2018 08 03 - 08 09 Presho SD, New Frontier Campground, Chamberlain SD Dignity Statue

Presho, South Dakota - 4 August 2018

Most mornings Bob and pups take a walk around the campground. 

Afternoon walks can be off-leash on the rise where the tents have space. So dry in this area the grass is crunchy. 

But of course the weeds are still prolific.

On walks we had to monitor the dogs from sticking their noses into the wolf spider holes. 

When it finally came, the wind was driving the rain, hail and tree parts. All roads in the park became streams and several campers abandoned their vehicles and sought shelter in the campground store/laundry building. It lasted only about 30 minutes but it sure felt like longer for those of us who road out the storm. The following day a couple arrived who had camped in Mitchell, east of us, who said they had over an hour of thunderstorms with lightning surrounding their camp site.   

The local diner, Hutch's, had good reviews so we thought we would take a chance. Two chicken dinners, friendly staff and good pie-slices-to-go, all at reasonable prices.  

Typical diner interior with a large table of locals and even though it's not very busy now, the place was hopping before this was taken.

Dignity Statue, Chamberlain, South Dakota - 7 August 2018

Some have seen this before when Bob came out last year and had to drive across the state to Rapid City trying to find a 5th wheel on a dealer lot. She is on a bluff which overlooks the Missouri River. She is 50 feet tall, made of stainless steel by SD artist laureate Dale Lamphere, depicting an indigenous woman in Plains-style dress receiving a star quilt.  

The Star quilt has more than 100 blue diamond shapes that move in the wind "like an Aspen leaf", causing blue shades to twinkle in the sunlight. 

They have added a nice path for views of the river. 

Overlooking the town of Chamberlain and the Missouri River. The traffic bridge into town spans the widened river where Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is also situated on the site of a Corp of Discovery encampment. It has a re-creation of the expedition's 55-foot keelboat.

And the railroad trestle which still transports goods across the country. 

Advertisement in the Chamberlain local campground which I found to be somewhat unusual. Yoga on the field at the Vikings Training Camp I can see but this seems a little tricky. How does one perform that one legged stance?

 A "Beautiful Seed Cake" - 8 August 2018

I was inspired to do some baking yesterday and chose a recipe from "The Hobbit".

There may be some questions as to why we are spending so much time in an area that has so few things to do? We are heading towards Rapid City and the Mount Rushmore area during the summer is quite busy. Adding to that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is only 40 minutes away. We could only get about 4 days at the campgrounds we wanted so here we sit. But it does give us plenty of time to do maintenance projects (like change the anode rod in the water heater that was corroded), air out the dogs' comforter (too big for my washer) and it's a fairly quiet area for relaxing. Our next post should be much more interesting.