Back in the Black Hills

Day 12 - Cedar Pass Campground to Hot Springs, South Dakota KOA

• Left: 10AM MT
• Arrived Walmart Rapid City: 11:35AM MT
• Arrived at Hot Springs KOA Campground: 1:30PM MT
• Overall Rating 4/5 for KOA
• Site: 4/5 for KOA
• Gravel site but shaded with pine trees. Not very full for Labor Day weekend
• Site 21 - pull through, full hookups
• Very quiet overnight
• Facilities:
• Bathrooms: 5/5
• Showers: 3/5 - Water was hot but stall I was in had a slow drain
• Dishwashing station: NA
• Drinking water: NA
• Proximity to things to do: 5/5 
• 15-20 to Mt Rushmore, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse, Mickelson Trail
• Proximity to necessities: 5/5
• 10 minutes to downtown Hot Springs 
• Dog Amenities: Kamp K9
• Road conditions: We took SD 240 to I-90 West. Bumpy but not as bad as SD-44
• Weather: Sunny, hot & dry AF
• Gas: $4.29 in Wall, SD. Topped off tank

The storms were short lived & we were on the road about 10AM. As we were rolling out, we saw a park ranger & told them we were leaving a day early. I was shocked to see a refund on my credit card for the one night. I wasn’t expecting that at all.  We made another stop at the Rapid City Walmart. Again the store was crazy busy.  We bought premade salads & cookies for our lunch which we ate in the truck before getting back on the road. 

We arrived at the Hot Springs KOA at 1:30PM, got checked in & was setup by about 2PM. The only thing I pulled out was Sammie's stroller since we are leaving tomorrow.  When we opened up the camper, there was a horrible sewer gas smell coming from the kitchen sink.  Reading the online forums, it seems this can happen on very hot travel days. The p-trap looses it’s water seal which lets the stank come out. Steve spent the next hour making sure all the connections were OK which involved pulling out all the drawers & getting into the dinette cubby before he just poured a bottle of dawn down the drain & ran some water.  After that, the stank went away, thankfully!

Most KOA’s that we have stayed at have pools & this one looked so inviting on a very hot day so we both put on our swimsuits to have a float.  Surprisingly, the water was quite chilly getting in but it felt so refreshing. Afterwards we took showers. These showers were not as nice as the Hill City KOA but they were hot with good water pressure. The only negative was that the shower stall that I was in had a slow drain so I had to keep turning the water off to let it drain.  

We spent the rest of the late afternoon / evening in the camper getting organized, updating travel notes & Steve worked on this Milky Way images.  

Hot Springs KOA

Day 13 - Hot Springs KOA to Hidden Lake RV Resort in Hot Springs, SD

• Left: 11:40AM MT
• Arrived Hidden Lake Campground: Noon PM MT
• Overall Rating 4/5
• Site: 5/5 but any other side would have been a 2/5.
• Site 23
• Gravel site with picnic table. 
• End site so had large yard on curb side of camper & view of lake
• If in any other site, would have been staring at the camper next to you. 
• Facilities:
• Bathrooms: 3/5
• The toilet doors were short so when you stood up you could see over the door
• Showers: 4/5 
• Showers were good but bathroom layout was odd. 
• 2 Showers, 2 changing stalls & 2 toilets. 
• Dishwashing station: NA
• Drinking water: NA
• Proximity to things to do: 5/5 
• 15-20 to Mt Rushmore, Custer, Crazy Horse, Mickelson Trail
• Proximity to necessities: 5/5
• 5 minutes to downtown Hot Springs 
• Dog Amenities: Off leash area behind lake
• Great place for families. Nice lake, clear water, offered kayaking, SUP & paddle boats
• Road conditions: Such a short drive through Hot Springs.
• Weather: Sunny, hot & dry. Some occasional rain plus one massive overnight storm 
• Gas: $3.99 in Hot Springs, SD

After coffee we drove to downtown Hot Springs, SD so Steve could do his Saturday morning run. There is a creek that runs through town & the Freedom trail that runs alongside it. It was a sweet walk in a very peaceful setting. We got there a little after 7AM & it was still quiet & cool. Afterwards, we had breakfast at Mornin’ Sunshine Coffee House. I had a breakfast bowl which was really good & Steve had eggs, bacon & a pancake which was also very good. They even had local Kombucha for sale!

After breakfast, we walked through the small farmers market & picked up some sourdough bacon & cheddar English muffins & oatmeal cookies from Stunningham Farms. Both were super delicious! We then filled up the tank & found a car wash to clean all the dust off the truck. 

Downtown Hot Springs

Actual Spring that you can get water from

Post Saturday Run

Along the creek trail

Local Kombucha

We got back to camp & took dogs to Kamp K9, possibly my favorite thing of KOAs. We then got everything loaded up & on the road by 11:40 for the shortest travel day of this trip. We arrived at Hidden Lake RV resort at noon. We were in our site & fully setup by 12:40PM. It was a partly cloudy day with occasional rain showers. In the shade it was fine but in the sun it was hot. 

The campground was full with families. Tons of kids down by the lake. They offer free use of kayaks & paddle boards which I am hoping to get on them at least a couple of times while here. There is also a walking trail around the lake which has an off-leash dog area on the other side of the lake.

Nice end site, rest of the row sucked unless you like being super close to your neighbor

Pups in their pen

Pretty Sunsets

We spent the next day at Wind Cave National Park. I had reservations for the 9:30AM Natural Entrance tour.  No self guided tours in the caves. There is delicate box work that I’m guessing if self guided tours were allowed stupid humans would destroy the natural formations. For this reason, Wind Cave was not as impressive as Carlsbad Caverns. When on the tour we were only allowed to stop at designated spots so we weren’t able to look around much between spots. There were probably around 35 people on the tour so it was a bit crowded as well.  The cave does have an interesting Native American story about the origin of the Bison. 

Wind Cave NP

Box Work inside the cave

After the cave tour we did the driving tour and a couple of the shorter hikes.  It was another hot & sunny day so we didn’t want to do any long hikes. On the driving tour we saw so many prairie dogs, several bison including 2 walking along the side of the road, one coyote & one prong horn. The two hikes we did was to the Rankin Ridge trail to the fire tower which is the highest point in Wind Cave NP & the Prairie Vista trail from the Visitor Center. 

These guys are too cute!

Cold Springs School & Cemetery 1887

Along the Rankin Ridge Trail

Bison!

Back at camp we walked the dogs, made dinner & then packed most things up before the rains came through. Good thing too, there was a spectacular storm that rolled in around midnight with torrential rains, winds & the most amazing lightning show I have ever seen. The skies were lit up for for almost an hour with cloud to cloud & ground strike lightning. I felt a bit vulnerable on the ridge but the Oliver felt solid. It was a good thing Steve secured the rugs under the picnic table otherwise they would have been long gone!

Sammie doing her thing

Belle enjoying her freedom

This was a doozy of a lightning storm!

On the last full day in the Black Hills we hooked up our bikes to the truck & road another section of the Mickelson trail.  The plan was to park at the Minnekahta trail head & ride up to Lein Quarry rest area & then back down to Sheep Canyon trail head which would have been about 20 miles.  The mile markers on the trail maps were pretty inaccurate. The Lein Quarry rest area was supposed to be at MP 20.7 but we rode to mile 22 & didn’t find it so we turned around. Back at the truck we took a snack break & talked to one of the trail workers. They said Sheep Canyon was definitely worth the trip so we went on. The map said Sheep Canyon is at MP 11 but we blew by MP 11 & didn’t see it. We did see another trail worker & asked about it. He said it was around MP 8 & also said it was definitely worth it. So much for the 20 mile ride! We finally made it & it was closer to MP 7 but it was worth it. There wasn’t as much climbing as the Hill City section we did the week prior but there was a pretty good cross wind. We both used our turbo mode to get back to the truck to overcome the wind & the climb back to the car. 

Mickelson Trail

Mickelson Trail

Mickelson Trail

Mickelson Trail

Mickelson Trail

We went back into Hot Springs for lunch. We stopped at the Springs Lodge & Cafe for lunch. Steve got a burger & onion rings which he said were really good. I got a black bean burger which was also good. On our way back to camp we stopped at the Dakotamart to get our water jugs refilled & a few supplies. We got a 10 cent discount on gas for our purchase so we topped off the truck before heading back to camp. 

When we got back to camp the majority of campers were gone so I decided to finally jump in the lake. The water was clear & cool but felt great.  Afterwards we spent the rest of the day cleaning & doing laundry to get ready for tomorrow’s travel day.

Steve checked all the lug nuts & tire pressure on the trailer. When he went to fill up the first tire the valve stem was super loose & leaking. Apparently it came from the factory loose. Amazing it was holding any tire pressure. He was able to screw the stem back in using pliers & fill the tire back up. A stop to ACE Hardware was in his future to get a valve stem kit. 

Last Night at Hidden Lake RV Resort

Hidden Lake RV Resort

Hidden Lake RV Resort

Next stop: Wyoming!

Badlands National Park - South Dakota

Day 9 - Hill City, SD to Interior, SD - Cedar Pass Campground - Badlands NP

• Left: 10:45AM MT
• Arrived Walmart Rapid City: 11:15AM MT
• Arrived at Cedar Pass Campground: 2:15PM MT
• recreation.gov site
• Overall Rating 4/5
• Site Butte 63: 3/5 
• Asphalt pull through, pretty level, several pull throughs stacked right next to each other. Hard to tell where one began & one ended. 
• Outer loop of Agate had great views of the Badlands plus they have hookups.
• Prairie view
• No shade but picnic table did have a shade cover. Full sun is hot!
• No hookups
• Quiet overnight
• Nice dark skies. Good Milky Way viewing.
• Facilities:
• Bathrooms: 5/5
• Showers: 3/5 
• Coin operated. 2 quarters = 4 minutes, 3 quarters = 6 minutes, etc. Typical State Park showers. Water was hot, plenty of pressure. Hooks on wall for towels but stalls were small if not in handicap stall. 
• Dishwashing station: Yes
• Drinking water: Available but not tasty
• Proximity to things to do: 5/5
• Right in the park
• Proximity to necessities: 4/5
• 25 minutes to Wall Drug
• Dog Amenities: On leash only. We did have a big side yard for the pen

Travel day I was up at 5:30AM to get everything ready. I took a shower first, then headed to the onsite laundry to get everything washed before leaving.  Washers were $3/wash, Dryers were a quarter for 6 minutes.  I did 2 loads of wash & 3 loads of drying. It took about 90 minutes to get everything washed, dried, folded & put away. While the wash was going, I made oats for breakfast. We were showered, laundered & had breakfast cleaned up by 8:30AM.  About this time it started raining. We had a short travel day so we were in no rush to leave. Steve will say it always rains either the night before or the morning of travel day...sometimes both!

The rain stopped around 10AM. We finished getting packed up, hitched up & were on the road by 10:45AM. We made a supplies stop at Walmart in Rapid City & had lunch in the parking lot.  We were back on the road to the Badlands by 12:50PM.  We got to Cedar Pass Campground by 2:30PM. All the sites are on the side of the road. On the outer loop sites, the door faces the grass, the inner loop sites the door faces the road. We had an outer loop site in Butte loop, site #63. 

Cedar Pass Campground

We got all setup by 4PM, this included re-hitching to pull up a bit to be closer to our picnic table.  Our site didn’t have the best view of the badlands but we did have a nice unobstructed prairie view. We had lots of grass space to setup the dog pen & fence so Sammie could get her walking poopies in. Once setup, we made a quick stop to the Visitor Center to get our stamps, coins & area information. The center was packed!

Another NP stamp in our book

We went back to camp for dinner & to take the dogs for a walk. The sun is super hot but in the shade it feels OK. It was also super breezy which made it feel better.  The overnights get cool as well.  We rode our bikes to the amphitheater for the nightly ranger talk & the night skies talk. The first talk was about the local animals & the diseases that affect them. The one that was most striking was the disease that wiped out 80% of the  long horn sheep population in 2021.  They have been working hard to bring back the numbers ever since.  Afterwards, they did a night sky talk & we had such luck with clear skies until about 10PM. It is an official dark skies location. The Badlands is a boreal 2 zone.  Hopefully Steve will get one evening to do some astrophotography while here.  

We biked back the 1/2 mile to our site in the dark but the headlamps worked good. Although it was really cool outside, the camper wasn’t getting the breeze even with all the windows open. Not sure if the windows truly do suck or if the direction of the wind just wasn’t hitting the windows.  Time will tell I suppose.

The next day we were up early but it was foggy so not a good sunrise. We did decide to go do a few nearby hikes. First up, we did the Door & Window trails. Both had great views & the fog made for a moody landscape.  We then stopped at Shelf Nature trail which is a great one for bird watching. Afterwards we stopped at the Visitor Center - I guess I am collecting National Park bandana’s so wanted to see if they had any…sadly they did not. 

We were back at camp by 10:30AM & made a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, toast & biscuits. It was still cloudy so the temperature was still comfortable.  The sun finally came out around noon. After breakfast I took a shower. The showers are coin operated. 2 quarters gives you 4 minutes, 3 quarters for 6 minutes and so on.  The water was hot & the pressure was good. The campground is a ghost town mid-day so I had the showers to myself. It seems the majority of campers only stay one night here. Overall the showers are typical state park showers. Not the best but definitely not the worst.

After showers, we packed a snack bag, loaded up the dogs & went on the Badlands loop tour while listening to the Shaka Guide app. Our first stop was the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. We watched the 30 minute movie & found it very disturbing. It was very sobering to realize how close we have come to ending humanity due to a few false alarms on both our side & the Russian side.  It was impressive how transparent the movie was. Well, there probably was still a lot not reported in this 30 minute movie. After touring the visitor center, we went to Delta 09 missile site. It is no longer an active missile but is still used for training. 

Minuteman Missile Historical Site

We then made a quick stop at Wall Drug so Steve could get his collector coins & we both got ice cream. Our next stop was driving through the Wall Boondocking area to scope it out. There are about 75 campsites right along the rim. Most have pretty amazing views and plenty were open. We may leave a day early to stay there one night before heading to Hot Springs.  

Views from Along the Wall 

We continued on the loop tour & made a few more stops before seeing a Big Horn Sheep right along the road. Pretty amazing! We skipped the last 10 miles or so of stops as we were getting tired plus it was super hot out. We have a couple more days to finish the tour. 

We got back to camp about 5PM where we spent the rest of the day. We had a beautiful sunset  & were treated to a lightning show off in the distance. We also heard a pack of coyotes howling at sunset. Really magnificent place!  

Watched the lightening show all evening

Sammie chilling at Sunset

Again the camper was not cooling off fast enough so we turned the air on & left it on all night. We probably could have turned it off around 11PM & opened the windows but both of us were asleep. At 9PM, the battery was at 77%. The air was set to 74F. At 6AM, the battery was down to 26% after two pots of coffee.  We will see how much it recharges with solar before plugging the truck in to top it off.

Battery Results:

• 9PM Battery @77%
• AC set to 74F
• 6AM Battery @26% after 2 pots of coffee
• Battery at lowest: 21%
• 8AM - 2:40PM: Solar charged to 54%
• 2:40PM-4PM: Truck charged to 100%

The following morning, there were clouds on the horizon so no sunrise to be seen. We hung around camp all morning. As soon as the sun came up the temps jumped up quickly. Trying to find shade was a challenge.  I ended up sitting behind the camper in the shade with Sammie in her stroller just to try to stay cool’ish.  

Trying to stay cool - High was 99F

I found Lulu’s on google that was close by in Interior that had awesome reviews for their Native American tacos & decided to go there for lunch. The place looked closed when we pulled up but they were open. We were the first customers of the day. We ordered the tacos & I got a local IPA, the first one of the trip. Both were really good. The Native fry bread was so good & all the taco toppings were delicious. Maybe it was the heat but the beer was really tasty as well.  It was very filling though but I couldn’t stop eating, LOL.  Afterwards we stopped to get some iced tea & then went on to check out the fossil stop that we skipped yesterday. It was a cool stop, about 1/2 mile long boardwalk but it was so stinking hot that I really couldn’t enjoy it much.  We did stop at the visitor center one more time to watch the National Park movie about the Badlands. Coincidentally, one of Steve’s friends from Mt Sterling were there just a couple hours after us. Small world!

So Dank IPA

We spent the remainder of the day at camp waiting for sunset so we could actually enjoy being outside. We kept the dogs in the truck with the AC running to keep them cool while we recharged the camper batteries. I tried to sit outside but even in the shade it was hot. We were both over the heat & Steve was over the biting flies. We decided we were going to leave a day early & head to Hot Springs. I checked with the RV resort we are staying at on Saturday to see if they had any openings on Friday but they did not. Not surprised since it was a holiday weekend but it was worth a shot. I was able to book a site at the KOA in Hot Springs, about 30 minutes from our next stop.

We took the dogs for a walk at sunset & it was a beautiful one. The clouds looked like cotton candy - colors of pinks, purples & oranges. So pretty. We then waited for it to get really dark.  It was forecast to be a clear night so Steve was going to try to image the Milky Way. We were able to see it the first night at the Badlands with our bare eyes.  It is such a dark location. We were able to pick it up on our iPhones as well.  Steve took several attempts getting the settings just right & was finally able to get a successful run around 9:30PM.  His images came out amazing! I think it may be my favorite astro photo he has taken.

We ran the AC until about 9:30PM then opened the windows & turned on the max fan. The nights are really comfortable sleeping temps. Just the days suck, LOL.

iPhone shot of the Milky Way

The next morning I was up around 5:45AM. I made a pot of coffee than took Sammie in the carriage & watched the sunrise. Finally had a clear horizon for the sunrise & with the upper level clouds & the storms off in the distance it was a speculator one at that!  Steve & I got loaded up & went back to Cliff Shelf Nature trail to try to do some birding.  It was a bust with the incoming storms.  You can see forever & could really watch the storms roll in. We went back to camp around 8AM & got everything outside packed up before the storms finally rolled in around 9AM.

Badlands Sunrise

Badlands Sunrise

Badlands Sunrise

Storms rolling in

Storms rolling in

Next Stop: Back to the Black Hills!