STW2 Hop 5
87 miles via US 44 and US 16. Cumulative tow miles: 878. Truck miles: 163. Cumulative truck miles: 1118.
This was a “bonus hop” – a hop that was added to our original plan. I had planned to spend 3 nights in Spearfish SD, using one of the days to visit Mt Rushmore. But when I saw how far Rushmore was from Spearfish – almost 70 miles – and how close we would be as we passed by, I decided that it would make more sense to make a one-night stop near Rushmore, then move on to Spearfish for 2 nights.
I hadn’t booked any of these stops, so I didn’t have to change any reservations. But I was a bit surprised to discover that the campgrounds were still pretty full after Labor Day. I couldn’t book my first choice in Rapid City and I also had to take my second choice in the stop after Spearfish, in Medora ND. I might have to rethink my “no need to book early” policy.
The trip was very scenic. US 44 is a lonely, wide-open road through Badlands-type terrain (including a short stretch through the Badlands National Park). Then, as we approached Rapid City, the Black Hills appeared. The last 10 miles on US 16 had some serious upgrades to deal with, including a 3-mile section at 6%. Good practice for the diesel engine before we get to the mountains.
Our home in Interior was the Badlands/White River KOA. This is a large (over 200 sites) KOA campground about 4 miles outside Interior (population 88). As Interior has one combination general store/gas station, two bars and not much else, you could say that the KOA is in the middle of nowhere. This view is reinforced by the almost total lack of Verizon cell phone and hotspot service (except to the JetPack hotspot – see the earlier post). The appeal of the location is its proximity to the Badlands National Park (which I will describe separately). Because there isn’t much available nearby, the campground has a well-stocked campground store and has a grill that offers tasty meals for breakfast and dinner. We ate there last night – Jett had a hamburger with potato salad and I had a buffalo burger with cole slaw. Both were very good. I believe that was the first buffalo burger that I every had. It probably won’t be my last.
Spooky sunset
The campground also supplied free WiFi which was mostly very good, except for late night when everyone was surfing.
Our site was a sufficiently-large pull-through site adjacent to both the dog park and the campground owner’s site. It was also just a few steps to the campground laundromat which we also used last night. Clean underwear!
Western South Dakota has experienced severe drought this summer, so the grass was burnt out and everything was pretty dusty. There were also wildfires far to the west, in Montana, which gave us a haze both days, particularly yesterday. The sun, as it neared sundown, was blood red. Very spooky.
We liked this campground a lot, despite the communication challenges. We would return.
Dog park
Our site
Grill
Teepee
Mini-golf
Things I don’t understand, wifi edition
We are staying in a place (Interior, SD) with almost no Verizon service. It takes minutes to get or send a text message. If a call is received (and Jett’s phone did ring once), the call is immediately dropped. I can’t use the internet on my phone. My phone’s hotspot is 100% dead. So why does my other Verizon hotspot – my old JetPack – work fine? It actually works better here than it did back in IA and MN. Quick page loads, never a dropped connection. I am using it now to post this. I just don’t get it. No cell phone service but the hotspot works great. Why?