known National Monument,  Mt Rushmore.  I have a vague memory of coming here with my parents when I was young, but many improvements have been made over the years including a stone walkway, honoring the 50 states by flying the State flags, leading up to a prime viewing area for the monument.  There is an amphitheater and museum.

The Custer State Park camping sites are spacious, natural settings.  The Park has numerous camp grounds tucked in different locations around the park.  The small campgrounds we stayed at were around 20 sites, with sites big enough for our rig and full electric hookups.  Lots to see and do here. We definitely left with a greater appreciation of this area and plan to return in the future.

Yes, that is a buffalo hanging out by a camper

Sylvan Lake

Big Horn Sheep Ewes

 Did I mention wildlife?  Lots of sightings in this area; especially on "Wildlife Loop Road" in the southern part of Custer State Park.

Turkeys at the camp site

Burros in the road

Pronghorn

Buffalo grazing near road

Buffalo in the road

Big Bull Buffalo walking by our car

Arrived in South Dakota & Badlands National Park

Hiking - Notch Trail - Badlands

We made it to Badlands National Park in western South Dakota late Friday (9/8) after a three day drive and a little over 1,200 miles.  It was a good trip, everything went very well.  We were happy with the way the RV traveled towing the car and it felt comfortable.

Badlands National Park is in a remote area and looks like another planet.  It has some desert characteristics; we even saw some prickly pear cactus.  Very interesting landscape and some cool vistas.  We did a little hiking; our favorite was "Notch Trail".

We are heading to the Black Hills, Custer State Park and Mt Rushmore next.  

Yellow Mounds Area-Badlands

Overlook - Badlands National Park

Early in the day on Friday, we stopped at a
visitors center (on a tip from our sister Karen) and saw this beautiful stainless steel sculpture of a Native American woman that was erected last year.  The "Dignity - of Earth and Sky" sculpture honors the Lakota and Dakota culture.  It is a great setting on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River.

A few interesting tidbits from SD:

• Roads - We found SD roads better than IA, IL, or IN.  SD has an 80 MPH speed limit on the interstates (I-29 & I-90).  Most areas are pretty remote, flat and little traffic.  Even with the higher speed limit, we kept the RV between 65-70 MPH.
• Monarch Butterflies - The butterflies migrate through South Dakota from the north on their way to Mexico for the winter. We saw 1000's and unfortunately, some ended up plastered to the windshield and grill of the RV.
• Cellphone & Internet - It has surprised me how good the cellphone and internet service has been.  Mostly using my cellphone hotspot for internet and it has worked great.  Even driving down the highway in the middle of cornfields, we had excellent reception.  The parks we have stayed at have also had pretty good wi-fi.

 In full disclosure, as I promised (to write about good and not so good), I have to tell you one minor issue we had late in the day on Friday trying to locate the RV Park we were staying at.  I plugged the address into my phone and followed it as directed.  Unfortunately, it was not accurate.  We were out in a pretty isolated area on a narrow road with nowhere to turn around.  We ended up going about 15 miles out of our way to get turned around and back where we needed to be.  Lesson learned - we will double check the directions with the web site if possible.  I checked later and found the web site for the park advised NOT following GPS directions.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions (Part 1)

As I am finishing this post, we are on our way on our 1^st extended trip; traveling from Michigan to South Dakota (Badlands National Park, Mt Rushmore, Black Hills, etc); on to Colorado and then to North Carolina.  SD will be subject of next post!

Here are some additional thoughts on how we went through the process and transition to full time RVing:

In the Fall, 2016, Jim and I realized that life changes were coming our way.  We had already made the decision to sell our house in the Spring 2017, and were considering the possibility of moving to a condo or apartment.  When Jim’s job ended sooner than we hoped (as mentioned previously) we started looking at everything, including retirement for both of us.  That is when we started seriously discussing the possibility of becoming full time RVer’s, and we began gathering information.  In addition to extensive research about RVing, we had to consider the following:

•  Retirement – If you believe everything you read and hear, you may never have enough money to retire, right?   It’s obviously a very personal decision and retirement can be different for everyone.  We all know people who never got to enjoy retirement for various reasons.  We felt strongly that we wanted to retire while we were still healthy and active.  We decided pretty early that a simpler life style was very appealing.  Once we looked at all our retirement information and “ran the numbers” we decided to go for it.  We definitely set up a budget and need to be careful and will make adjustments as needed.  I am exploring possibly doing some accounting and/or tax work on a part time basis, but haven’t made a decision yet.  Since we are not eligible for Medicare for several more years, I was able to find an individual health insurance policy through an agent in Florida that specializes in health insurance for full-time RVers.  This policy covers us in all States and includes dental and vision.  Here is the link to this website:  http://www.rverinsurance.com.

•  Full-time RVing – We read everything we could find on the subject, including blogs and books.  We watched U-Tube videos, and went to RV shows.  We looked at the cost of purchasing an RV that we would be comfortable in as well as ongoing budgets.  Selling our house was a big part of this decision which we had already made. The timing of the house sale looked very promising and that gave us confidence to move forward.  I have to say the appeal of traveling this way, the sense of freedom and adventures, was very strong for us.  By late Winter, we had made the decision and began taking the necessary steps to make it happen.

•  Family and Friends in Michigan - The biggest and hardest decision for us was if we could leave Michigan for extended periods of time.  This would mean being away from family and friends in Michigan more, but possibly spending a little more time with family in other states.  It has been difficult and there have been some tears for sure. I hope we can balance the travel time with great family time following our initial plan of traveling in the Fall and Spring, spending Summers in Michigan as well as some of the holidays, and heading someplace warm for most of the Winter.

• Downsizing -  We would have to downsize big time.  Everything from paper work, furniture, clothes, “stuff”, had to be dealt with.  This turned out to be somewhat of a freeing experience, but some decisions were difficult and it took us much longer than we expected.  You have to be committed to the process and keep the end goal in mind.  We found that items we thought had value maybe did not to others.  We downsized by various means, including throwing things away and shredding old documents.  It was a combination of items going to family, items being sold or donated.  A few items we wanted to keep, but not put in the RV, are being stored at our son’s house.  We have a feeling we may be “pairing down” a little more over the next year.

I said several times that this is not for the "faint of heart" and at times it seemed too difficult or I thought maybe we shouldn't do this.  It's easy to let small setback and doubts hold you back.  We helped each other through and how ever it turns out, we won't ever have to wonder "what if".

Lake Michigan with our Granddaughters

Dunes between Silver Lake & Lake MI

The week of August 21st we took a trip to the west side of the State and Lake Michigan with our granddaughters, Megan and Anna.  We stayed at the Charles Mears State Park near Pentwater.  The park was very nice and right on the lake.  We took day trips south about 12 miles to Silver Lake State Park and the sand dunes.  What a beautiful area.  We had a very good time, even though it was a little cool for August.  Megan and Anna want to go back next summer!

Silver Lake Sand Dunes Ride

This was a good test for us and the RV.  We cooked most of our meals in the RV or on the camp fire.  We tested out the oven in the RV and made some our favorites including Pumpkin Bread.  We towed the car and everything worked well.

We are now ready to head west on Wednesday, September 5th.  This will be our first long trip, heading to South Dakota and Colorado, before heading back to NC by the middle of October.

Family Lunch

Family Lunch

We are grateful for family support during our transition. With great pride, we acknowledge our family.  We consider ourselves blessed and fortunate beyond our dreams to have three great children (Dan, Cheryl and Beth) who are grown and married to wonderful people (Christie, Darren and Kevin), 2 granddaughters (Anna and Megan) and another one on the way.  With them living in three different States, we cherish time with each of them and when we are all together.  We are looking forward to our travels that will include visits with all of them.  Their love, support and encouragement along with that of our extended family and friends have meant so much to us as we begin our new adventure.