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[Ron]

Week 42: Ending 08/31/03

Monday:
We hit the road again, continuing south on Route 85. In the US, this road is called the Can Am Highway since it brings travelers right to the border. North Dakota has more hills than Saskatchewan, and just about the same number of hayfields extending for miles on either side of the road. Occasionally, we espy an oil rig pumping away in the fields.

Our destination today is Hill City, SD, conveniently located in the Black Hills near Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monuments. It is another long haul: 367 miles. The scenery does not change much when we cross statelines. The grasslands just seem drier in SD. As we drive through the town of Buffalo, SD, a bank marquis notes the temperature of 89 degrees and that’s with a stiff breeze! In Belle Fourche, the Center of the Nation, the bank temperature reads 93 degrees! As we drive through Rapid City, yet another marquis reads 94 degrees. It’s after 5 pm!

After some harrowing hills and twisty turns, we arrive at the KOA Mt. Rushmore around 6:30 pm. It is quite the resort, with a KOA Campground, resort lodge, full-service restaurant, Subway, snack shop, a riding stable with about 20 horses, Native American dances, free movies, go-carts, waterslide and more. And it is only 5 miles from Mt. Rushmore. We settle in for the night.

Tuesday:
We spend the day resting and signup for the free shuttle to Mt. Rushmore for the evening lighting ceremony. It is just a school bus, but it does save us $8.00 in parking fees. As the bus toils up and around the mountainous curves, we stop near the monument’s entrance for strolling mountain goats.

The lands surrounding the monument are covered with white birch and lush spruce trees which makes for a refreshing and invigorating environment. It is difficult to explain.

Exhibits along the Presidential Trail and inside the museum provide information about the four Presidents memorialized in the monument. The museum also displays the grueling physical, political and financial efforts involved in building the monument.

The actual lighting of the monument at 9:20 pm is awesome, although the Park Ranger’s speech is more politically-oriented than we expect. Overall, it is an inspirational evening. We vow to return for a daytime view of Mt. Rushmore and return to the KOA via the 9:45 pm shuttle.

We check out the NEOESR website before going to bed and find an adorable 1 ½ year old OES named Max needing a home. We are only about 2 weeks away from home and feel ready to welcome another Sheeepie into our lives. No one will ever replace Jake, but we do have a lot of love to share with another dog and there are a lot of needy dogs in the world. We email a letter to the NEOESR placement director about Max and wait to hear back.

Wednesday:
Our daytime visit to Mt. Rushmore will have to wait for another trip as we decide that more rest is more important. We haven’t heard back from NEOESR yet: perhaps Grannie Annie is on a much-needed vacation. Ron receives an email from his OES website from a couple in Hawaii, needing a Sheepie in Minnesota. There is not a lot we can do from Mt. Rushmore, so Ron sends them a list of Rescue contacts which will hopefully be more helpful.

Mid-afternoon, we drive to nearby Keystone in search of Black Hills Gold jewelry. Keystone is a very touristy town, but we find very helpful salespeople at the GoldDiggers store. Scott, jewelry-maker/salesman, suggests the Alpine Inn for a good dinner at a reasonable price.

The Alpine Inn is located in Hill City proper in a picturesque Victorian home. The menu is limited: 6 or 9 oz. bacon-wrapped filet mignon, with a grilled hot dog available for children. Accompaniments are simple: a hunk of iceburg lettuce draped in ranch dressing and choice of potato. All this for $8.95 for the large portion! A nice variety of homemade desserts plus wines and beers are also offered. The Alpine Inn is definitely worth going out of one’s way to experience.

We return home early evening, tired and ready for a good night’s sleep. Still no response from NEOESR, but the Hawaiian couple has emailed back, desperate for help.

Their beloved Sheepie died and they have found another Rescue OES in need of a good home. Unfortunately, Hawaii has a four-month quarantine (read: doggie prison) for incoming dogs. They just placed a law waiving the quarantine if the dog can be under a vet’s care for four months while undergoing blood work on the mainland. The dog is in Minneapolis, and Chris from Hawaii has only two more days in which to find a foster home willing to take care of him for the next four months. Ron realizes we will be driving through Minneapolis in a couple of days, we are experienced Sheepie owners and have an motorhome couch just waiting for another navigational Sheepie to utilize it. He emails back that we will become Winston’s foster parents. Details will be worked out over the next few days.

Thursday:
On the road by 9:15 am, it’s sunny, not too warm and no wind. Hurrah! Eastward to Wall Drug!

We first heard about Wall Drug in Barrow, AK, and so we have to check it out. About 50 miles from Wall, SD, we start seeing signs of various sizes heralding the glories of Wall Drug. Free ice water started Wall Drug’s popularity and is still promoted today. What started as a single small apothecary and soda fountain has grown into a mini-complex of retail stores and many free amusements. Still family-owned, it is much nicer than the similarly-promoted Pedro’s in South Carolina. One could make a whole weekend checking out Wall’s shopping and dining choices. We enjoy lunch in one of Wall Drug’s dining rooms and enjoy moseying about for several hours.

We bypass the Badlands: the Grand Canyon, Sedona and Alaska have made us a bit spoiled and snobbish when it comes to natural landscapes. Our intended destination is North Sioux City, SD, just over the border from Iowa. Gateway’s (computers) factory is located here and has a true factory outlet located next door, which we want to investigate. It’s about 430 miles from Mt. Rushmore, so we want to hustle.

En route, we call for the outlet’s hours and finally learn that it is no longer open. It’s a long day, so we decide to stop in Sioux Falls, SD, for the night. Ron has driven for about 380 miles today. Sioux Falls KOA is conveniently located just north of I-90 and they have space available. It is a nice campground, given its location, and we are assigned a great site with mature trees and grass.

Friday:
We are both dragging our feet due to lack of sleep and allergies of some sort, so we decide to stay another night. We had explored driving to Forest City, IA, to tour the Winnebago RV factory, but decide it is too far a drive. Iowa will be missed on our trip this time around: we need to rest.

Saturday:
We are on the road to Minnesota at 8:30 am. Cornfields and soybean fields abound amidst rolling hills. We are planning to simply drive to Minneapolis, but driving along I-90 we realize we are not far from another great American icon: The SPAM Museum in Austin, MN. We have to go.

The SPAM Museum, located down the road from one of only two SPAM factories in the country, is an impressive structure inside and out. Joan has never tasted SPAM before and enjoys a sample of Turkey SPAM. We have fun learning, among other things, about SPAM’s important role in fighting World War II. The SPAM café is only open for tour groups but the full variety of SPAM flavors is available for purchase to enjoy at home. Of course, we buy a few to do just that. Northward to Minneapolis and St. Paul.

It’s Labor Day weekend and all the campgrounds are full for Saturday night. We book the KOA St. Paul East for Sunday night and make arrangements to park overnight at the Sam’s Club north of there in White Bear Lake.

Sandy from Second Chance meets us at Sam’s Club. We become better acquainted with each other and get updated on Winston before following Sandy to meet Winston and his foster mom, Nancy, in St. Paul. Winston is a cutie: he is kind of small, only 68 lb., with coloring very similar to our dear Jake. Nancy is owned by four dogs, three of whom come out to the garden to join our meeting. Soon, a Saint Bernard, a Great Pyrenees and an 11-month old OES, all females, are all slobbering all over us along with Winston. They create quite a symphony of commotion! We arrange to pickup Winston on Sunday afternoon and say goodnight.

We are very excited about Winston’s impending entrance into our family and nervous, too. Winston is very timid and suffers from nervous incontinence. Not the ideal pet for a motorhome but we figure we can deal with it. Worse comes to worse, there’s always doggie diapers! We find a local Petco and purchase a new collar and leash, bowls, food and treats for Winston and hurry back to the motorhome.

Sunday:
We drive to KOA and setup camp, then drive into St. Paul to meet friends, former New Englanders, at the Minnesota State Fair. We meet Li & Andy and their children Ben and Hannah in front of the Star Tribune booth, as prearranged, but late. Hellos and hugs are exchanged and we are off to see the Fair. We think the Big E in Springfield, MA, is big. The MN State Fair is ENORMOUS!

There is food of every type available. The children especially like corn dogs. Ron tries a giant sausage on a stick and Joan is adventurous with a Gizmo. (It’s a spicy combo of ground beef, Italian sausage, marinara and mozzarella on a roll.) There are rides of every type imaginable also for big and little kids. Ben and Hannah have a tough type deciding but finally settle on the Whirligig, both with and without their dad. Li and Andy treat us to a ride on the Skyglider, which glides us high up in the sky over half the fairgrounds. It is a marvelous way to end our day at the fair. We arrange to get together again tomorrow and say goodbye. We have to pickup Winston!

Winston and Nancy are waiting for us in her garden. Nancy’s own pooches are inside the house. Every so often, we will hear a loud yip or bark from inside, as it to say “We want to play!” Nancy finally relents and brings out Sarah, her 11-month old OES, also a rescue from Second Chance. Winston & Sarah go tearing around the garden and into and out of our laps. They are quite a pair! Winston seems to enjoy rough-housing with his foster sister. He is going to miss her, along with Nancy and her other dogs. They have bonded quite nicely during the past 2 ½ weeks of his foster care.

Finally, it is time to say goodbye. We promise to keep Nancy updated via email reports and photos. Winston is off to a new adventure, learning how to be a Happy Camper!