Jacob and the Campground

We traveled from Mitchell SD to Interior SD on Wednesday. Ted has decided he likes these 200 mile days versus the 350 we usually do. This is an “about face” for him. I remember the day he drove the RV from Tucumcari NM to The Woodlands TX in one day. That was close to 700 miles! He was just ready to be home.

We stopped at a rest area overlooking the Missouri River. It is erected on a spot where Lewis and Clark camped during their expedition and the view was spectacular. Unfortunately my camera battery was dead and I couldn’t take a picture. There was a nice exhibit inside the building about the expedition, the equipment and even a model keel boat that we all enjoyed. Driving west across South Dakota was extremely beautiful. The rolling mounds, rather than hills, looked like a myriad of green velvet patches. What a delightful place.

We thought the cornfields of Ohio and Indiana were the “middle of nowhere” but Interior takes the cake. We are about 20 miles south of I-90. We drove about 11 miles into and out of Badlands National Park. We were glad we have our Senior Pass that allows us free entry. The guard said we will need it each time we come and go. Then we drove out of the park and about another 8 miles. We stopped at Interior to find the church and the post office. To give you an idea of the area, here is the city jail.



This campground is a little oasis of trees in the middle of prairie land. Yesterday they were cutting hay behind us and this morning Rick and Ted walked down to see the horses. There is a great view of the Badlands from the park and it is so peaceful here. Since then Ted has been having coffee with the farmer in the morning while he finishes his baling.



We met Jacob who runs the place when we arrived. He’s a man of few words and the most common one being “yep.” We have a reservation - “yep.” Do you take credit cards? - “yep.” Can we pick out our own spot? - “yep.” Can we cut some branches that are hanging low and will hit the trailer? - “yep.” Can we wash our rig and truck? - “yep.” Not hard to get along with at all.

Brenda had to do laundry. She asked Jacob where the laundry was and how many quarters she needed. He told her to pay $4.50 at the office and she could wash and dry as much as she wanted. Rick tried to get his second satellite dish to work in our rig but he can’t get it to work so we are watching DVDs that we’ve had in here for 5 years and never watched. Their Sprint phone doesn’t work but our Verizon does. I can get a wifi signal at the office so I’m trying to get caught up on my blog.

We are parked with our doors facing each other so we have two tables under two trees with a good amount of space between us.



We grilled burgers (easy on traveling day) and I made broccoli salad and corn on the cob to go with them. Our weather radios kept going off and eventually we had a heavy rainstorm accompanied by hail. We came in and because we have no TV and were tired, we went to bed at 9 p.m. We’re on MDT time so that’s not as early as it sounds. We were up at six this morning.

Rick said he was outside at 1 a.m. putting his awning up because the wind had whipped up something fierce. He said the rocking of his rig woke him up. Ted and I never heard or felt a thing. Ted seldom goes to bed with our awning out and he had put it up early in the evening. We’re sleeping like babies.

The vent cover above our washstand was broken by the hail so we’ll be on the lookout for an RV supply store to get a new one. I hope it’s a standard size so it will be easy to change out. I also realized that the fluorescent light about the couch that we have never turned on in 5 years is the same size as the one giving us problems in the bedroom. So today Ted is going to switch them and see if that will work. We use the bedroom one constantly. He did talk to NuWa and we can get a new light and a new receptacle cover; however, since our mail is going to Florida we will hold up on ordering new ones.

Ted picked up our first mail pouch from our friend Eileen in Florida when he was there on business. She sent a second one to Dan’s house in Celina. Our third one is coming General Delivery to the Interior SD post office. Rick and Brenda use Escapee mail service and have their mail sent this way all the time. Now I really feel like I’m in the wild, wild west. I remember people in the old westerns going into what served as a post office and asking if anything had come general delivery for them. I didn’t know you could still do that.

Ted is great friends with Jacob now. Since the Wrangler hasn't come to work for a few days because his wife had a baby, Jacob told Ted he had to lead the trail rides until he got back. He calls me "girlie" and "sis." What a hoot!