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KOA Badlands, near Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Tachometer – 3880 miles

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It was a cold and rainy day, harshly punctuated by a relentless wind that had me bending the steering wheel of the RV almost a quarter of a turn just to keep driving straight. We took I-90 east for about 90 miles to get to Badlands. On the way we had a very interesting stop at what was once a launch site of US Minuteman nuclear warheads.

The entire plains region, including South Dakota, was filled with about 1000 missile silos during the cold war. (more…)

KOA Rapid City, Rapid City, South Dakota. Tachometer – 3722 miles

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We saw two manmade, larger than life monuments today: The famous Mount Rushmore and the even more impressive Crazy Horse Memorial. They are both located here in the Black Hills and both draw millions of tourists every year. (more…)

KOA Custer, Custer, South Dakota. Tachometer – 3679 miles

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This morning the kids had a treat. We went to the Flintstones theme park. It is based on the famous cartoon series from the 60’s that I remember watching in the 70’s as a kid. Basically it’s a prehistoric sitcom. Fred Flintstone was a national icon for a while.

We started off with a cute train ride. (more…)

Flintstones Bedrock Campground, Custer, South Dakota. Tachometer – 3640 miles

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We had a long easy morning at the campground, the kids played with the gravel rocks paving our campsite, trying to fit them into empty plastic bottles. Towards noon we left and drove about 45 minutes to get to Wind Cave National Park. The weather deteriorated rapidly and it began to rain heavily. (more…)

KOA Hot Springs, Hot Springs, South Dakota. Tachometer – 3555 miles

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The lower altitude of the great plains (about 1000 meters) helped us wake up to a nice and warm morning. Paola took the kids to the playground while I jogged around the Fort Robinson area. This was a large military installation from 1870 till just after world war 2. Today many of the buildings are used for tourist lodges, horse stables and other recreational activities.

We drove north and entered South Dakota after an hour of endless meadows dotted with mostly black cows. The same views continued for another hour or so until finally we reached the Black Hills. (more…)