June 18 - July 4: Staying Put in South Dakota

We have been at Bob's Resort since June 18. This is near Gettysburg, SD  on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River surrounded by large farms. The campground section is basic, with full hookups, gravel pads, and bathhouse. This is fishing and hunting country, and many of the RVs here are long term, many with boats. The area is quiet and it's just the spot for sitting back and watching the wind blow....which it usually does. The campground wi-fi is better than almost any place we've been, although it does drop out every now and then. All of these amenities fit our plans to sit still for a while, and have the time to do what keeps us entertained most of the time (use our computers). Hank had some major website work to tackle, and the latest updates to Window 10 to deal with on both of our laptops. Ham radio provides some entertainment, and we do have some over-the-air TV reception from Sioux Falls, Lowery, and PBS. (although no CBS channel). Many camper residents are only here on weekends.

Our view of the river and beyond.

With the nearest grocery and post office in Gettysburg, 13 miles away, that's our prime destination for replenishing supplies and picking up mail. Gettysburg, SD (population 1100) is less than 2 square miles in area and was founded in  1884 in commemoration of the Battle of Gettysburg. A large share of the early settlers were veterans of the Civil War, and the town motto is "Where the Battle Wasn't". Grocery options are one supermarket, one large drug store, and Dollar General. The closest Walmart is 48 miles away. The local citizens we've met are very friendly and welcoming. Hank went to the Barber Shop and found out the lady barber lives in the mobile home park at Bob's,and also works part-time at Bob's Steakhouse (also part of the resort).



Downtown Gettysburg, SD








Bob's Steakhouse

The view from Bob's Steakhouse patio









Last week, we drove to Mobridge, SD about an hour north of us. Mobridge is also on the Missouri River, population of 3500, and has a larger number of commercial outlets - two grocery stores, a casino/hotel, and an even larger drug store. The Mobridge pharmacy was the closest place to refill our prescriptions under our drug plan. While we were there, we checked out some camping places, picked up our medications, and shopped at one of the groceries. Compared to Gettysburg, it seemed like a large city!

We haven't experienced a lot of the extreme heat during our stay that many places south and east of us have been going through. We've also missed some of the severe storms that have gone around us, although we had two previous episodes of high winds - one with a dry gust front that woke us up about 3 A.M., and one with an evening thunderstorm. Both had wind gusts near 50 or 60 MPH that had Little House vibrating.

Last night, we watched big storms coming right toward us with even higher winds and predictions of very large hail. Before going to bed about 12:30 A.M., we pulled in the slides. We didn't have any hail, but 16 miles to our east, Gettysburg had wind gusts of 50 MPH,  and to our north along the river there was a reported  gust of 91 MPH, so we definitely knew Mother Nature was having a tantrum outside. By 2:30 A.M. things had calmed down enough for sleeping. Luckily, in all of these situations, we have not had the flooding issues that are plaguing many communities east and south of us in Iowa, Minnesota and southeastern South Dakota. It's been a very stormy time in South Dakota over the last 3 weeks.

The storm winds overnight did damage our 31 foot Eagle One ham radio vertical antenna.  The fiberglass tube flexed to the point that it broke where it was attached to the ladder at the rear of the motor home, and the top of the antenna folded over to the ground. We've never had a problem before in high winds, so the conditions must have been the worst we've been in while RVing. Luckily, there was no one parked anywhere close enough to us to be affected. Hank took down the antenna base today and is researching repair or replacement options. We have a second antenna in place all the time, but it's not very high above the coach and reception is not as good as with the Eagle One.

Overall, we're very satisfied with our stay in this part of SD. Our original summer plans were to go as far west as Yellowstone before heading back east. But as of now, we've decided to only go as far west as the Spearfish SD area for an American Coach rally and then make our way back to Osseo, Wisconsin by mid-September. Of course, like many RVers, our plans are written in Jello, so changes are always a possibility.

So far, the  Fourth of July has been quiet. There is a fireworks display tonight scheduled for a recreation area across the river from our location. So the rockets' red glare and resulting booms will be with us for awhile at dusk.