July 9, 2006

July 9, 2006

This morning we got a late start, as we needed a break. Our first stop was Stavkirke chapel, a quaint wooden church on the outskirts of Rapid City that is a replica of a traditional ancient church from Norway. On the way out of the parking lot I notice the “service engine soon” light come on in the RV. Ruh-roh! I was thinking the trip was going too smoothly and we were due for a setback. In my head I am guessing we will need to stay in town again tonight and see the Ford dealer first thing Monday morning. I stop at the nearest ATM for extra cash just in case while Aimee goes thru the Ford manual to see what trouble we are in. This warning light is about emission controls and the book says the most likely cause is bad gas. We decide to ignore it for awhile; I hope the book is right.

Our next stop is the Geology Museum at the local School of Mines. I am somewhat familiar with the school as some former execs of Nalco, my former employer, had gone to school there. The museum is relatively small but has a nice collection of prehistoric fossil bones. Aimee mostly sends postcards while I study the exhibits.

 
As we drive through downtown we see Rapid City’s collection of presidential statues that are on every corner. They are quite nice and I assume influenced by the other four presidential faces in nearby Mt. Rushmore.

As we head out of town, I find a set of railroad tracks that are not very level and the back end bounces about six inches into the air. We land with crashing sounds and drawers flying open in the back. Aimee surveys the damage and finds we lost one cocktail glass (from our favorite set) and the bottom has come off the recently filled salt shaker spilling salt everywhere.

Our plan is to drive to Hot Springs on the south end of the Black Hills and work our way north and west. We have some extra time so we decide to make a slight detour and see Mt. Rushmore on the way south. Mt. Rushmore is an amazing monument to the US. We snap pictures from every angle. However we feel like we have already been here since we have seen so many pictures of the monument before.

We spend the night at a KOA facility just north of Hot Springs.