Goodbye South Dakota…You were AMAZING!

Well our time in South Dakota has come to an end. It was a glorious four months and I will miss it. I loved the wide open spaces and the ability to wander through a beautiful national park and not see a soul for hours. I have a feeling California will not be the same way.

We made sure to hit a few more highlights before we departed. On August 20^th we went to our first rodeo. The rodeo had four nights of activities during the Central States Fair so of course we had to go. It was awesome. There was a rodeo clown that was quite funny. The announcer was very good and lively and the cowboys were impressive. I have never seen a rodeo so I did not know what to expect but they had cowboys riding bucking broncos, both single and double roping of calves and bull riding. There was even an event for the cowgirls where they had to run around three barrels and whoever did it fastest was the winner. There was a cowboy there from Hawaii so that surprised us but a cowboy from South Dakota ended up being the only one to stay on a very angry bull for the required 8 seconds. I am happy to say that any subsequent rodeo will not be my first.

Jesse and I have really loved the hiking in and around the Black Hills. We hit up one more that final Sunday, it was aptly named Sunday Gulch. Evidently the miner’s wives would go on this stroll on Sundays so that is how it got its name. It was a very intense hike and not like any of the others that we had done. The trail started on the other side of Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park and had a very steep decline over huge boulders. There was a handrail much of the way down and it was very necessary since many of the boulders were smooth and wet. This hike really was an upper and lower body workout. After the boulder climbing it leveled out a bit before climbing up as drastically as it went down and we could feel it. The map said it was only a 2.8 mile loop but it felt a bit longer than that. It did have some amazing views. We were able to see part of the Needles Highway and its insane hairpin turns as well as having a faraway view of Harney Peak. What a perfect way to end our time hiking in South Dakota. We also went to Prairie Berry Winery afterwards to enjoy our traditional post hike beverage.

But alas it was over and we had to get ready to leave our humble “home” in rapid. As per our usual way of doing things, Jesse quit his work a week before mine ended so that he could pack up the house. He had a new thing to worry about this time though; he had to register our new trailer. We finally bought a 4×6 enclosed cargo trailer for hauling our stuff. I am really good at tying a tarp now since I have had so much practice but this is much easier and we don’t have to worry about weather making a mess of things. So while I finished up my last week at the clinic in Sturgis, Jesse was busy blogging and registering and packing. By the time Friday rolled around everything but my clothes were packed away. I was feeling lazy so after dinner we just relaxed and I promised I would get everything packed up on Saturday. The dog woke us up early and we were able to get everything packed, including the trailer with enough time for an early dinner at Murphy’s in downtown Rapid City. We really are getting better at this. Each move is less time consuming and smoother than the one before it. We loaded up the last little things, the dog, and the cat before heading out early Sunday morning for Cody, WY. Our plan for this road trip included a two night stay in Cody with one day dedicated to Yellowstone National Park, then a drive to Park City, Utah to hang out with some lovely folks for a few days before heading to Las Vegas to visit family. After that it will be on to Santa Maria, California for the next 13 weeks and maybe longer, who knows! We hope you have been enjoying our South Dakota posts as much as we have enjoyed experiencing and writing them. I am sure California will have some beautiful areas that we will love sharing with all of yous!

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