1880 Train

Today we rode the 1880 Train from Keystone to Hill City and back to Keystone.  It was a fun, relaxing ride.  A good way to see the back country.  This train has been around from the time I was a kid, at one point just went half way and back.  The train was full going back to Keystone which is a good sign that there are a lot of tourists in the area!

Steam engine 110

Last flowing creek

Old Tackinite mine

The train twisting alone the Black Hills

Rain

More rain.  The last three days have been wash-outs.  Today it is cold to add to the injustice.  I am just glad I am not a tourist trying to see the Black Hills in this mess of weather, that would be awful.  We went out to breakfast and Menards this morning, otherwise staying home trying to keep warm and dry.

At least we aren't having flooding like in Minnesota.

Just another day at the office

We finally had nice weather - all day.  Perhaps this is a turning point.

Today we worked six hours, it was a wild morning just getting organized.  The campground will be full for a couple days so we had to figure out where to put people to try to make most people happy.  Then the challenge was how to translate our organization to the people who came in after us.  The man was sure he had a better plan, just couldn't match his plan to real life!  He wanted to be in charge for sure, just not the IQ.  I had to turn away a big motorhome and the man about split his jeans he was so sure I was making a mistake, so I said "fine, tell me where to park him".  No answer.

Meanwhile the usual phone calls, store sells, propane sells and Don had many small jobs all of which needed to be done right away.  It was good to walk away at 1:30 and say it is all yours now, do with it what you will.

Reptile Gardens

Today we went to the Reptile Gardens across the highway from our campground.  It was a warm day but had a pleasant breeze.  We enjoyed the three shows:  The bird show, the snake show and the alligator show.  The alligator show was very good, the man handling the big boys was a lot braver than most.  There were about 30 alligators in the fenced-in area with him!

Rain in Rapid

We went into Rapid City this evening for dinner, just before we left the sky opened up and it rained and rained.  Some hail.  We had to wait to get out to our car and then the intersection was under water.  That didn't stop Don, we plowed right through.  Many cars were smarter.  We made it OK.  There  was a nice rainbow afterwards.


 

Friday 13 and full moon

Friday the 13 AND a full moon.  Who could ask for anything more?  Storms?  Yes they are coming.  We worked at the campground today, not too busy but a couple incidents involving a drunk woman and a man (not related) just out of prison.  Long stories----