Crooks and Plans

We're still ensconced here, at Smith Lake Park just north of Algona... and Dar's been making good progress on her family tree research. So far, no indication of any crooks or ne'er-do-wells in the dusty records... so her family's reputation is still intact it seems.

I've been slowly catching up with some of my "paperwork"... financial stuff, files and spreadsheets I keep on various aspects of our sabbatical, paying a bill here or there, and reading about the latest iteration of our economic crisis. We've also had some fine interactions with our neighbors... almost all of whom are locals who are taking advantage of this nice campground to get away from their regular lives for a couple weeks during the summer. All fine folks, friendly, the salt of the earth... something you can count on when you're in the rural Midwest.

Today is the first morning in a long time that there's been a chill in the air. The temp at wake-up time was something like 62f and the next couple mornings are supposed to be in the 50s! While there's still plenty of heat to come yet this summer, these are the first cracks in the summer-bubble... and fall ain't that far off.

I've also been looking at campsites and routes for our trip west from here. One reason we've been moving slowly is to stay as far away from Sturgis and the Black Hills until after the 15th. The big Sturgis Biker Rally runs until then and we prefer to stay clear of that. But even after the rally I'm finding some of the better campgrounds are still busy. It's been years since we've been to the Black Hills and we think it's time to explore the area again. We've never seen the Crazy Horse Memorial, never been to Wind Cave National Park. A little further west, we also haven't seen Devils Tower. So all these things are on the agenda as we work through western South Dakota and into the northeastern corner of Wyoming.

Because it was appropriately timed for our trip, we're also going to attend our first Escapade -- a national rally of like-minded folks who belong to the Escapees RV Club.  It's being held in Gillette Wyoming for 5 days starting August 28th. There's a full agenda of workshops and seminars, a vendor fair of all-things-RV, professional entertainment, and many opportunities to mingle with folks much like ourselves (like us??? now that's a scary thought.)

And one more thing... Happy Anniversary JT & Kaytlyn!!!