Wyoming, Willle and Molly are on the way to see you!

We are on our way to Wyoming. We will first stop in Buffalo, Wyo. This is in Johnson County, Wyo. where the Johnson County War took place. If you are not familiar with the Johnson County War, that is were the large cattle barons tried to run the small rancher out of Johnson County. There were many people killed and the President of the United States had to intervene.

Museum in Buffalo, Wyo.

A U.S. Marshall Wagon

An Early model RV

Johnson County also has a very nice museum, They will not let you take pictures inside so I am sorry for that. The county holds much history of our west. It is also the site of "Fort Phil Kearny". Many battles took place here including "The Box Wagon Battle" where "Red Cloud" was wounded and if my memory serves me, he was shot in the leg. It was the site of the battle of "Crazy Woman Creek" where the Indians were disguised with Buffalo Hides and the troops thought that it was Buffalo and rode into them.

Fort Phil Kearny

Site of the "Box Wagon Battle"

The Front Wall of the Fort (Note: The walkway for fighting)

The Monument at the Box Wagon Battle

Road inside the Fort

A Sign at the site of Box Wagon

Sioux Headdress in the Fort Museum

Indian Feathers, each notch or dot represent something in the tribe

Johnson County was also the site of the Battle of "100 Hands". Just right outside Fort Phil Kearny is a ridge called Lodge Trail Ridge. An Army Captain by the name of Fetterman was leading a troop of 81 men. A small war party of seven or eight Indians raided the fort and retreated. Captain Fetterman followed them over Lodge Trail Ridge were over 2000 Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapahoes were waiting for them. The battle lasted for 40 minutes and all the troopers were killed.

Lodge Trail Ridge (View from the Fort)

In order for us to get to the fort, we had to go to a small town called "Story, Wyo. This is a small town with is unbelievable beautiful. It has a small mountain stream that runs through the middle of it. We stop and had lunch and I would be re missed if I did not mention it and show you some pictures.

Coming into Story, Why.

Big Rocking Chair on the restaurant porch

Mountain Stream, Story, Why.

General Store and Restaurant(Note the spelling on sign)

The following is what we saw outside our motor home.

God Bless our Country and "Long May She Wave"

Well, we are leaving Buffalo and heading for Cody, Wyo. I will be making the post for Cody later.

South Dakota

Wall Drug Store - South Dakota

Rick, Diane, and Linda enjoying a milkshake at Wall Drug!

We got to Rapid City, S. D. and stayed in a very nice RV park by the name "Happy Holiday RV Park" right in the center of everything. We made a reservation for one week but when we found all of the things to see in the area, we stayed almost three weeks. Rapid City, in my opinion is one of the most beautiful areas in the United States. There is so much to see and do so we sat down and made an itinerary. That did not last long because you can spend more than one day at any site. You have Mt. Rushmore, The Black Hills, The old steam engine ride though the Black Hills, Deadwood, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park(where you can spend several days), Sioux Indian Pottery, and the Badlands just to name a few. Of all the places that I have ever visited, If it were not for the winters, I would live in Rapid City. It is truly a beautiful place.

Happy Holiday RV Park

Willie and Molly Kicked back in Rapid City. What a Life!

Brand New!!!!

Again, Willie and Molly had a great time and started meeting new friends from the West Coast who were visiting the area. One of the couples who also had a dog had a litter of puppies while we were there. Everyone got a kick out of that. The first day, we started visiting some of the sites.
Linda was very interested in the Sioux Indian Pottery so we went to see that. You can actually go into the building were the pottery is being made and painted. We walked around and talked to some of the Sioux Indians about their pottery and History. Talk about a History lesson! They are very talented and their pottery is beautiful. I would recommend anyone traveling in that area to visit them. They are always glad to see you and their prices are far below the local gift shops.

Wild Bill Hickok......Deadwood, N.D.

Linda, Enjoying Deadwood

Linda, getting ready to board the train for the Black Hills

The Steam Engine Train into the Black Hill, S.D.

Deadwood, S.D.

Custer State Park, S.D.

Custer State Park, S.D.

Deadwood, S.D.

Sioux Indian Pottery

Making Beautiful Pottery

Just an example of the pottery

Linda at Mt. Rushmore

All of the State Flags and Mt. Rushmore

Buffalo at Custer State Park

I can't leave Rapid City without mentioning the downtown area. On every street corner there is a bronze statute of a President. This includes every President up to George W. Bush and he will be added when his term is over. This alone is something to see. I have included just a few of the Presidents.

OK, my fingers and brain (very small) is getting tired so I will stop for now. I will continue the trip later. Hope that you are enjoying.

Moving On

After the rally, we left St. Charles for La Plata Mo. It is in the northeast corner of Mo. We arrived at my Brother-in-laws farm(Allen) and it was great to see everyone. As always, Allen had plenty of food ready and our nephew (Grant) was there. Allen had installed a 50 amp plug out by the barn where we could plug in our electrical service and we had water out there so we are ready to stay for a while. The best campground in Missouri. We also visited the Church that Linda and I were married in 45 years ago. We stayed with Allen about a week and moved on to Columbia, Mo. where we met Rick and Diane. This is a couple that was going to travel with us to Rapid City, South Dakota.

We stayed in a nice campground in Columbia for two days and left for Winterset Iowa. This is on the way to Rapid City and is where the Bridges of Madison County are located. This is really a beautiful area of our Country. Winterset is where John Wayne was born. Below are pictures of the area.
























We spent a couple of nights in Winterset, Iowa and pulled out for Rapid City, S.D. I had forgotten how pretty the prairie is but when we hit the wide open spaces, there is nothing like it. Being born a southern boy, I have always been use to trees, trees and more trees. Not out here. And the wind blows all the time. We were just in time to see all the cottonwood trees shed and those big puffs of cottonwood were blowing everywhere. More to come!