We departed fromKreher RV Park at 11:00AM CDT and headed East to Tourist Park Campground in Marquette, MI (183 miles). We continued East on US-2 and then picked up MI-28 and took it to US-41. We took US-41 all the way to the Walmart in Marquette. The roads were all good. We stopped for lunch at a nice shady Rest Area along MI-28 because there’s zero fast food between Ashland, WI and Ishpeming, MI (168 miles). There are, however, lots of trees. We also saw lots of campers throughout the drive. It’s definitely a Friday in the Upper Peninsula and the Yoopers were all heading out camping for the weekend. This campground is completely full (all 110 sites).
We arrived at Tourst Park Campground around 3:30PM CDT. This is another city campground and the sites are Electric only. However, they do provide Wi-Fi and so far it appears to be fairly strong (we’ll see what happens when everyone is streaming this evening). It’s a little hot (pronounced “hawt”) for the Yoopers as the temperature got up to 82 today.
We departed from Trails RV Park at 8:00AM CDT and headed East to Kreher RV Park in Ashland, WI (206 miles). We headed East on MN-200 until it ended at US-2. It was a very rough road. US-2 was much better for most of the drive (but not all of it). We arrived at the RV Park at 11:50AM CDT and were pleased to see that there were several spots available (none directly on the water, but ours is close enough).
When I paid the campground host I asked if we could wash the bugs off of the RV and he said, “I don’t care what you do, as long as you don’t make a big mess”. Needless to say, we started washing another couple thousand miles of grime off the RV immediately after lunch. She’s beautiful again.
Site #23Site #23View from Theater SeatingChill’n Along the LakeSunset Under/Over Neighbor’s 5th Wheel
When we were here in 2021, Wendell and Linda took us to dinner at Shingobee on the Bay and we definitely enjoyed our meal, especially the cheese curds. So today, we drove directly there for lunch. Even though it was just past Noon on a Monday, the restaurant was packed so we knew it was still top notch. We ordered Cheese Curds for an appetizer because at the time we considered them the best we ever had. We ordered them again today and they were just as good if not better. Beth had chicken wings for her main course and I ordered their chicken fingers tossed in Buffalo sauce. Both were incredible. My “fingers” were more like full chicken breasts (three of them) cooked perfectly. I ate one. The rest will make great leftovers along with Beth’s wings.
Site #41Site #41Shingobee Chicken Cheese CurdsShingobee WingsShingobee Chicken FingersLove Being Able to Park Just About AnywhereSite #41
We arrived at Lindenwood Campground just after 2:40PM MDT. This is another city campground with water and electric hookups. The site I originally selected was down along the river, #18, which it turns out is in the B-Loop. Somehow in the process of purchasing the site, it switched to A-18 (even though I picked the site off of a map). So we were disappointed to arrive and find out that we aren’t along the river. Oh well. The price is right, but we’re packed in like sardines, which I was wiling to accept for a site along the river. On a positive note, the staff did allow us to wash all the bugs off of the front of the RV.
We departed from Spearfish City Campground at 11:00AM MDT and headed North to Butte View Campground in Bowman, ND. We spent the full trip (131 miles) on US-85 which is a whole lot of STRAIGHT. Other than in the town of Buffalo, SD, I think we might have seen three or four homesteads once we were North of Bell Fourche, SD. We stopped for fuel at the Bell Fourche Exxon station because there weren’t going to be many opportunities along the way and the diesel prices are about thirty cents higher in North Dakota.
We arrived at Butte View Campground just after 1:48PM MDT. This is another city campground with the option for full hookups. Having just been in a full hookup site we opted for the privacy of one of the pull through sites on the outside of one of the campground loops with electricity only (for $26/night including taxes). We parked backwards in order to place our cabin entry door to the outside of the loop providing additional privacy. There are a couple dozen other campers here (mostly work campers), but only a few have vehicles parked with them implying most of them may be gone for the holiday. We have one other camper in our loop.
Site #13Site #13Site #13Phoebe Enjoying Her IndependenceFun with TreesHappy Independence Day!Happy Birthday America!Burger Night
On the way through downtown we stopped off at Stadium Sports Grill for a late lunch. Beth had the Beef Tip Quesadillas and a cup of Bacon Cheeseburger Soup which were delicious. I had the Hot Knuckle Sandwich (Tender strips of chicken, ham, and cheese topped with hot wing sauce) which was also delicious. A gentleman sitting next to us at the bar was reading two new comic books and I asked him if he had bought them from the Comic Book Store next door (which we had parallel parked in front of) and he said yes and strongly encouraged us to go in and get a some comics or toys for our grand-kids, so we did. The owner and one of the customers were very helpful recommending some FUNKO Pop! Figurines in the latest comic book or movie characters.
We arrived at the Spearfish City Campground just after 3:00PM MDT. This is a city campground with full hookups. The sites are a little small so you have to be friendly with your neighbors (which we were). Before I could get out of the cab after parking, Beth was already off introducing herself to all the neighbor dogs and their owners. At least three of the campers behind and beside us are all family members gathered for the holiday. They invited us to join them behind our camper (out of the hot sun). They were all great people and we had a good time hanging out with them. I’ll have to take inventory when we leave Friday and make sure Beth hasn’t permanently borrowed “Veris” the 120lb Bernese Mountain Dog Mastiff Mix.
Site #46Site #46Bacon Cheeseburger SoupBeef Tip QuesadillasHot Knuckle SandwichFUNKO Pop! FigurinesBeth’s New Pal Veris
Stockade Lake – South Campground – Site #14 – 6/28-7/2
We moved back to the Stockade Lake South Campground for our final four nights in Custer State Park. We dumped our black and grey tanks and filled our water tank on the way out of Blue Bell Campground. We then headed back into Custer to stock up on groceries.
We woke up the first morning in this site (Sunday) at 6:30AM MDT to heavy rain and then what sounded like more than rain. I asked Beth, “Is that hail?” She opened the shade and sure enough it was. Fortunately, it didn’t last too long, but when I got up to use the bathroom and looked outside it looked like snow on the ground. The day was cloudy, but quiet until about 5PM when we received another major storm and hail. It didn’t last too long and the hail was smaller than what we experienced in the morning. No signs of damage to the RV.
The following day (Monday) was glorious with chamber of commerce weather. We sat outside all day and then grilled pork chops over the fire that Beth had soaked in Patti’s Sauce for two days. The were delightful.
Site #14Bearded Buffalo Resort StatuePork Chops Over the FirePork Chops Over the Fire
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Blue Bell Campground – Site #22 – 6/26-6/27
We moved to the Blue Bell Campground for two nights. This is our first stay in this campground. The sites seem to be much more level than those in Stockade Lake South campground. They are also a bit larger. We drove the scenic Wildlife Loop Road to get to the campground and finally saw a small herd of Buffalo along with burros, pronghorn, and prairie dogs. There’s a dump station and potable water at the entrance to Wildlife Loop Road so we stopped, dumped, and refilled our water tank. The Wildlife Loop Road ends near Blue Bell Lodge. We stopped in at the lodge for lunch. Beth had the Wrangler’s Buffalo Brisket Sandwich and I had the Deep Fried Buffalo Steak Tips. We shared our meals and both were great. The Steak Tips had a nice blackened flavor.
Site #22BuffaloElkIs that Kristi Noem Preparing for the Buffalo Roundup?Buffalo Brisket Sandwich & Fried Buffalo Steak Tips
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Stockade Lake – South Campground – Site #19 – 6/23-6/25
Today, after spending one night in Site #15, we moved four sites away to Site #19. In the process of moving, we elected to run back into town to grab some items at Ace Hardware. We also purchased some roadside firewood on the honor system. We were happy to have plenty of firewood with today’s high being 65 degrees. Then we went Buffalo hunting back into the park about 10 miles. We were unsuccessful finding any Buffalo, but once we reached the Game Lodge Campground we elected to dump our tanks and top off our water supply while we were near a campground that had the facilities necessary to complete this task. This will prevent us from experiencing “tank anxiety” wondering if we will fill our black and grey tanks the remaining three days in our current campground. After dumping our black and grey tanks we topped off our water tank and then stopped at the Custer State Park Visitor Center across the road to purchase trinkets for the grand-kids. Unfortunately, that was a bust. The Visitor Center didn’t have much in the way of trinkets. On the way back to the campground we stopped at the Grace Coolidge General Store where Beth hit pay-dirt with trinkets for the grand-kids (Phoebe and I waited patiently in the camper). When we got back, we didn’t mind sitting close to Beth the pyromaniac’s fire. It was a crispy afternoon (no complaints).
Site #19Tuesday Night Wings
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Stockade Lake – South Campground – Site #15 – 6/22
Today we moved from Big Pine Campground outside of Custer State Park to the Stockade Lake South Campground within Custer State Park. We had been wanting to wash the millions of bugs off of the front of the camper that the last two campgrounds would not allow us to wash off. So, as we stopped off at Lynn’s Dakota Mart grocery store for supplies, Beth went in to shop while I parked way out back and began setting up to wash the bugs off of the front of our camper using our cordless pressure washer and a 5 gallon jug of water that we filled before leaving the previous campsite. We were pleased with the cleaning results and our campsite, although we could not perfectly level the RV due to the incline.
Stockade Lake South – Site #15Cleaning the Bugs Off at Custer GroceryBrat & Dog NightSite #15
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Big Pine Campground – 6/20 – 6/21
We departed from the Bar Nunn KOA at 10:30AM MDT and headed Northeast to Big Pine Campground in Custer, SD (193 miles). I have to correct the statement in my previous post regarding Wyoming lacking in trees and grass. Today’s drive through Eastern Wyoming was very grassy (not too many trees or humans) and quite beautiful. Along the way we noticed a sign that stated Blasting Area, Orange Cloud Possible, Avoid Contact. Then we saw the largest hole we’ve ever seen. It was the Black Thunder Coal Mine. Their sign states that it’s the largest surface coal mine in North America. I can’t argue that fact. It was HUGE. We drove by it forever and on the opposite side of the road there were miles of rail cars filled with coal. We stopped for Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) at the NAPA Auto Parts in Newcastle, WY and then bought fuel at the local Maverik station.
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We arrived at the Big Pine Campground at 2:25PM MDT. We are quite pleased with this campground selection. It’s located on a hillside just East of Custer. The owner assured Beth that we had chosen the best campsite in the park. Due to the power and sewer connections being on the left side of the site, it’s a “pull-in” site rather than “back-in”, allowing us to be antisocial. My guess is that the connections are on the left because if they were on the right, the sewer connection would be uphill.
It’s a bit hot here today with temperatures in the low 90’s, but I think that’s the case across much of the nation. Tomorrow’s high is forecast to be 84 followed by 70 and a string of days in the mid 60’s.
Site #67Site #67Site #67Site #67Phoebe and Her Pine ConeBurger Night
We departed from the Craig KOA at 9:00AM MDT and headed North to the KOA in Bar Nunn, WY which is just North of Casper (240 miles). We stopped for fuel at a Maverik station in Rawlins, WY just after getting off I-80 to take US-287 North. On the way through Casper we stopped off at Walmart to stock up on supplies and I got a haircut at the Great Clips just across from the parking lot.
We arrived at the KOA at 2:00PM MDT. There’s nothing special about this KOA, other than it looks like Wyoming (no grass, but some trees). It’s just a quick overnight stop as we make our two day journey to the Black Hills. It is, however, right across the street from The Hangar Bar & Grill which is located in the old hangar for the original Casper airport. After a long day of driving (for us) we felt like we deserved a meal out to commiserate over my hair loss earlier in the day. We chose wisely for our second sit down meal in nearly 4,000 miles. The food was great, our bartender was very friendly (and could mix my girlie drinks), and the aeronautical atmosphere was neat.
We arrived at the KOA at 1:15 PM MDT. This is a nice quiet campground with an elevation of 6,193′. It’s still a bit warm (low 90’s), but the predicted overnight lows will be in the 40’s. We are going to relax here for four nights before heading North to the Black Hills.
We arrived at River Camp RV Park at 1:40PM. This is a nice quiet campground with trees, green grass, and an elevation of 6,130′. It’s a little warm (upper 80’s), but not as warm as Moab and Grand Junction and the predicted overnight low is 50 degrees. The campground play area with a swing and slide is right outside our door, so obviously, Beth is excited. There’s also a campground horse and mule in a corral about 50 yards away and, yes, Beth has already paid them a visit. Campground management let us know that there are also three cats roaming around the facility on mouse patrol.
White RiverCampground HorseCampground HorseCampground MuleSite #20Theo the Mule with a Horse with no Name
