back and tried to read a book I brought. Instead the receptionist decided she wanted to talk, and I am glad she did. Found out some really cool facts which I'll pass on in this blog. I did not know it but when I booked Dave's appointment they blocked out enough time for all the procedures to get completed that sitting. About 2 hours later Dave appeared, all numbed up, sore, but done. Thank goodness we didn't have to worry about coming back at another sitting. Stopped for coffee/breakfast in Hot Springs where the dentist was and decided after eating to visit with the town and learn about it. There was a quilt shop in town and I wanted to go before leaving. Hot Springs is just what it is - springs that run through town with an average year temperature of 87 degrees. The town has not gotten it's act together about Bike Week in Sturgis - the dental receptionist said that if they could just cash in on all the bikers that stay there, the town would boom. Have to say Hot Springs is cute, small (1100 people) but thrives anyway. Many buildings are made out of sandstone and the town takes on a pink hue. While Dave had time in the dentist's chair, he and the doctor talked about the town, the climate, what goes on, etc. Dave told me that this town is very moderate in temperature, very little snow, mild winters, and it is truly a hunter's paradise. Cabela's (sporting goods store) opened up a second store right at the I90 exit to capture all the people coming in for pheasant hunting, the original store could not keep up with the load.
By 11am we were headed back to the RV - I wanted Dave to catch a quick nap - he was very very sore and a bit unsteady. As we were driving back, the route took us along the base of the Black Hills which were to our left. Still raining, clouds hung over the hills and Dave remarked that it looked just like it did in San Francisco - fog and clouds rolling in from the ocean. I explained that the receptionist said the Black Hills area is considered the Banana Belt. Huh? The air rises up the mountain, it cools and compresses and then releases it's moisture on the windward side (western side of the Black Hills - towards Wyoming) then as the air is pulled down the other side it is compressed and heated on the lee side (the side we are at) and causes arid, warmer conditions. We have seen this on three other occasions only didn't know the term. We were in Sausalito/California, Escanaba/Michigan, and now the Black Hills/South Dakota. How cool is that? Very little snow, temps higher in the winter and lower in the summer. We have begun to really like this area - has alot to offer and is RV friendly. Maybe this is a summer home sometime in the future?
By 1pm we decided to head to Wall Drug, a tacky tourist stop about 50 miles back east on I90.
Many of you have heard of it and it is just tacky, tacky, tacky. We were there 25 years ago, Dave didn't remember anything of it, but I remember this place in the open, we had parked in the dirt parking lot, nothing around. Now - amazing. We did find a good book store inside and I stocked up on a number of books. If you ever are driving I90 through South Dakota, make it a point to stop here. You will get a big chuckle out of the tackiness, gaudiness.
We stopped at the National Grassland Park visitor center which is located right by the Wall Drug compound on the way home. Glad we did - it is the headquarters for the 20 National Grassland parks in the US and watched the video, looked at the exhibits and learned about grasslands. When Lewis and Clark and the Corp of Discovery came through the west, the grass lands and prairie lands comprised the area of east of the Rocky Mountains all the way to the Mississippi River. Today only 3% of this original land is grasslands.
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