August 29

August 29 Rapid City, SD

This morning there was a red sky and the mountains to the west were a beautiful reddish color. I checked the battery charge line from the truck to the trailer and found a poor connection at the plug. I hopefully got that working then went into Wal-Mart to walk the store and purchase some needed items. By the time I returned, Loretta was up and ready to travel. So we departed Sheridan under scattered clouds that came and went all day. But no rain (except it did rain during the night) and winds were lighter today. We stopped in Gillette, WY for fuel, propane, water and dump tanks. We also got breakfast there in a very slow restaurant - only one waitress. The hills were getting less steep and long as we moved away from the mountains. Most of the land was rather poor pastureland, but there were some fantastic rock formations and in one area we encountered volcanic rock that had been blown several miles (what an event that must have been). There was a lot of grazing beef cattle and occasional farmlands. But it looks like more work to eke out a living in this area.
About 20miles before Gillette, we were passed by a car that was probably doing about 75 MPH (the speed limit). He pulled in ahead of us and a Trooper passed with lights flashing. The trooper stayed in the left lane but didn’t appear to be trying to pass the other car. They soon passed out of sight and out of mind. Then as we approached Gillette, there were 2 police vehicles along side of the road. They seemed to be rolling something up along side the highway. I mentioned to Loretta that it almost looked to me like that might be what they put across the road to blow out the tires on a car that won’t stop. Then we crested a small hill and spotted 7 police cars along the roadside in a bunch. As we passed we saw a car off the road and assume that it was the one that had passed us earlier. Don’t know any more, but “They got their man”.
We then stopped at the Wyoming rest area for a while after which we topped the fuel tanks. Wyoming has about the best price out here. Also a short stop at the South Dakota rest stop for a new map and some pictures. Loretta was becoming quite uncomfortable and as it was early we decided to get a campground space. First thought was Sturgis, SD but no cell phone signal there. I had some calls to make and wanted to get on the Internet a while. So we continued to Rapid City where we found a Passport America discount park. About a mile of dirt road to get in and sites are not too level. Also backs up on the Interstate. But it is nice otherwise and we only want a place to overnight. Loretta napped a while, and then we went into town for supper. Before returning to the campground we took a ride through downtown Rapid City and some of the surrounding area just sightseeing. When we got back, I visited with 2 neighbors from Baton Rouge, LA before coming home to catch up on computer records, email, etc.