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
We departed from Sunsets of Moab RV Park at 10:00AM MDT and headed Northeast to Canyon View RV Resort in Grand Junction, CO (117 miles). We ran several errands along the way. The first stop was at a Maverik station in Moab for fuel. Then on to the local NAPA store for motor oil. The Sprinter’s little 2.0L diesel engine burns a little oil when new. According to Mercedes this is normal and will cease as the engine breaks in. We added half a quart of Mobil One ESP 5W-30 Full Synthetic (formulated for European diesel engines and approved by Mercedes). It was recommended not to add more than half a quart at a time to avoid the risk of overfilling it. We probably need to add another half a quart. There is no dipstick on the Sprinter, so you have to add some oil and then drive a bit until the sensor updates the display on the dash to see how much oil you have in the crankcase.
We left NAPA and headed to the nearest Walmart which was 120 miles away in Grand Junction, CO. Beth said it’s the biggest Walmart she’s ever seen in her life. On the way there we noticed a Taco Bell in the parking lot of a Mall, providing us with plenty of parking options. We interpreted this as another sign from above and picked up a couple of Stackers (Yummy).
We originally had reservations to stay at the Saddlehorn Campground inside Colorado National Monument, but with temperatures predicted in the upper 90’s we lost our enthusiasm for dry camping (no power, water, or dump station) at a National Park Service campground. Instead we checked into Canyon View RV Resort just after 2:00PM MDT. This is the complete opposite of dry camping. The sites are gravel, but the outdoor sitting area is cement with manicured grass between sites. Beth says there are about 30 washers and dryers (yes she already has two loads going) and they use her new favorite laundry payment app PayRange. The app handles payment via PayPal and shows the status of the washers and dryers while she waits patiently in the camper. It does not, however, fold the laundry. The campground is very close to I-70, but we chose a spot in the back and can’t hear any traffic from inside the camper with the air conditioner running.
Site #Y51iSite #Y51
On our second day in Grand Junction we drove through the Colorado National Monument (23 mile drive). We entered on the Western end of the park near Fuita, CO with the intention of keeping Beth’s side of the vehicle on the inside of the switchbacks. This worked most of the time, but she had enough experiences looking out her window and seeing a 1,000′ cliff that she has officially declared she’s had enough of these experiences in her life. I’ll have to experience any in the future alone (or hire a passenger). Either way, the scenery was incredible.
Colorado National MonumentColorado National MonumentColorado National MonumentColorado National MonumentColorado National Monument
While doing many loads of laundry, Beth found out from the office staff that we could wash our camper if we paid a $20 fee for the water. Having traveled over 3,000 miles without a bath, we jumped on that opportunity and washed Lucy when we returned from Colorado National Monument. It was a bit cloudy and actually spit some rain while we washed her, so the heat wasn’t too intense. We are pleased with the results.
We departed from Thousand Lakes RV Park at 10:30AM MDT and headed Northeast to Sunsets of Moab RV Park in Moab, UT (166 miles). On our way out of Torrey, UT we stopped at the local Phillips 66 station to top off our fuel and add a bottle of Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF). This is the second 2.5 gallon bottle we’ve added since we purchased the RV which now has 4,770 miles on the odometer.
We took UT-24 East through Capitol Reef National Park for some more incredible scenery. There was interesting terrain throughout the trip. The mountainous curvy roads ended after roughly 40 miles and became a gray desert. It felt like we were on the moon. UT-24 heads North at Hanksville, UT and has several of the longest straightest sections of road I have ever seen. That road ends at I-70 where we headed East for 32 miles before heading back South on US-191 into Moab, UT. US-191 is where the chaos began. Moab is a very popular town in the summer being so close to the entrances to Canyonlands and Arches National Parks.
We stopped on our way through Moab at the City Market to pickup some groceries and then headed on to Sunsets of Moab RV Park arriving at 2:40PM MDT. This is a no frills RV park with no office, restroom, or laundry facilities, but it’s one of the few in the area for less than $100/night. It is literally the owner’s back yard, but we have full hookups, great scenery, and it’s very quiet.
Site #6Site #6Site #6
On day two in Moab, we got up at 5:15AM MDT in order to be at the Moab Adventure Center in downtown Moab in time for our 7::00AM MDT shuttle bus tour of Arches NP. It’s warm here in Moab and we were a bit worried about leaving Phoebe in the camper while we were gone, but the weather predictions didn’t predict temperatures exceeding 90 degrees until we returned from our tour at 11:00AM MDT. We got there early 06:20AM MDT and parked the camper pointed North and put up all of our shades. Then we set our generator to come on and fire up the air conditioner when the temperature reached 80 degrees inside. When we returned the generator was running and the temperature was 79 degrees inside.
Our tour guide, Chris, was incredible. He pointed out things we would have never seen touring the park on our own. He thoroughly explained all of the geology involved in forming the rock formations and landscape.
Arches NPArches NPBalanced RockBeth Interrogating our Guide ChrisArches NPArches NP – North WindowArches NP – Juniper TreeArches NP – Turret ArchArches NPArches NP – Double ArchBeth at Double ArchArches NP – Double ArchArches NP – North Window ArchCanyonlands – Hike to Mesa ArchCanyonlands – Hike to Mesa ArchCanyonlands – Mesa ArchCanyonlands – Mesa ArchCanyonlands – Mesa ArchCanyonlands – Mesa Arch ParkingCanyonlandsCanyonlandsCanyonlands – Island in the Sky OverlookCanyonlands – Island in the Sky OverlookCanyonlands – Island in the Sky OverlookCanyonlands – Touring in StyleCanyonlandsCanyonlands – Shafer TrailCanyonlands – Shafer TrailCanyonlands – Green River OverlookCanyonlands – Green River Overlook
We elected to take UT-12 because I had read in several places that the drive should be on everyone’s bucket list. I will have to agree. I think this is most scenic drive I have ever taken particularly because there is incredible scenery for almost all of the 100 miles. The most spectacular being East of Escalante where we encountered an 14% grade. Fortunately for us, it was downhill. We went up some steep inclines, but they don’t seem to advertise the grades on the uphill side.
UT-12UT-12UT-12UT-12UT-12UT-12UT-12
We arrived at Thousand Lakes RV Park at 2:15PM MDT. For the first time in our camping career it started to hail (very small) while I was leveling the camper. Once we got it leveled we immediately put the slide-out room out and relaxed inside until the storm passed (20 to 30 minutes). This is a fairly large park with great mountain views in the background. It’s mostly gravel (cause grass doesn’t grow well in this part of the country), but nice. All sites are full hookups. We will visit Capitol Reef National Park from here tomorrow (it’s 12 miles to the entrance).
Site #45Site #45Site #45Site #45 – View from Theater SeatsSite #45Site #45
We visited Capitol Reef National Park the day after checking in at Thousand Lakes RV Park. Unfortunately, the main drive known as “The Scenic Drive” was closed due to construction within just a couple of miles. The beginning of that drive includes the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center parking lot was also closed off (due to construction) to vehicles over 20′. So we passed the Visitor Center and went down to a spot where we cold turn around and came back and parked in an area across the road from the Visitor Center parking lot where RV’s and pickup trucks were parking. We have been collecting pins and coins from each of the National Parks for the grandchildren. Once we parked, Beth went into the Visitor Center and purchased the Capitol Reef coins and pins. Then we went down the UT-24 a bit and found a place we could turn around so that we could go back and traverse the bit of the Scenic Drive that was open.
After our quick tour of the national park we stopped in at Slackers Burger Joint for a late lunch. We both had burgers and shared our fries and onion rings. The onions rings were excellent. The burgers were average, but nothing to write home about.
We departed from Zion River Resort at 10:30AM MDT and headed Northeast to Ruby’s Inn, RV Park & Campground in Bryce Canyon City, UT (135 miles) at 7,664′ in elevation. We stopped in Cedar City, UT at Home Depot (for a replacement GFCI outlet in our bathroom) and Walmart for supplies. After picking up our GFCI outlet at Home Depot, I dropped Beth off at the door of the nearby Walmart and went off and parked, once again, in the back with all of the other Class B & C motorhomes (a dozen or so). After parking, I looked to my right and saw the entrance to an Applebee’s which I considered an omen (we haven’t had a sit down meal out since May 10th). After shopping, we went into Applebee’s and had the 2 for $25 lunch (yummy!) and the leftovers for supper. We stopped to top off our fuel before heading back into the mountains at the TA in Parowan, UT where we could see snow capped mountains in the distance.
As we got closer to Bryce Canyon, we passed through Red Canyon in Dixie National Forest and stopped a couple of times to take some pictures.
Red CanyonRed CanyonRed CanyonRed Canyon
We arrived at Ruby’s Inn RV Park & Campground at 3:35PM MDT. This is a fairly large and very well organized campground. They had three check-in clerks and they were all very helpful and busy while we were checking-in. We found out from them that Bryce Canyon National Park does not allow vehicles to enter the park between 8AM – 8PM (which was a surprise to us). Fortunately, there is a National Park shuttle stop just across the street from the entrance to the campground.
Lucy from Shuttle StopRuby’s Inn – Late LunchBeth & Phoebe @ Ruby’s CampgroundSite #85
We spent the first day after arrival in the camper due to quite a bit of rain. The rain started in the middle of the night of arrival and was the hardest rain we’ve heard in this camper. We were concerned that there was hail, but apparently not. We are glad we reserved three nights. On the final day there was rain predicted, but we went on into the National Park, via the National Park Service (NPS) Shuttle, and only experienced a few sprinkles that only occurred while on the NPS Shuttle (between stops). We took the NPS Shuttle straight to the furthest stop (#8 at Bryce Point). We then took it to the next stop (#9 Inspiration Point). We climbed straight to the “Upper Inspiration Viewpoint” (about 1/4 mile) with many stops along the way, to ingest oxygen, on our way to 8,300′ in elevation. It was worth the trip and the views were incredible. From there we continued on to Stop #11, Sunset Point, which was the most crowded (probably because you could see everything without traveling far from the parking lot). From there we continued on to Stop #12 at the Lodge. We stopped there because they had a gift shop and we didn’t want to have to come back to it if the Visitor Center didn’t have the trinkets we were after. They did not have the required trinkets so we hopped the next shuttle to Stop #14 at the Visitor Center. We quickly found our trinkets (NPS coins for the grandchildren) and hopped the shuttle to the main shuttle station (close to Ruby’s Inn) and ate a delicious late lunch at the Inn.
