Today we moved from Buffalo to Three Flags RV Park near Rapid City, our base for exploring the Black Hills area. On the way we decided to stop at Devils Tower National Mounument, which featured in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. We did the 1.3 mile hike around the base of the monolith, which offers some spectacular views of the tower and of the surrounding terrain.
One interesting feature of the monument is a large black tailed prairie dog town. Although signs forbid feeding the critters, they are clearly accustomed to people and seem to expect handouts. We learned a lot about the complex social organization of prairie dogs. For example, they "kiss" as a gesture of kin recognition. Millions used to live all over the great plains, but now they are confined to a few preserves, having been poisoned and shot and otherwise exterminated over much of their range. Evidently some people still consider prairie dog shooting great "sport."
We had a long trip today anyhow, and the diversion to Devils Tower led us into a long road construction delay. Then we drove through Hulett, which was the long, though scenic way from the tower to our campground. When we got to Rapid City, our GPS had old data. The freeway exits have been changed, and the placement of the campground on the map was incorrect (in the truck GPS, our Droids, and Google maps). We wandered a bit before we found the campground. It's very near the interstate and railroad tracks, so there's traffic noise, but the people are very friendly and the sites are grassy and well kept.
After we settled in and had dinner, we went for a walk and met some fellow Excel owners, Paul and Mary, who graciously invited us in to see their rig. Mary was very excited about her Kindle and strongly recommended it. They are clearly fellow geeks--with two laptops and a HughesNet dish. They have a high definition TV projector and pull down screen--a real home movie theater in their RV.
0 comments:
Post a Comment