Welcome to South Dakota

It was the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, and the crowds were beginning to filter into the Big Horn Mountains just as we were hooking up the trailer to leave. It was 46 degrees when we were leaving our camp site on this August weekend. After several days with clouds and rain and a shady site, our lithium battery was down to 40%--the lowest of this journey. While Mark was outside getting ready to leave, a moose cow and calf ran right beside him. What a nice farewell from the Big Horn Mountains! We drove four miles out of our way to dump the tanks at the very nice forest service dump station. (You know you are a hard core Rver when you describe dump stations as "very nice.") Since we were leaving on a steep road we wanted to get the weight of the water out of the tanks.

We found lots of warning signs as we left the top of the Big Horn Mountains. The road out was a very steep 9% grade!

We saw four different signs warning us that this steep grade was hard on brakes. A mandatory brake check requires vehicles with trailers to stop.

It was also interesting that the maximum speed for trucks coming down this mountain road was 20 miles per hour.

In the distance we could see the tallest knob on the mountain. That was where we hiked to the fire lookout tower a couple days before.

The pickup and driver handled this steep drive like experts. The drive took us through the fire damage from last summer's wild fires. Whole mountains were burned all the way to the town of Draper.                

We wound through miles of sharp curves making that steep descent.

We filled up with gasoline in Montana right before we crossed the South Dakota border, where prices went up fifty cents per gallon. Welcome to South Dakota--the 12th state in this journey.

We traveled 282 miles this day, a very large number for us. We were obviously hurrying to get back home. We packed a picnic lunch to eat early because we wanted to be especially hungry for our special treat dinner tonight. We pulled into Three Flags RV Park, a Passport America discount campground in Rapid City, South Dakota, for a one-night stay.

Then we drove several miles to Fort Hays, where we had reservations for the chuckwagon dinner and show. While the buildings at Fort Hays look like they were circa 1880, they were actually built in 1989. This was the movie set for some of the scenes in the movie "Dances with Wolves."

Kevin Costner played the role of John J. Dunbar, and they had a multitude of movie souvenirs displayed around Fort Hays.

This was the room where Dunbar was given his posting orders in one scene from the movie.

Mark stood on the "x" on the floor where Kevin Costner stood while they were filming.

A saw mill and supply house were actually operational and also used in scenes for the movie.

This movie set would have been torn down, but a man by the name of Herman Jones decide to buy it and make it into a South Dakota landmark. Mr. Jones still works in the rope shop, where he shows tourists how to make ropes the way they did it in the 1880's.

This particular rope was made from toilet paper, showing that even quite soft material can form a tough rope when wound tightly enough. While working on his rope, Mr. Jones quoted bible verses and ended his demonstration with a prayer.

We also stopped in at the Tin Shop, where they were making tin pans using a machine from the 1880s. These tin pans can be stamped and personalized for purchase, and they let child volunteers help. Any tin pans not purchased are used as plates for the chuckwagon dinner.

We came for the chuckwagon show, but anyone can stop by to see the outdoor exhibits and photo ops at Fort Hays. They have a recorded tour, with information about each building. We listened to most of them while we waited for the dinner bell.

Visitors can also buy a ticket for the roller coaster that whisks passengers down the mountain. From the top of this hill we could see far into the Black Hills of South Dakota with Mount Rushmore in the distance. Another draw for tourists to visit Fort Hays was the breakfast, with unlimited pancakes.

It was raining when we arrived at Fort Hays. But by the time we rode the bison, the skies were a beautiful shade of blue.

The dinner bell clanged at 6:30, and we formed a line. They piled our tin plate up with our choice of beef or chicken, baked beans, a flattened baked potato, and chunky applesauce. They laid a piece of waxed paper over that layer to add biscuits, honey, and a slice of spice cake on top. We were handed a tin cup filled with our choice of coffee or lemonade, and then we were seated at long lines of picnic tables. Seated close to the other tourists, we soon got to know our neighbors. This Labor Day weekend we ate with a couple celebrating their 29th anniversary, a young couple from Colorado married 14 months ago, and a couple visiting from North Dakota. We realized how small the world was when we found that the husband from North Dakota was actually raised in Oklahoma. When we asked where in Oklahoma, he replied that it was a tiny place that we would have never heard of--Slapout. Doesn't everyone know where Slapout, Oklahoma is?!? He was raised on a farm just 15 miles from where Denisa grew up. Even though we were divided by a different school district and a decade of time, we found we had many friends in common. After visiting and eating, the show started and we had a good hour of wholesome entertainment. Welcome to South Dakota!