Rolling Along With The Reynolds

Jim and Cindy's Adventure Blog traveling all over the USA

Travel Blog

Badlands picture Album (Album 2023-38)

 

Badlands

Yesterday’s westward travels on I-90 was fun. We were in the minority of travelers NOT destined for the Sturgis Rally, yet the excitement was contagious with all the convoys of various motorcycle rigs rolling along, harvest time is near for huge agricultural fields of sunflowers 🌻 in bloom, and of course spotting the numerous Wall Drug billboards.
* We found a campground spot in Interior (the oldest badland town) situated within a few miles of the Badlands National Park itself. Crossing over into Mountain Time Zone now allowed for a longer day to jump in the car and head out!
* Drove the 31- mile Badlands Loop Trail; spectacular!!! To add to the drama, a nasty thunderstorm was approaching that we could see miles away. Although we had a few sprinkles here and there, the lightning bolts and heavy cells were quite a distance away and moving away from us.
* oh, and of course, had to stop and recreate the same tutu pic from last year 🩰
* Driving towards Wall, we passed by our favorite boondocking spot, “Nomads View” just outside the Park. Surprisingly, there appeared to be spots available! However, with todays rains and more on the way, we’ve chosen to forego that exceptional camping opportunity on the cliffs. Seeing firsthand during last years visit how vulnerable one can be due to weather conditions gives you a very healthy respect for Mother Nature.
* Wall Drug is something you just can’t pass up while in the area. We made it into town before closing and of course had to grab a 5 cent coffee, cherry pie, and a fresh doughnut. Yum!
* Finishing up the Loop to get back to camp was estimated to be 40 minutes. It took us 2 hours, LOL. We decided to be adventurous in Lois and take the dirt road “short-cut” of Bigfoot Pass through the Park. By this time darkness had set in. Such surreal settings! We encountered a herd of free range cattle that were in no hurry to leave the road, so we stopped to enjoy their nighttime grazing (including a Mom and nursing calf). Storms were much further in the distance now, but the light show of pink ball lightning was super cool to see while stopped.
* Starting from the Missouri River in Chamberlain this morning ending at the White River in the Badlands made for a very long but EPIC day!
We ❤️ South Dakota.

 

 

 

 

Dignity

Heading west into South Dakota (yes, towards Sturgis, but no, not for the annual Rally that’s taking place!).
We’re winging it, without reservations, amongst 500,000+ Harley Davidson motorcycle enthusiasts in the area for the next 2 weeks – wish us luck on finding camping availability in/around the beautiful Black Hills.
Tonight we managed to find a spot for one night in Chamberlain, right on the Missouri River. Arriving at 7 PM, we had just enough time to set up, walk the grounds riverside, then head out in Lois to see the magnificent 50 foot tall sculpture “Dignity” at a beautiful time of day.
So with just 15 hours to stop the wheels and get a good nights rest, it’s early to rise in the morning – onwards to the Badlands!

Dignity and Chamberlain pics (Album 2023-37)

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Luverne, “Love the Life!”

Today was an unexpected jam-packed day of pleasant discoveries. Hopping on the bikes, we started off straight from the campground taking the 7.5 mile Luverne Loop around the perimeter of this beautiful town, population 5,000.
* Up first was the Rock County History Center. What immediately caught our eye about this 1915 building was the cool design featuring large rounded windows with a pristine vintage car inside. Turns out it’s just one of two still in existence; the Luverne Thirty.
* The history center is also home to the 5,400-piece nutcracker collection. Amazing art! The dedicated volunteer who greeted us proudly noted that there’s more Nutcrackers in town than there are people, LOL!
* We pedaled south passing by the very fun Howling Dog Saloon where we dined last night (delish food, beer and pool tables).
* The Bike Trail Loop circles the town, with civilization on the inside and agricultural fields on the outer side. Such pretty happy healthy corn fields and soybeans, and to top it off there were even lavender fields scattered around (adding a wonderful aroma with the strong breezes!).
* Fortunately near the tail end of our bicycling, a brewery was awaiting! “Take 16 Taproom” quenched our thirst. Turns out we discovered it is also a Harvest Host, so if we return to this town we’ll be sure to boondock in their lot. Met some great folks, many of who were there to do an evening group bike ride on the very route we just finished. Had it not been for downing two beers each already, we may have joined them to do the Loop a second time, but Philly cheese steaks on the Blackstone were calling back at camp.
* Blue Mounds State Park, one of the largest prairie Parton Minnesota. Home to the most genetically pure bison herd in the country. We found a really nice raised wooden deck as a viewing platform to watch them graze peacefully. The Park also features a massive outcrop of pretty pink Sioux quartzite which abruptly terminates at a cliff line used by rock climbers.
* Touch The Sky Prairie. Big 360 views. This place features photographs by the well known National Geographic photographer Jim Brandenburg.
* After hiking all day, we cooled off with a soft sever ice cream cone at the fun JJ’s Tasty Drive-In Diner
* continuing with fun nostalgia, we enjoyed the movies at Vernes Drive-in theater. Barbie was the perfect campy movie to see there.

Pics while in Luverne (Album 2023-36)

 

 

Mall of America

The Mall of America in Bloomington, MN (Minneapolis/St.Paul).
What a crazy place!
* Sea Life Aquarium,
* Rainforest Cafe,
* M&M’s mega store,
* Crayola crayons mega store,
* Legos megastore,
* Museum of Illusions,
* Nickelodeon Adventure Park,
* and browsed only a tiny portion of the 500+ stores.

 

Faribault, MN

So our A/C unit in the RV died 29 days ago; we are fortunate to be located in Minnesota with highs getting only into the 90’s. Faribault, MN; the long awaited locale to finally get our A/C unit replaced and back to cool air!  We spent a full two long weeks here, testing our patience (the first unit shipped to the Rv Tech guy was damaged, so another 5 days to receive a second one. The tech was great, yet had to return back to the coach the next day for a tweak). Thank you Ryan Waddell of Faribault RV Mobile Repair!

Throughout July, we’ve been a bit cranky, a bit inconvenienced, a bit warm (especially the poor kitteh-kat), but we survived!!! Today was welcome relief with a new unit replacement! Woohoo!

While here, we made the best of the situation and stayed quite busy:
* Being an hour away from the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, we visited the amazing Mall of America.
* Hiked a few trails, including a treat by seeing two cute spotted fawns. 
* Holiday Hoopla celebration at Camp Faribo Campground yesterday. Easter Egg Hunt, a visit from Santa, snow cones, and Trick-or-treating fun.

 

 

Faribault pics (Album 2023-34)