Rush No More!

Our next two campgrounds in SD were in Sturgis. First we spent a week at Day's End Campground and then the next week at Rush No More Campground & RV Park. I guess it is obvious that, if all things are equal in location/amenities etc, I am totally influenced by the names of campgrounds when making reservations! The highlight of our time at Day's End was our trip to Mt. Rushmore on June 1st. This was worth waiting for! As we were driving up the curvy roads I was like a kid in a candy store when I finally caught my first glimpse of it up around the bend! It was truly incredible. It was a weir-ass day weather wise, which I think kind of added to the magic of it all. It started out a little cloudy, then some ominous black clouds with some light rain (not enough to run for cover, but it appeared we were going to be for a good soaking)...It then brightened up as we worked our way around the .6 mile Presidential Trail that loops around the HUMONGOUS sculpture and includes 422 stairs... I couldn't remember how many stairs there were but Penny kept count and told me!

(EDITOR'S NOTE: I was a little surprised at how much positive attention Penny got while we were there. She filled a hole in people's hearts who were missing their own pups. Lots were impressed with our old girl's stamina and complimented her profusely as we rested in the shady areas. Well...it wasn't until we were back in the truck and I had to run back into the pedestrian entrance area to pay for parking that I saw the sign that read "No pets beyond this point"...uh...um...OOPS!!!!! But not a SINGLE employee or visitor stopped us or redirected us along the way (although I WAS cognizant of one employee training someone and pointedly saying to them "you can't imagine the excuses people come up with..." I KNEW he was referring to someone around us but I had NO IDEA IT WAS US!!!!!!)

Anyway, the weather was crazy ass! We were getting hot at one point, but then there was hail, and then there was the LOUDEST SINGLE THUNDER CLAP IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD (well...in my world anyway)! Yep, just one LOUD thunder clap. I literally ducked down because I thought an explosion had happened! But, that too quickly passed and the sunshine was back. About a half hour later, when I was on my paying-for-parking mission, the heavens opened and we got the pouring rain that we were expecting an hour or two previous...

But the very unique weather did not diminish the amazingness of Mt. Rushmore. Check out the photo I include here of the indoor model of the sculpture. It's the original model that the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, used. Unfortunately, the design had to be tweaked a little due to some issues with the granite; coupled with the progression of WWII that limited funds for the project. So George lost his jacket and Abe's lapel and hand were not included in the final product. Hence, Mt. Rushmore features the 60' heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Oh, one more thing to include here (since I'm sharing my knowledge I gained). I always wondered why these particular presidents were chosen for Mt. Rushmore and not others. Well the answer is that they were chosen to represent the nation's birth, growth, development and preservation, respectively.

(Feel free to show off next President's Day, or even perhaps at a BBQ on July 4th with your knowledge!)

We stopped for lunch on our way “home” in the pouring rain. We had our first bison burger (yummy) and I had a draft root beer instead of a draft craft beer and...ooh la la was THAT delicious!! It was a bottomless mug so I of course had to have 2! It reminded me of the ole' A&W Root Beer drive-ins "back in the day" before they changed the recipe for mass production. I tipped them heavily for their cuteness and deliciousness!

OK, so our awe of Mt Rushmore soon transitioned to awe of some incredible music at the Rush No More Campground. Our week long stay coincided with their hosting The Black Hills Blues Stomp & Swamp Festival. We knew this when we made our reservation back in March, but we had NO IDEA how much amazing (and actual jaw-dropping) talent there would be. Friday night was a jam session with the artists that had arrived from Kansas City, Louisiana and Texas. Randy McAllister was THE most talented musician I have ever encountered. On Friday night he primarily played the harmonica and shared his soulful voice with some of the bands. I have NEVER heard a harmonica do the things that this man can make it do. I met him on Sunday with my (new) friend Judy as he was packing up and I was purchasing a couple of his CD's. I wanted to tell him how much we enjoyed his music, so I shook his hand and the first words that blurted out of my mouth were "You're a GOD!"!!! Luckily the guy who was selling "the merch" (aka merchandize) piped in and added "and the world's nicest guy!" which saved me from having to be mortified from my honest (but embarrassing) declaration!

So this Stomp & Romp Fest was the entire weekend. It was outdoors at the entertainment venue at the campground and it was "AWESOME SAUCE"!!!!!!! We sat outdoors in our camping chairs in beautiful (although hot at times) weather and LISTENED and tapped our feet and kept commenting on how lucky we were and how magical the scenery and the music were. Unfortunately, the turnout wasn't what the campground had hoped for (as they had put on this event themselves) and there were only about 70 people in attendance; when they had been planning on 200-250. Other things going on in the area and anemic publicity hurt them. But boy did we benefit! We spent the weekend hanging out with our new friends Mark & Judy (from Minnesota) who were also on their maiden voyage as full-time RV'ers. Karl and Mark had struck up a conversation as Karl was out going for a stroll and they (and we) hit it off. (Editor's note: my new name for the hubs is "Chatty Cathy" when it comes to campgrounds and his ability to strike up conversations with strangers!). During the million times that we commented on our luck and brilliance of attending this event, Mark kept pointing out that it felt like this amazing concert was for US and how thoughtful it was for all of these talented musicians to come all this way FOR US!! Yep - we had our own little Woodstock (without naked mud wrestling and crowds) and we were incredibly appreciative. The bands on the docket were Randy McAllister & The Scrappiest Band in the Land, Gerard Delafose and the Zydeco Gators, Mahan The Band, The Heather Newman Band, and James Van Nuys & Bodhe Linde (the latter of which is a 12yo boy from the area who has been playing the guitar for two years and is kind of a musical savant!). They played till 11PM on Friday and then Saturday was from 2PM-11PM and Sunday was 12PM-8PM. IT WAS BLEEPIN' UNBELIEVABLE!! If you‘re a music fan - do yourself a favor and at least look these people up on line to get a sampling!