Badlands, Et Al

After a late start in the morning we decided around noon to head to the Badlands again and do some hiking/walking. We took the southern route into the Badlands, going through a portion of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The landscape is so stark, so barren, very eerie. We drove miles and miles in the back roads, on a state route, and saw an occasional car/truck and once in awhile would see a farm way in the distance. As we got to the town of Interior, the landscape really changed dramatically, into the sandstone formations we saw a couple of days ago. Beautiful, quiet. We did manage to walk along a path being very careful for rattlesnakes - I wished we could have seen one - from a distance! This picture is Dave walking along a dry creek where a trail was. After our hike we continued on the loop road and at one point we came up against the Park Ranger with his lights on, cars pulled over and as we neared we saw pronghorn just grazing and having a nice time on the roadway. Pretty impressive. Dave was a bit unsteady and weak and had pains along his waist and leg which now we know what is going on - yesterday morning we spent at the UrgentCare where he was diagnosed with Shingles. But he wanted to go and see anyhow. We got back to the RV about 5pm and was amazed at how fast this campground filled up - we have neighbors! We get an opportunity to talk with folks and feel very secure here now - one is a retired Deputy Marshall and another is retired from police force/state trooper. If something would happen, bet they can protect us!

Have had some questions about our life 'on board' so I thought I would answer via blog. We rarely go out to eat at a restaurant, I cook. We can control our budget better and eat more sensibly and healthy. Our fridge/freezer can store about 7 days of meals without being overloaded. And I keep about 3 meals of 'canned' dinners which means spaghetti, soups, tuna/crackers, pasta in the pantry to use in a pinch. Laundry? Most campgrounds have a laundry facility and sometimes it may be too small to handle (2 washers/dryers) so I go to a local laundromat. I don't like this but I can't help it. Even if we had a washer/dryer on board, most of the campgrounds we have stayed at do not allow you to run this since it uses too much electricity and the sewers could not handle the extra water. How do we plan where we go? We generally know the direction as to what our next stop is and from there I start looking on-line for campgrounds. We belong to 3 camping clubs - GoodSam, Passport America, and Escapees. For the most part we use Passport America where the fee is 50% off the normal rate. For example, the place we are at now is $36 a night and we are getting a rate of $18. This includes free WiFi, full hookup, cable TV, use of the pool and sauna (closed now after Labor Day) and a level site. Not bad. We do not go to the 'big name' campgrounds and do not stay at Flying J's, Pilots, or other truck stops nor will we overnight at WalMart. Those are not options for us. I will search and find something much more suitable to our taste even if it is traveling another 50 miles. And one last item - what about mail? We are fortunate that we can live this life and still be in touch with family in friends. We use the internet for most correspondence and we have our own internet service (Verizon MiFi mini card) and sometimes we are lucky that a campground has internet service so we use theirs. Of the 2 years of using the MiFi we have never gone over the allotted 5 GB of service. As for snail mail - since we have rented out our condo to our dear friends, our snail mail still goes there. Every couple of weeks we ask them to bundle up the mail and send to where we will be.

Last - we are very concerned with our friends in Bastrop, Texas with the wildfires going on there. The only communications allowed into and out of the town are for federal and state authorities so we are not able to reach them. We ask that you keep Yvonne and Parker in your prayers for their safe keeping. With the wildfires this past week, we have rethought about going to Texas this winter. With the worst draught on record, we don't want to be in a place where the potential for fire is great. We are now thinking of just heading to New Mexico and see where that adventure takes us.