Minocqua, WI - Johnson Lake 07/08 - 07/09

Today we make our way over to Pete & Patti Geissal's (John's cousin) vacation home on Johnson Lake near the town of Minocqua, Wisconsin.

John's twin sister Marty drove up from Illinois for a sort of family reunion in the north woods.

We parked the RV right alongside the house & didn't even bother to unhook it.

The view out the large rear window was pretty sweet and the Bald Eagles with two babies still in the nest was simply icing on the cake.

The Loons calling all night completed the package.

Pete took us for a pontoon boat ride on nearby Lake Tomahawk where we docked at the local lakeside eatery for lunch,  That's Marty and Steve in the rear.

Marty and Mary went kayaking in the evening.
This was Mary's first kayak experience and it looks like we may have started something ...

We had a really nice campfire on the shore that night.

And then breakfast down on the shore the next morning.

Many thanks to Pete & Patti for a really great visit!

Apostle Islands / Bayfield, WI 07/06 - 07/07

After checking into the campground in Bayfield, Wisconsin, we drove in to the downtown to explore some of the local shops.  It's a quaint little seaport town on the southern shore of Lake Superior.

Then on Tuesday morning we boarded a boat for a 3 1/2 hour tour of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and some of the 22 islands that make up the Apostle Islands.  They were supposedly named for the 12 Apostles even though there are way more than 12 islands.

Our boat route is shown by the dotted line in the photo.

They are known for their rock formations and sea caves that are formed primarily by the winter ice.

And there are a bunch of cool lighthouses.

After the boat trip it was time for lunch on the upper deck of the Bayfield Inn overlooking the harbor.










And later after dinner we happened to hit one of the free concerts in the waterfront park.

What a day!

We could have spent at least two more days in this location but Maine beckons ...

Onward to Wisconsin 07/05 - 07/06

We head out to the northeast across Minnesota with an overnight stop at the Grand Casino Hinckley, MN.

It was about the only place to get a site on the holiday weekend but turned out to be a great spot except for the heavy rain storms.  And yes we actually came out about $10 ahead at the casino.

Sioux Falls, SD 07/03 - 07/04

We make a two night stop in Sioux Falls to get mail and do laundry but also because it was one of the only places where we were able to make reservations over the 4^th of July Holiday.

We got to see some nice fireworks right from the campground.

We had no idea what to expect in Sioux Falls and frankly had some very low expectations but it turned out to be a real surprise for us and a beautiful city.

The downtown Falls Park is simply gorgeous and we had a splendid afternoon there.  The river is the Big Sioux and they have done a great job with the park.  We really liked this town!

Black Hills of South Dakota 06/28 - 07/03

We say farewell to Devils Tower National Monument and head south making two very short stops in Sundance, WY (as in Butch Cassidy and ...) and Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota (pretty neat cave but we skipped the tours).












We drove through the town of Sundance, SD where Mary shared a bench and a jail cell with Butch Cassidy











Continuing on, we set up in the Beaver Lake RV Park in Custer, SD.

This will be our base to visit a whole lot of places in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Day 1 - 06/29
The Crazy Horse Memorial really surprised us with the extent of the work being done and the quality of the Indian Cultural Center that they have put together.  We spent a whole lot of time there looking at Indian Cultural Museum.  








They obviously have a long way to go but are funding it as they go with no government assistance.

We continued north to Hill City and took in a concert by the Native American group Brule who we have seen before in Art Festivals in Cave Creek, AZ.  But it was much better under the stars in their native setting. 

Day 2 - 06/30 

This was our Mount Rushmore day.  But it was a disaster as far as we were concerned, starting with the 6 level jam packed parking garage and ending with the wall to wall people.  OK – we saw it and it’s off the bucket list but it wasn’t a good experience.

We then took the needles highway south from Rushmore and it was a really cool drive and got our attitudes back where they needed to be.

Day 3 - 07/01

This was our day for the Custer State Park Scenic Drive and a stop at Wind Cave National Park.

Custer State Park is a Must See if you are ever in these parts – Wow!

There are huge herds of buffalo and yes, this one was as close as he looks – maybe 15 ft away.

And this Game Lodge in the park served as the 1927 Summer White House (and has a nice front porch and good Iced Tea)

Wind Cave is essentially two huge parks.  
An amazing cave below ground and a National Game Preserve above ground - truly a national wonder and a great scenic drive.

Day 4 - 07/02
Another scenic drive through the towns of Lead, Spearfish, Deadwood, Sturgis and back to Deadwood for great dinner.

Lead is the home of the brand new Sanford Lab Homestake that is doing cutting edge underground research on dark matter in an old mine 8000 ft underground.  I just loved this place and want to go back for a real visit!

I simply can’t do justice to the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway so I’ll simply show a few great waterfalls and let it go at that.

The northern part of the Black Hills region is an amazing place and is deserving of a return visit down the road.

Devil's Tower, Wyoming 06/26 - 06/27

We continued north from Colorado up to northeast Wyoming and Devil's Tower National Monument.  This was actually America's first National Monument.

We were able to get a campsite inside the National Monument in the Belle Fourche campground right at the base of Devil's Tower.


It's a beautiful setting with an awesome view of the tower.  Hard to believe we get this for $6 / night!



And then suddenly it's Wine Time

On Saturday we get out and hike the Tower Trail around the entire base of the rock for some very close up views.  You can't see them but there are three people climbing up the side (they're nuts!)

Colorado Springs & Ft Collins, CO 06/23 to 06/25

We leave Pagosa Springs, Colorado and head out on the first legs of our 2015 Summer trip.


First stop is Colorado Springs, CO where we stop and visit with John's cousin Linda Rivera (Hugh Mosher's daughter).

Next it's on to Ft Collins, CO where we stop and visit with more of John's cousins Erin and Ted Hoffman (Mary Jane Mosher's daughter) and their daughters Ellery and Eastlyn.

On Wednesday we head into Ft Collins for some lunch downtown and play in a park.






Then on Thursday they come out to our camp at Boyd Lake State Park for an afternoon of swimming and dinner.