The Accidental Full Timers With Children - What The Fort!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

That picture of the prairie dogs made me cry. I was the prairie dog officer for a while at Ft Hunter Liggett during the civil war.

may I ask.. just how old are you?

Great trip report and wonderful pictures, we hope to join you in the ranks of fulltiming in 2 years so I will be reading along and taking notes to help us plan, so think of this TR as educational also, I know that does not happen often here!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh goodness... educational.... well pay attention to what I say NOT to do!

The flooding that was so devastating this year didn't come from Nebraska. Record snowfalls in Montana and Idaho created high snow levels in the mouintains to the northwest. When Spring came in it brought a lot of rain, which turned a normally steady snow melt (of a record amount of snow) into a record setting dumping of water. That overfilled rivers and reservoirs, flooding a lot of river territory in Nebrsaka and both Dakotas. We probably never really know the true extent and cost of the damage.

sorry I should have been a bit more clear. The rain we experienced while in North Platte complicated the already flooding area. By the way, the mosquitos swarmed out in mid day!

Sorry I'm late to the party, Nicki. I was spending quality time with my grown children. I wish I had been able to do something like this when they were young. The memories you all will have are priceless.

I was almost distracted by the prairie dogs but I kept my focus and I'm glad I did. This picture is just wonderful.

MOM YOU ARE BACK!!

I'm glad you are lucky enough to be able to spend quality time with your grown children. Our aim is to enjoy our kids while they will still enjoy us, the memories are (hopefully) just a side benie.

I was lucky with that one. Shawn slowed down to avoid hitting one of them should they bolt into the road.

[ftwildernessguy 778]

Maybe it wasnt the civil war, but it was a long time ago, I know that.

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

Wow, I am loving this trip report and CAN'T WAIT for more!!!!!! We have done two big trips out west and visited tons of National Parks (hoping to do another one this summer if all goes well!!) We drove through Custer on the Needles Scenic Highway.......those tunnel are something else arent they? We had to stop in one area while a big tour bus actually made it through the tunnel. I dont think you could have fit a postage stamp between the rock wall and the bus....it was crazy. I am not claustrophobic, BUT I would NOT have wanted to be on that bus!!!!! One of my regrets was not going to Jewel Cave, we went to Rushmore Cave and it was a bust. Looking forward to seeing what else you did in the area. We went to Mount Rushmore, The Badlands National Park, Crazy Horse Monument and the "famous" Wall Drug. Its a great area and I look forward to returning someday!

Heidi

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Wind, Faces, Rocks

Sorry about any delay. I took the computer to the Laundry room with the express intention of getting an update posted. Wouldn't you know, everyone and their uncle wanted to talk to me. 3 hours of uninterrupted conversation...

Note - Apparently, I lied about posting pictures of the campground views. See we have this rule that we both agreed on before we started the blog and it's gonna sound strange to most of you here. My husband and I agreed not to post pictures of our kids online. Not that we don't enjoy looking at all the small fry fiends... it's just a personal thing. Apparently most of the campground shots have small rebels romping through them... so sorry.

Now on to something interesting-

We booked two full weeks for Custer, SD. Really if your spouse is working and you want to see it all you need more than just a week to do it in. I've posted the pictures a bit out of order. Our first stop was actually Wind Cave. A little secret for you guys, on certain days of the year National Park/Monument/Preserve access is Free. We went to Wind Cave on just such a day. Crazy us, we did two tours through the Cave. The first was 45 minutes the second 1 hour and 30 minutes. This is our favorite cave so far.....

This is the Natural Entrance to Wind Cave. It is a scared site to the Lakota People as it plays a part in their origin story. Before we arrived the Lakota had a ceremony putting out these prayer flags

"Natural Entrance" of Wind cave (below) is about the size of a Park Ranger's Hat. The wind flows in or out of the hole depending on the barometric pressure. Wind Cave is also home to water aquifer so pure they tested it more than once to be sure the test was accurate.

Wind Cave is known for it's Box Work. It is also, at the time of our visit, the 4th longest Cave in the World. It had just lost a spot due to exploration at another cave. I'm sure they have rectified that by now.

Wind Cave is one of those cave that has a lot of ducking and bending. It has an adventuresome feel to it. Unlike Jewel Cave, which had a lot of metal walk ways in it. If you ever visit a National Park/Monument Cave ask them about lint control....

Now on the another big one. Mount Rushmore. Here is an interesting fact. The entirety of Mount Rushmore's faces would fit in Crazy Horse's Hair. By the way, according to our Ranger on the ranger led walk (a must really), Mt Rushmore is best seen by the early morning light. Crazy Horse by the evening sun.... guess when we went to both... the wrong time.

The holes bored to put explosives in

We have found that Mount Rushmore is all about your expectations. If you expect greatness you might be disappointed, but if you expect to be underwhelmed than you might be wowed. I am on the fence. I will admit that from a patriotic stand point it is moving but as a bit of a Tree Hugging (NOT a Hippie {TCD, you can relax}), Try To Eat Organic, Natural (OMG... she doesn't wear makeup but to weddings, parties, and funerals) kind girl I look at what was a beautiful mountain and understand how the Sioux people feel their land has been desecrated.

Here is an odd angle photo. You'd have to ask Shawn.. he took the pictures.

Here's a quick quiz, NO Googling/Bing/Internet Search ED:

What's the difference between a National Park and A National Monument?

This post leads us to Fulltiming RV rule #6 - Get the Annual Pass to the National Parks/Monuments/Preserves/etc. It is well worth the cost.

Next Up - Little Airstream On The Prairie and The Forting Hole

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Maybe it wasnt the civil war, but it was a long time ago, I know that.

that's an evasion of the question...

Wow, I am loving this trip report and CAN'T WAIT for more!!!!!! We have done two big trips out west and visited tons of National Parks (hoping to do another one this summer if all goes well!!) We drove through Custer on the Needles Scenic Highway.......those tunnel are something else arent they? We had to stop in one area while a big tour bus actually made it through the tunnel. I dont think you could have fit a postage stamp between the rock wall and the bus....it was crazy. I am not claustrophobic, BUT I would NOT have wanted to be on that bus!!!!! One of my regrets was not going to Jewel Cave, we went to Rushmore Cave and it was a bust. Looking forward to seeing what else you did in the area. We went to Mount Rushmore, The Badlands National Park, Crazy Horse Monument and the "famous" Wall Drug. Its a great area and I look forward to returning someday!

Heidi

The tunnels are something alright. I would have paid money to see that tour bus go through.

We enjoyed Jewel Cave but they have put in metal walkways and it didn't have the adventuresome feel that Wind Cave had. Although Wind Cave didn't have any Bacon...so there.

The next post will have a confession one Wall Drug & The Badlands....

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Beautiful!! I still can't get over those great big skys out there. HAVE to go out west with my camper!!!!

[we3peas 12]

Nicki

We did the trip West in Apr-Jun of 2010 (you can read our blog for the trip adventures). The place I most want to go back to is Custer State Park.. WE only got one day there but I know I could have handled more. It was very beautiful. The prairie dogs there weren't as cute as at Devil's Tower though.

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

Here's a quick quiz, NO Googling/Bing/Internet Search ED:

What's the difference between a National Park and A National Monument?

Monument is man made where Parks are more just natural? (guessing)

Where is the oldest State park in the US?

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Beautiful!! I still can't get over those great big skys out there. HAVE to go out west with my camper!!!!

You really should get out there. Keep in mind the pictures don't do it justice....

Nicki

We did the trip West in Apr-Jun of 2010 (you can read our blog for the trip adventures). The place I most want to go back to is Custer State Park.. WE only got one day there but I know I could have handled more. It was very beautiful. The prairie dogs there weren't as cute as at Devil's Tower though.

We only did two days in Custer and could have spent another 2 or 3. Devil's Tower is on our list for next time we head west...

Next up, I'm going to have to check out your blog....

Monument is man made where Parks are more just natural? (guessing)

Where is the oldest State park in the US?

1. Nope but a certain man or certain men do have something to do with the answer

2. I do not know.....

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Little Airstream On The Prairie and The Forting Hole

I last left you at Custer. We had a lovely two weeks there but I would warn you that Laundry cost me about $4-5 a load to wash and dry. Stock up on the quarters people.. it hurt the wallet.

We have a "few" restrictions on our travel. Since DH works from the road we need internet access and we can't use the campground mifi (that's for big downloads... but you didn't hear that from me). We also suck down the power with the lap tops, mifi, cell phones... etc.

As many of you may now know, our Airstream is V I N T A G E 1971 chic(or she was when we got her). A little known fact is that grey water tanks were not federally mandated until around 1974..... so guess what? No grey water.

We also travel with the dog bigger than some miniature horses. I have proof he's a dog not a horse... although the cow thing is still in question.

So when choosing a place to visit I must locate a campground with decent reviews, mifi coverage from either Verizon, Virgin(Sprint), or AT&T, that doesn't have breed/size restrictions and typically full hookups (we have pulled out the blue boy on occasion but it has to be a really special place).

All this is in explanation of why we missed a few spots along the way. The Badlands, well that was just something I forgot was there... my bad. We wanted to stop at Wall Drug but well there was the dogs and it was a hot day (no generator - no place to put it). No worries that's just a reason to come back!

Here is the closest we got to the Badlands - seen through the telephoto lens

However, our next stop was the motherlode of girl childhood dreams (other than WDW) fullfilled. I'll give you a clue ... other than the title of the post.

Airstreaming On The Prairie -

I'll admit this next shot is out of sequence but I just had to include it.

So for those of you who haven't figured it out yet....

We took a visit to the exact homestead that Charles (Pa) Ingalls took a claim out on. Someone had bought the land and developed it into a, for lack of a better term, living museum. They included reproduction of the type of housing that Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in. The only I don't have a picture of is the Dugout - bad lighting. Link is here.

The Shanty -

Hay roofed barn-

The house while a reproduction of the original was built in the exact spot Charles Ingalls built on -

Did I mention we arrived in DeSmet, SD on the 4th of July? We managed to snap a few pictures before the mozzies attacked. We watched the rest from the trailer's front window. -

Here is a few just for our TR friend TCD. We will call it the "Sunset Series"

1. "Sunset Over The Prairie"-

2. "Sunset Over Pa's Farm"

3. "Sunset Over The Misc Barn" - This building houses several examples of late 1800's transport (buggies, scaled down stage coach, horse sled), a wonderful view of the homestead, and a couple of miniature horses that look nothing like my Dane. The Garage on the other side of the barn is the location of the hay twisting demo, the making of an entire army of corncob dolls, and the reason I now have five homemade ropes in my tow vehicle.

4. "Sunset Over The Little House" - The house included a treadle sewing machine, organ, clothes lines, washing tubs, and someone to talk about the interior. We played the organ, washed some rags, hung some clothes... etc. The kids favorite was washing the clothes.

Now I'd like to introduce you to Fred and Barney. Yes, from the flintstones and yes they butted heads (literally) often. Of the 4 or 6 horse/mule teams they have in rotation we got Fred and Barney all three times we took the covered wagon ride. They let the kids drive.....

Where, you ask, do these gorgeous specimens of mule headed mules take us..... Why to school of course. Yes, they have a one room school house which was used until 1963. They have teachers (all three of ours were real life teachers) who demonstrate what a school day would have been like. Each had a different approach and our kids kept wanting to go back every day we were there.

There are places that you go that reach inside and touch a place of your soul. This was one of those places. My entire family loved it here. If you park in their RV park or rent one of their covered wagon, once all the buildings are closed for the day, the homestead is yours to walk around. My only suggestions is make your reservations early...especially if the pageant is taking place that weekend.

While in DeSmet you can also check out:

Silver Lake

The Tour (includes the house Pa built in town before giving up the farm, the Surveyors House, the one room school house that Laura and Carrie attended)

Several historical markers

Loftus General Store

I wanted to try the road between the Twin Lakes (Lake Henry & Thompson) but once again the flooding got in the way. It was absolutely horrendous here. Three times we had to back track just to find a way back to the homestead while on this failed excursion. We were due to camp at either of the lakes overnight before heading to Omaha but the flooding and the need for a new toilet got in the way.

RV Fulltimers Rule

#3. Flexibility is the key. No matter how often you make plans they WILL change... just go with it.

The funny thing, we hadn't heard the last of that DeSmet character..... the name followed us around for sometime. It popped up in the strangest locations.

Around about now you might be wondering about the Forting Hole. Well, I don't have a picture of the hole but I shall remember it for a long time, none the less. The homestead includes an old fashion pump action water well. The kids couldn't get enough of pumping the water out of that well. So on our last day we wandered as a family down to the water well when what should I find but.... the FORTING HOLE. All the way up to my knee! I also found a substantial bruise, a goose egg the size of ... well... a goose egg, and enough pain to last me for months.

The Forting Hole led to a call to the nurse, a visit to the doctor, and a trip to the ER for an ultra sound on my leg. You know, just in case I had a blood clot. WHAT! A BLOOD CLOT! By this time I broke down and went to the doctor we were many, many miles away, back in OKC, and scared out of our minds. No worries, obviously I'm still here to talk about it instead of in a hospital being treated, so no blood clot.

Let me just ask.

Has anyone tried to hitch up a trailer using crutches?

Have you tried to navigate inside 27ft travel trailer using crutches?

Does your significant other get grumpy when your out of commission?

Well, it was a fun few weeks after the Forting Hole....and we will leave it at that.

Next Up - RV Rule #3 - Flexibility is Key.....

PS. TCD, I will not nag anymore. It does take some effort to do these reports.

[SCTigerCock 171]

Here's a quick quiz, NO Googling/Bing/Internet Search ED:

What's the difference between a National Park and A National Monument?

National Parks are funded and authorized by Congress to the Dept of Interior and National Monuments are funded to numerous agencies. That the acct in me talking.

Camper says National Parks are larger areas that are to the terreign and Monuments are more historical in nature.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

National Parks are funded and authorized by Congress to the Dept of Interior and National Monuments are funded to numerous agencies. That the acct in me talking. Camper says National Parks are larger areas that are to the terreign and Monuments are more historical in nature.

National Parks are authorized and funded by Congress. National Monuments are, according to Wiki

"A National Monument in the United States is a protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United Statescan quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress. National monuments receive less funding and afford fewer protections to wildlife than national parks."

A good instance of this is the Battle of Little Bighorn Battlefield. It is a national monument, declared by one of the George Bushes (H, I think). However, GB did not provide them any funding. Someone came along later and did it for him.....

I'd give you a prize.. but I aints gots any.

[SCTigerCock 171]

National Parks are authorized and funded by Congress. National Monuments are, according to Wiki

"A National Monument in the United States is a protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United Statescan quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress. National monuments receive less funding and afford fewer protections to wildlife than national parks."

A good instance of this is the Battle of Little Bighorn Battlefield. It is a national monument, declared by one of the George Bushes (H, I think). However, GB did not provide them any funding. Someone came along later and did it for him.....

I'd give you a prize.. but I aints gots any.

No prize needed.

I'm an accountant and only care about the funding, the authorizing dosen't matter one bit if it isn't funded. just sayin. Authorization does matter, because we need that to spend, but I need money to count therefore have a job. The little things in life.

And all funding does come from Congress. And yes the president can establish a monument, but congress get the last authority, because they don't have to fund it.

New Trivia Question:

By law, from what Federal Agency should all other agencies aquire Helium?

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

No prize needed.

I'm an accountant and only care about the funding, the authorizing dosen't matter one bit if it isn't funded. just sayin. Authorization does matter, because we need that to spend, but I need money to count therefore have a job. The little things in life.

And all funding does come from Congress. And yes the president can establish a monument, but congress get the last authority, because they don't have to fund it.

New Trivia Question:

By law, from what Federal Agency should all other agencies aquire Helium?

1. I think that first bit made sense...

2. Ok, so I had to google it. While I'm not telling the answer I will say that I was surprised. It too makes sense but I also find it somewhat funny for some reason....

[Judy in Texas 150]

I stopped in North Platte several years ago on the trip to tick the 50th state (North Dakota) off my list of state's visited. The train yard observation tower wasn't yet completed so I didn't get to go up. I enjoyed walking through the trains, though. Those engines are HUGE!

[SCTigerCock 171]

1. I think that first bit made sense...

2. Ok, so I had to google it. While I'm not telling the answer I will say that I was surprised. It too makes sense but I also find it somewhat funny for some reason....

1. It shouldn't make any sense. Congress is involved. Sorry I just finish an appropriations law refresher and wanted to show off.

2. I actually won something with that bit of trivia, bag of shredded worthless $$ from the Treasury.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I stopped in North Platte several years ago on the trip to tick the 50th state (North Dakota) off my list of state's visited. The train yard observation tower wasn't yet completed so I didn't get to go up. I enjoyed walking through the trains, though. Those engines are HUGE!

we didn't go walking through the trains... didn't know you could.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

1. It shouldn't make any sense. Congress is involved. Sorry I just finish an appropriations law refresher and wanted to show off.

2. I actually won something with that bit of trivia, bag of shredded worthless $$ from the Treasury.

1. You have a point.

2. good for you?

[stefa70 205]

Gee, you work as fast as I do!

I wanted to comment on Mt. Rushmore, the caves....the important stuff. But then I got to Pa Ingalls house and got completely distracted!!

Love, Love, Love Little House On The Prairie!! :jumpforjoy

I watch it at every opportunity. When I was younger my step-father hated it and used to groan when he came home and I was watching it again. He called it "Little Fairies On The Prairie"

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Gee, you work as fast as I do!

I wanted to comment on Mt. Rushmore, the caves....the important stuff. But then I got to Pa Ingalls house and got completely distracted!!

Love, Love, Love Little House On The Prairie!! :jumpforjoy

I watch it at every opportunity. When I was younger my step-father hated it and used to groan when he came home and I was watching it again. He called it "Little Fairies On The Prairie"

Well we are coming up to Christmas and I am 7 months behind. So far I've only made it through 3 weeks.....

Not too late to comment.

We loved the Praire. So gorgeous.....

[SCTigerCock 171]

2. good for you?

And only if the Fort took shredded $$$, I could have a whole month's stay paid for.... Whoopie Flippin yeah!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

RV Rule #3 - Flexibility is Key.....

For just a little while there wont' be any pictures. Just me telling what happened next-

I mentioned the need for a new Toilet. This led us to Watertown, SD and a quick night on the lake. I don't remember the name of the campground I just remember the Shower.

I have a confession to make. DD and I have the most horrible luck with campground bathrooms. She's seven and got freaked out by a water bug joining her in the shower stall and I had ticks in my stall. It was a fun 15 minutes. We've also had one shower in which the water backed up and flooded half the shower area..... not fun. DS (10) on the other hand thinks campground shower are fun and loves to visit them.

After we got our brand spanking new toilet installed, we attempted to get back on the schedule. I've mentioned the flooding before but in South Dakota we saw places where they were having to build temporary roads because the water covered the old ones by a substantial amount. In some places the natural dip of the prairie looked to have become temporary lakes. Then there was Omaha, Nebraska and the Zoo. We had a reservation for Nebraska City and a date to visit the Omaha Zoo but once again the devastation of water forced us to change our plans. The Missouri River was literally so high that you could just see the red plastic roofs from the playground slides. It was something terrible to behold. There was literally only one way across and we missed it by about 2 hours.

A total failure of rule #10 Check Local Weather Conditions You Twit and time to embrace rule #3 Flexibility is the key.

So flexible that in three days we drove from DeSmet, SD to Watertown, SD, to ST. Joeseph, MO and ended up in Hutchinson, KS. We arrived in Hutchinson the day it reached 113 at 3:30pm. In the next few days we only went outside to walk the dogs or get in the truck but Shawn did take the kids to the Cosmosphere.

Space Stuff anyone?

Nasa Training Plane

A huge Rocket -

The One That Made It Home - Apollo XIII

Can you believe they fit 3 grown men in that thing? -

I would like to say the Cosmosphere is a must see but I didn't get ot see it. This was after the Fortin Hole and before the Dr. Visit so I got to spend the day with my leg propped up on the sofa. That's ok... another reason to come back. Which brings us to Rule #8 If you do everything the first time you won't have a reason to come back.

After this visit, we discovered that it was cooler in OKC than in Kansas and we fled. Once in OKC, we decided to move the Birthday party up two weeks, give the grandparents a quick visit and get the heck out of hades.

Next up - The Gorge, The Battlefield and What do you mean this isn't a Vacation?

[wak648...Bill 94]

And only if the Fort took shredded $$$, I could have a whole month's stay paid for.... Whoopie Flippin yeah!

Break out the tape dispenser and get taping then!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Mini Wordy Post - Did you remove the wheel chocks?

On this trip, before we learned better, we were packing in six or seven hour drives every Saturday, sometimes doing 10 hours over two days. These long days required us to unhitch after 4-5 hours and let the pups out for a walk. On the way out of Texas to Canyon City, Co we stopped in Raton to get gas, get drinks, walk the dogs... etc. Usually, I don't leave the trailer and do 99% of the unhitching/hitching duties myself but not this stop. I wanted the Mexican Coke they had inside.

I left Shawn with two dogs to load, two kids to load, a trailer to back up (sans visual aides) and hitch. When I come back, hands full, he's almost done so I just get in the truck. I completely bypass the usual "walk around the trailer check the lights, wheels, chains, etc" check. About 30 minutes down the road, I have this random thought.

"Hey honey, did you remove the wheel chocks?"......

"Umm... didn't you do that?"

"No, I had my hands full and just go in the truck."

"Well....(insert your favorite word here)"

Somewhere at a gas station in Raton, NM there is a X-chock waiting on the ground for someone who needs it. It was the last X-Chock we had left the other had gotten "lost" a few weeks earlier.

To add insult to injury, we also left the metal pipe used for the weight distribution hitch. RV Fulltiming Rule #2. Don't forget your post hitch site perusal and safety check, moron.

We have since replaced the X-chocks with a much better brand. After all, how good could they have been if someone can just drive away while the chocks fall off.......

Next back to our regularly scheduled program....... The Gorge, The Battlefield and What do you mean this isn't a Vacation?

[stefa70 205]

"Hey honey, did you remove the wheel chocks?"......

"Umm... didn't you do that?"

"No, I had my hands full and just go in the truck."

"Well....(insert your favorite word here)"

:rofl2: I don't know why that stuck me as funny, but it did. I guess we've all had similar conversations.

Thank you for letting me insert my favorite word....I have so many, I think I'll just sit here and say each one out loud until I find one that sounds the best.