Mitchell, SD

Balloon send off at Billings, MT

After a nice layover in Billings, MT we took three days to travel over to Mitchell, SD for our next layover.  I can't recall seeing South Dakota so green as we have on this trip along I-90.  We're here to update some family documents plus it's just a cheap stop - especially if you've spent the last winter and spring along the west coast and great northwest!  Not a lot of restaurant choices, but the town's got some history, shopping, repair facilities, etc.  Even a Cabelas.  Unfortunately, our favorite BBQ stop has gone out of business.

We timed this leg of the trip to go by Sturgis while the bike week was in full fling thinking we wouldn't be in the way of people traveling to/from the event.  It was fun to drive by Sturgis Monday as Bike Week was kicking off.  While it's not advertised as such, this is Harley Davidson mecca week at Sturgis.  All bikes are welcomed, but by & far Harley's rule the week.   And it didn't bother us that a  B-1B leaving Rapid City flew over while we were stopped at a rest area for lunch just outside Sturgis. What surprised us was 1) how many bikes are just running up and down the roads (we guess sightseeing) as festivities are underway, and 2) how many people were leaving just as it was kicking off.  Oh, and while I'd read about it, it also surprised us as to how many pastures were turned into campgrounds, too.  And we continue to see bikers pull into the campground and motels each evening even though we're now a half-day's drive east from Sturgis.

As we have in the past, we're staying in R&R Campground - a Passport America campground.  It stays pretty busy as an overnighter and big rigs fit.  Donna's even found time when the kids are gone & she can swim in the pool all to herself.  And to my surprise, we even got satellite TV signals between the trees!  That's good for football viewing, plus we're really hooked on the program guide.  Really miss that feature when we're back on cable or using the over-the-air antenna.

Back to Mitchell: If you were to go way back in our blogs, you'll also see that Mitchell is home to the great corn palace.  We'll get current pictures before we leave and post them next week.  Plus we've got time to drive up to one of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum's historic homes over in De Smet, SD.  Otherwise, we're here enjoying our site, restocking and Donna's testing new recipes.  May even get a truck & trailer wash in while we're here, too.

For future planning & if all goes well, we leave for Manistee, MI Wednesday to meet up with friends from the NuWa Owners Forum.  (They let us in even though we don't have a NuWa product.)  Anyway, that's the plan.  Unless it changes.

Later, David